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Taxpayers Are On the Hook For Billions In NFL Stadium Costs

Taxpayers Are On the Hook For Billions In NFL Stadium Costs

American taxpayers in various NFL cities are on the hook for billions of dollars in stadium construction and renovation costs.

Credit: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

The 32-team National Football League has a presence in 30 American cities -- New York City is home to both the Jets and the Giants, while Los Angeles shares the Chargers and the Rams -- and many teams are currently contemplating new facilities to rival the Rams' impressive SoFi Stadium or the San Francisco 49ers eco-friendly Levi's Stadium. 

The Tennessee Titans, for example, have already debuted plans to construct a new facility in downtown Nashville. The 1.7 million-square-foot stadium is estimated to cost $2.1 billion.

Per the current proposal, the public will fund about half of the total cost via two revenue bonds, worth $500 million and $760 million, issued by Nashville’s Metropolitan Sports Authority.

Just this week, the Nashville Metro Council approved to accept the terms for construction.

On Tuesday, December 20, the Titans organization released a statement that said:

“For several years now, we have been searching for a responsible and sustainable solution to a growing, unfunded taxpayer liability. We’re thankful for Council’s support in bringing us one step closer to removing taxpayer risk from the stadium forever, while creating a long-lasting, transformational stadium that both entertains and serves its community year-round. We look forward to continuing conversations with the City, Metro Council, Sports Authority, and community as we complete discussions in the new year."

According to a recent CNBC report, public funds "diverted to helping build professional sports stadiums and arenas have cost taxpayers $4.3 billion" since 2000. 

Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The reason cities, rather than professional sports organizations themselves, pay for stadiums has to do with the issuance of the aforementioned tax-exempt bonds that are doled out by state and local governments with federal backing.

According to CNBC's article, these municipal bonds have been a popular financing option for costly projects like schools, highways, and airports since 1913. 

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 attempted to end the exemptions for private use, including sports stadiums. Instead, however, it accidentally created a loophole that allows facilities to be backed by the bonds. 

The loophole creates what CNBC called "an artificial financing structure." 

To maintain the tax exemption, the repayment of the municipal bonds cannot come directly from stadium revenue. Generally, cities use hotel levies or other taxes to pay back their bonds.

In Las Vegas and Chicago, for example, tourism taxes have helped pay-off facilities like the Raiders $1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium. 

While NFL teams, and other professional sports organizations, insist that new stadiums are well worth it, bringing huge sums of revenue to cities where they are based, many urban planners and economy experts disagree. 

Tracy Hadden Loh, a fellow at The Brookings Institution, told CNBC that some NFL facilities can actually deter small businesses from moving in:

."..a typical football stadium has a really different design, the impact on the surrounding community is really more just that the stadium is kind of like a big spaceship that is parked there."

Bipartisan legislation to end the loophole has been proposed several times since 2015, most recently with Representative Earl Blumenauer's (D-OR) No Tax Subsidies for Stadiums Act of 2022.

Credit: Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images

None of the bills have yet been turned into law, however. 

Fans, for their part, generally just want their teams to stay in their cities.

San Diego lost the Chargers to nearby Los Angeles over a stadium issue, for instance, while St. Louis lost the Rams for a similar reason. 

It remains to be seen how taxpayers will be impacted by the construction of future NFL facilities but it seems that Washington D.C. is eager to end the municipal bonds loophole sooner rather than later. 

What do you think?

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Feature Image Credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

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