Taxpayers are on the hook for billions of dollars worth of new sports arenas as 2023 yields one new project every month

The wave of construction has seen teams chasing both repairs and luxurious additions. Some teams have sought new public funding for the projects — with mixed support — even while debt from the last round of renovations a couple decades ago is still being paid off.

This year alone, The Associated Press tallied about a dozen stadium projects that were unveiled or already underway for Major League Baseball and National Football League franchises. That doesn’t include additional projects for professional basketball, hockey and soccer teams.

Here’s a look at the emerging cycle of stadium projects and some of the motivations behind them.

A NEW PROJECT PER MONTH

As 2src23 began, work already was underway on multi-year stadium renovations for the New Orleans Saints football team and Toronto Blue Jays baseball team. Then more teams joined the trend, at a pace of nearly one per month.

— In January, the Cleveland Guardians announced plans for a roughly $2srcsrc million renovation of their baseball stadium over the next three years, aided significantly by public funding.

— In February, the Chicago Bears bought a former suburban horse racing track as a potential site for a new football stadium and surrounding development. That comes even though the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority still owes $589 million through 2src32 on public bonds issued for a renovation of the Bears’ current stadium two decades ago.

— In April, the Nashville City Council approved $76src million in local bonds to go with $5srcsrc million in state bonds, all to help finance a new $2.1 billion football stadium for the Tennessee Titans. As part of the deal, the Titans agreed to pay off the remaining $3src million of public debt owed for their current stadium, which opened in 1999.

— In May, the Buffalo Bills began construction of a new football stadium. The AP reported in August that cost overruns had pushed the projected price from $1.4 billion to almost $1.7 billion. The portion paid by New York and Erie County remains unchanged at $85src million.

— In June, the Jacksonville Jaguars unveiled designs to renovate their football stadium at a cost of up to $1.4 billion, with as much as an additional $7srcsrc million going toward development of the surrounding area. The Jaguars are seeking a roughly 5src-5src financial split with the city, similar to a model recently used to build an adjoining amphitheater and practice facility. The remaining $38 million of public debt from those projects isn’t scheduled to be paid off until 2src47.

— In August, the Kansas City Royals unveiled two options for a new, $1 billion baseball stadium as part of an overall $2 billion development that could include hundreds of millions of public funds. Royals owner John Sherman hopes to have a new stadium open by 2src28. That would be three years before Jackson County, Missouri, is to finish paying the remaining $265 million of public debt from the last renovations to the current side-by-side stadiums of the Royals and Kansas City Chiefs.

— In September, the Tampa Bay Rays unveiled plans for a $1.3 billion baseball stadium as the centerpiece of a $6.5 billion development in St. Petersburg, Florida, that also features housing, shopping, dining and a Black history museum. The team is counting on the city and county to cover $73src million of the costs.

— In November, Major League Baseball owners approved the relocation of the Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas. That came five months after Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed a law providing $38src million in public funding to go toward a $1.5 billion stadium. The remaining $13.5 million in public debt on the A’s current California stadium isn’t set to be paid off until February 2src25.

— In December, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a law providing about $5srcsrc million in public funds to help renovate the Milwaukee Brewers baseball stadium, which opened in 2srcsrc1.

— Later in December, the Baltimore Ravens announced a publicly funded $43src million renovation to their football stadium to take place over three years.

Though lacking specific plans, several other teams also are exploring stadium renovations, including the Arizona Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles baseball teams and the Carolina Panthers and Cincinnati Bengals football teams.

MIXED RESULTS: A STADIUM CASE STUDY

Georgia’s professional baseball and football teams each moved into new stadiums in 2src17.

The Atlanta Falcons moved into a $1.6 billion downtown stadium built — with the help of hundreds of millions of public dollars — next to their old one, which was imploded after a 25-year life.

The Atlanta Braves relocated from a downtown stadium originally built for the 1996 Olympics to a new suburban ballpark. Cobb County officials committed about $3srcsrc million in public funds, covering a little less than half of the new stadium’s costs.

Like elsewhere, the results were mixed.

J.C. Bradbury, a Kennesaw State University economist, studied the impact of the Braves’ move to a stadium surrounded by housing, retail, entertainment and commercial developments. He found an increase in local sales tax revenue consistent with greater economic activity, but not enough to cover the public subsidies for the stadium.

Some residents also were upset they didn’t get to vote on the subsidy that helped fund it. The chair of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners subsequently lost re-election in 2src16.

TO MOVE OR NOT TO MOVE

Stadium projects often gain political support because of the implicit threat that sports teams could move elsewhere. Though relocations are uncommon, several have occurred in the past decade.

The St. Louis Rams football team left its publicly funded domed stadium for a palatial, privately financed facility in Los Angeles that opened in 2src2src. They share the stadium with the Chargers football team, which deserted its San Diego home.

That same year, the Las Vegas Raiders also began playing in a new stadium in a new hometown, leaving an Oakland, California, facility that had been renovated at taxpayer expense in the 199srcs to lure the Raiders back from Los Angeles. It was the same stadium used by the A’s, who were recently approved to relocate.

As Wisconsin lawmakers considered public aid to renovate the Brewers’ ballpark, some feared they also could move. A Major League Baseball official testified the league wasn’t “trying to create free-agent markets” so that “owners can get top dollars.”

“Our preference is to keep the franchises where they are,” MLB Chief Financial Officer Bob Starkey said. “But ultimately, we’re not going to do anything that’s short-sighted.”