This article informs public policy toward professional sports stadiums, which state and local governments routinely subsidize. Our analysis provides a history of stadium construction and funding in the U.S., documenting trends that portend a forthcoming new wave of stadiums. Despite robust evidence that stadiums are not economic development catalysts and confer limited social benefits, public outlays persist and exhibit a positive growth trajectory, which could prove costly to government budgets in coming decades. We review contemporary justifications for public subsidies, focusing on proposed salutary development and budgeting strategies. Economic research continues to demonstrate that stadiums remain poor public investments, and optimal public funding of professional sports venues is substantially less than typical subsidy levels. We examine economic, political, and institutional factors that contribute to the disconnect between research and policy, and we provide recommendations to promote sound public policy.

中文翻译：

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针对专业体育场馆的公共政策：回顾

本文介绍了针对专业体育场馆的公共政策，州和地方政府通常会补贴这些体育场馆。我们的分析提供了美国体育场建设和融资的历史，记录了预示着即将到来的新一波体育场的趋势。尽管有强有力的证据表明体育场馆不是经济发展的催化剂并且带来的社会效益有限，但公共支出持续存在并呈现出积极的增长轨迹，这可能会在未来几十年对政府预算造成高昂的成本。我们回顾了公共补贴的当代理由，重点关注拟议的有益发展和预算策略。经济研究继续表明，体育场馆的公共投资仍然不足，专业体育场馆的最佳公共资金大大低于典型的补贴水平。