In the last generation, municipalities have spent over ten billion dollars to build or refurbish stadiums in twenty-seven cities that host National Football League franchises. This, in large part, has contributed to the robust bottom line of America’s most prominent and successful profession sports organization. The NFL is projected to surpass $13 billion in revenues this year, over halfway to Commissioner Roger Goodell’s stated benchmark of $25 billion by the year 2027. Even with the NFL’s exploitation of new revenue streams like increased television rights packages, the subsidization of stadiums is prominent enough to the NFL’s business plan. Continually, cities partner with the NFL to bring and retain sports franchises for their cities.
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With real estate prices in Manhattan skyrocketing, Park Slope has become an attractive alternative for young professionals and families. This has revitalized the neighborhood, with businesses moving in to compete for Brooklyn’s dollars. Where once Brooklyn was the butt of jokes, now it represents opportunity. It is this opportunity that developer Bruce Ratner hoped to exploit with the New York metropolitan area’s newest venue for sports and entertainment, the Barclay Center, the centerpiece of Ratner’s five billion dollar development known as the Atlantic Yards (Robbins, 2012). To obtain the land necessary, Ratner persuaded the State of New York to seize the land under the right of eminent domain (Berlinger, 2012). In addition, Ratner secured 1.6 billion dollars in public funding for his development, with the usual promise that Atlantic Yards would contribute thousands of jobs and millions of dollars to the community, bringing much needed traffic to the surrounding businesses, especially those of Park Slope. The first phase of Ratner’s development, the Barclay Center, opened in 2012. Anticipating a major increase in property value, landlords have increased rents exponentially. Despite their optimism, however, the visitor and tourist dollars did not materialize, forcing many small business owners to relocate (Lorenzetti, 2013). Meanwhile, as Ratner sought to rein in costs, he announced that the residential units conceived as part of Atlantic Yards would be built offsite, resulting in a major shortfall in promised construction jobs (Oder,
With real estate prices in Manhattan skyrocketing, Park Slope has become an attractive alternative for young professionals and families. This has revitalized the neighborhood, with businesses moving in to compete for Brooklyn’s dollars. Where once Brooklyn was the butt of jokes, now it represents opportunity. It is this opportunity that developer Bruce Ratner hoped to exploit with the New York metropolitan area’s newest venue for sports and entertainment, the Barclay Center, the centerpiece of Ratner’s five billion dollar development known as the Atlantic Yards (Robbins, 2012). To obtain the land necessary, Ratner persuaded the State of New York to seize the land under the right of eminent domain (Berlinger, 2012). In addition, Ratner secured 1.6 billion dollars in public funding for his development, with the usual promise that Atlantic Yards would contribute thousands of jobs and millions of dollars to the community, bringing much needed traffic to the surrounding businesses, especially those of Park Slope. The first phase of Ratner’s development, the Barclay Center, opened in 2012. Anticipating a major increase in property value, landlords have increased rents exponentially. Despite their optimism, however, the visitor and tourist dollars did not materialize, forcing many small business owners to relocate (Lorenzetti, 2013). Meanwhile, as Ratner sought to rein in costs, he announced that the residential units conceived as part of Atlantic Yards would be built offsite, resulting in a major shortfall in promised construction jobs (Oder,