Impact of Sports on Economies of Cities

Sports have become a major part of our culture today. Everywhere you go, you see people wearing sports apparel, playing sports or just enjoying sports in general. As sports get bigger, more and more money is thrown around the sports world. A billion dollar stadium, team specific stores, athletes getting paid hundreds of millions of dollars, tickets that cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, are all examples of money getting thrown around as sports get bigger. With all these numbers and dollars in the sports world, you must look around your city and ask yourself, “What impact do sports have on our cities?”

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Sports can drastically change the economy of a city. Sports teams can improve the economy of the city, as well as the media market value of the city. The #1 media market in the United States of America is New York City. They have a total of 10 sports teams based in New York, which is the most in the country. The 50TH media market in the United States is Louisville, Kentucky. The only sports team they have is the University of Louisville. As you can see, sports can make the difference in your city being a mass media market among the rest of the United States. The number one economic city in the US is, again, New York. They make 1.264 trillion dollars a year. The 50th economic city is Raleigh, North Carolina. They have one NHL Team, and they only make 53 billion a year. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that most of the teams in New York do well every year, and New York is the top city in the US. It’s obvious that the impact that the sports teams have on New York as a media market and as an economic stimulus is large especially compared to cities with one or no sports teams. You can’t logically look at these numbers and say that these 10 teams in New York don’t have an impact on New York. I believe that these sports teams are the only thing separating New York from Louisville, or Raleigh. Every city has people. Every city has money. Not every city has a reason to grow, however. Sports provide the reason to grow, get bigger, get stronger, and get richer. New York seized the opportunity and became the top city in the United States. Sports can give any city the opportunity to succeed.

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Speaking of opportunity, sports have provided many ways for young and developing countries to generate revenue and popularity. In Peru, foot racing is a very popular sport. Because of the popularity, many jobs are created. The runners need shoes, so shoe factories are created and jobs are created from that. They also need uniforms, so jobs are created for that. The races bring in tourism from all over, so hotels and lodges are built. Tourist also rock climb, ski and take part in other activities that use the Peruvian landscape. Alive & Kicking, an African ball manufacturer, provides a way to make affordable, functional balls so Africans can play soccer. They employ 20 workers per job site, and they are trained and provided with better job opportunities. With more balls to play with, Africans get better at soccer, which increases the sport around them, so that one day it will be just like the races in Peru. When you play sports a lot around the town, you get better and as a whole your city gets better at the sports. When your city is better, sports facilities start to be built, so there’s a place to showcase your abilities. People come to the facilities and watch you show your talent. Then businesses start popping up, just like in Peru. Just like in New York, sports give the opportunity to grow as an economy, a city, and a society.

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People go where the sports go. Fans follow major league baseball teams as they go into Florida for spring training. All those new people in Florida help boost the economy. The short spring training period brings $750 million total to the state of Florida. In 2009, 9,205 jobs were created because of spring training. $571 million of that $750 million total came from out of state, showing that fans will spend money wherever their favorite sports team goes. In Florida, they have held 12 Super Bowls, they hold the annual Daytona 500, they hold the “Super Bowl” of bass fishing, and they have 5 bowl games. Fans follow their teams. All these help out Florida’s economy greatly. Your sports team being successful also brings more fans to the city, and makes more fans willing to spend money on your team. In Starkville, Mississippi, home of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the success of the team has bolstered the economy a lot. Every game day, it is projected 15,000 outside city fans come to Starkville. That’s an extra 15,000 buying hotels, food and items from the local stores. The fan shops around Starkville have at least doubled their production from outside the football season and when the football team is doing badly. A good sports team can bolster your economy. Florida has also had many successful teams in their state, which can also explain why they get $32 billion in sports every year. The Marlin’s (MLB) won the World Series in 1997 and 2003. The Buccaneers (NFL) won the Super Bowl in 2002. The Lightning (NHL) won the Stanley Cup in 2004. Having more sports teams and more teams that are successful can have a giant impact on the economy of the state or city.

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Sports not only directly bring money into the city; they provide thousands upon millions of jobs for people, even if they are temporary jobs. In Peru, there are many shoe factories because of the popular races. In every city, there has to be memorabilia shops. The sports team itself provides jobs, because most players move with their team, so they qualify as citizens with jobs, and the front office people and coaches also count as jobs. The restaurants prosper, especially on game days. Gas stations and convenient stores also get higher sales around games. With all of this increased store traffic, the stores would have to hire new employees to help out with the game day crowds. These are some of the more permanent jobs, but there are also temporary jobs. Construction, to build the stadium and facilities around it, increases drastically to get the facilities built in time. The team also has to pay employ vendors to work in the stadiums during game days. They also have to hire security, field crews, janitors, broadcasters, light operators and electricians. All of these jobs in and around the stadium are available during just game days and the season, but they are still jobs and help bring in tax money for the state. With new jobs for people and the city rallying behind the sports team, the culture could change as well as the economy.

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Sports can have an effect on the people in the city, and the way they live in general. Cities tend to get behind the teams in their city, and they become intense fans of the sport and the team. They want to support their team and go to the games, and let everyone know they’re a fan of that team. This sort of entitlement brings people in cities together. In public, you hear complete strangers talking about the upcoming sports season, or you hear war cries of the local team. Sports can bring a big city, like Atlanta, together with the sense of a small town community. Big, worldwide sporting events bring can drastically change cities, like the Olympics did to Atlanta. The Olympics pushed Atlanta into the world wide picture. Everyone was talking about the Olympics in the city, at a time when there were still many racist in Atlanta. The Olympics was a catalyst for peace in Atlanta and the exhibition of racism. The Olympics brought Atlanta together as a whole, and gave them a reason to fight together against all the problems the city had at the time. When sports can bring together a city, bring peace and eliminate racism, it’s obvious that sports have a positive impact on the culture of a big city, bringing small town togetherness into one of the world’s leading cities.
Sports can drastically change the economy and culture of a city, that fact has been proven. People still debate about the exact impact, and some say sports have no real impact. You can’t look at this information and say sports have no impact, when they have changed cities into powerhouses and basis for cultural togetherness. It is no coincidence the #1 media market and economically powerful city, New York, has the most sports teams. It is no coincidence Atlanta got rid of its racism issues during the same time the Olympics occurred. Sports change your city, in the most dramatic way. The best part about sports changing cities is that the change is for the better.