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Major League Winners

Using Sports and Cultural Centers as Tools for Economic Development

By Mark S. Rosentraub

Series Editor: Evan M. Berman

Published July 28th 2009 by CRC Press – 304 pages

Series: ASPA Series in Public Administration and Public Policy

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Description

Major League Winners: Using Sports and Cultural Centers as Tools for Economic Development chronicles the challenges overcome by civic leaders who are using the development of sports and cultural venues to help create diversified, vibrant, and attractive economic bases within their communities. Drawing on his 30 years of involvement with such projects, Mark Rosentraub presents case studies that demonstrate the innovative private-public partnerships needed to create win-win scenarios. These include how:

  • Indianapolis and Cleveland now boast new images as well as new downtowns thanks to innovative sports and cultural venues
  • San Diego continues to revitalize itself through partnerships of shared risk and returns
  • L.A.’s resurgence makes the most of its location and its glitz
  • Columbus and Reading are proof that even midsized and smaller cities can leverage sports enthusiasm

A decade ago in Major League Losers: The Real Cost of Sports and Who’s Paying for It, Dr. Rosentraub educated us about the insidious nature of the great sports welfare machine. Now, he shows us that those lessons are well-learned. While no urban center will weather this current economic crisis unscathed, the areas that will suffer least and recover fastest are those that are attracting and retaining significant concentrations of diversely skilled human capital. Rather than just provide us with a brief escape from our problems, with the right leadership, sports and entertainment can create opportunities for our cities to reinvent and reinvigorate themselves.

Reviews

… illustrates through telling stories and meticulous research, the power of sports venues to generate economic development.

— Janet Marie Smith, Senior Vice President, Boston Red Sox and former VP of Development, Baltimore Orioles / Camden Yards

… the prescription for how to change the skyline of America’s cities … a must read for civic leaders.

— Charles Isgar, Los Angeles Coliseum

… refreshing departure from the ritualized ideological debates over public funding for sports, culture, and downtown development.

— Dennis R. Judd, University of Illinois at Chicago

… discusses the power that sports and other large gathering places have in helping economic recovery and development. Using the successes of many sports teams in how they help their town blossom and succeed, Mark S. Rosentraub says that these benefits are not a one way street, and that both the sports franchise and the city that hosts them must work together, and how they can avoid the pitfalls and failures that he discussed in his previous book, Major League Losers. Written with much experience, Major League Winners will enlighten those to the strong power that private and public partnership can bring to all those involved.

— James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, Wisconsin Bookwatch, February 2011

Contents

Can We All Be Winners? Subsidies, Investments, Revitalization, and The End of the Great Sports Welfare Machine. The Creation of the Sports Welfare State and Warping of the Relationship Between Cities and Teams. Indianapolis as The Broker City: Sports, A New Image, and the Revitalization of a Dead Core. San Diego: A Unique Approach Or Just More Subsidies In A Small Market?. Los Angeles: Location and the Revitalization of A Convention Center and Downtown Area. Columbus: A Private Arena, Master Developer Rights, and A Town-Gown Success Story. Revitalizing The Rust Belt With Sports: What When Right, What Went Wrong For Cleveland, Pittsburg, St. Louis, and the Limits of Success. Sports, Real State, and Mega Projects: Revitalization Big Apple Style. Sports, Real State Development, and Strategies For Turning Subsidies Into Investments.

Author Bio

Mark S. Rosentraub is on the faculty at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.

Name: Major League Winners: Using Sports and Cultural Centers as Tools for Economic Development (Hardback) – CRC Press 
Description: By Mark S. RosentraubSeries Editor: Evan M. Berman. Major League Winners: Using Sports and Cultural Centers as Tools for Economic Development chronicles the challenges overcome by civic leaders who are using the development of sports and cultural venues to help create diversified, vibrant, and attractive...
Categories: Development Policy, Public Administration & Management