The Stadium That Bankrupts The City

Imagine still paying for a stadium that was demolished 25 years ago.That’s exactly what happened in Seattle. And it’s far from an isolated case.Across professional sport, cities have spent billions of public money building stadiums for privately owned teams, often justified by promises of jobs, growth and regeneration. But the economics tell a very different story.In this episode of Beyond the Trophy, we uncover the business model behind taxpayer-funded stadiums: how billionaire owners use relocation threats as leverage, why cities keep agreeing to deals economists overwhelmingly question, and how taxpayers can be left paying long after the team, or even the stadium itself, has disappeared.The stadium looks spectacular.The deal behind it might not be.