Thursday, December 23, 2004
The PBS News Hour program had an interesting segment exploring whether stadium deals represented economic development. Andrew Zimbalist, professor of economics at Smith College and author of May the Best Team Win: Baseball Economics and Public Policy made the clearest case for why baseball and football stadiums are not by themselves good economic development investments.
"Practically every stadium that's come on stream in the last 20 years in the United States has been accompanied by a consulting report-- these are hired-out consulting companies-- that are working for the promoters of the stadium.
"They engage in a very, very dubious methodology. They make unrealistic assumptions and they can produce whatever result they want to produce." Read more.
This issue is about to be played out in another city: Indianapolis. Read more.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
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Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Why a stadium does not generate prosperity
