Economist says to RI: Reject PawSox stadium proposal
By Matt Blanchette
@mattblanchette
“Why does the owner want to move to a new stadium?” economist Victor Matheson asks. “It’s this: more revenue.“
Matheson, a nationally renowned sports economist is a professor at Holy Cross, has a message for any owner of a sports team that wants a new stadium.
“If they want to maximize the revenue they should be paying for that extra revenue not someone else.“
That includes James Skeffington and the new PawSox ownership group. Currently they are asking for roughly $85 million dollars in state aid and tax exemptions to build a stadium on the 195 land in Providence.
Based on numerous studies of other stadiums, Matheson said it would be similar to building a movie theater in terms of generating revenue.
He also shot down the idea that stadiums generate revenue for surrounding areas.
“If you just look at the last 10 years, six million people have gone here (McCoy) and this is the economic development in the area you get,” he said.
The study is equally discouraging for the folks that want to keep the PawSox in Pawtucket. The professor says investing taxpayer money to upgrade McCoy Stadium is just as bad as investing it in a new stadium in Providence.
195 commission executive director Jan Brodie was on hand for the talk and says she was there to listen and gather information.
The PawSox owners want to lease the land that was set aside for a park at a cost of one dollar per year.
Speaker Matiello and the state have hired an economist of their own to produce a similar study.
Matheson said that economist, Andrew Zimbalist, is a friend of his and says he has no doubt he will produce an unbiased, independent review,
but also said he was unsure what would be included in that report.
Aspokesman for the speaker says there is no timetable on when that study will be completed.
