I just finished listening to a panel discussion on the economics of sports facilities. The panelists:
- Tim McManus, vice president of AECOM, which has been involved in building Olympic facilities.
- Dennis Robinson, president and CEO of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which manages the Meadowlands.
- Tim Romani, CEO of the Romani Group, a stadium development management firm.
- John Wentzell, President of TD Banknorth Garden (where the Celtics play.)
Based on this discussion, I'm planning to write a broad story on the future of stadium development, but here are a few tidbits from the panelists.
Robinson weighed in on the issue of whether stadiums can trigger the revitalization of a city.
"Everyone makes that argument," Robinson said. "It only works if it's part of a long-term strategy for a city. It requires huge, ongoing commitment on behalf of everyone to really turn a city around. Camden Yards was only one part of the revitalization of the inner harbor. For anyone to say that a facility will solve all of the ills and problems of a city, they're mistaken."
As head of NJSEA, Robinson has been heavily involved in the construction of the new stadium for the Giants and Jets at the Meadowlands. After the panel, I chatted with him about that project and I asked him about the notion of the Redskins leaving FedEx Field and moving back to a new facility in the District.
Since I didn't record or take copious notes, I'm going to do my best to paraphrase our conversation:
Robinson: "Didn't they just build a new stadium?"
Me: "Well, yeah. It's about 10 years old."
Robinson: "Well then what's the point?"
Me: "I think some people believe Dan Snyder will want a new stadium to keep pace with the Giants and with Jerry Jones' new stadium in Dallas."
Robinson: "That's stupid. First of all, he probably has all kinds of debt service on FedEx. And second of all, that kind of thing has nothing to do with winning and losing. He's making money. Aren't they the most highly valued franchise in sports? Look at the Giants. ... they just won the Super Bowl playing in one of the oldest stadiums in the NFL."
McManus, who was the program director in charge of building the Patriots' Gillette Stadium, was skeptical of whether putting a roof on a football stadium makes economic sense. At Gillette Stadium, the project cost about $350 million; a roof would have added $100 million to the price tag, making it unaffordable for Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
"From an operations standpoint, large venues like football stadiums, where you have 16 crowds at capacity-plus, you're not going to generate that many more events in that stadium," he said. "You may get a Super Bowl once or twice. But you're not going to get payback on that $100 million."
