Economic power and sports success
Yesterday the US Men’s national team wound up a successful Gold Cup, the biannual North American soccer championship, by beating Panama 1-0 in the title …
Victor Matheson
Who Needs Fans?
This article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal highlights one Italian soccer team’s attempts to deal with empty seats: fill them with cardboard cutouts. Unlike the …
(Pro) Bowling for Dollars
Interesting comments on ESPN.com from the Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie regarding state payments to the NFL for the right to host the Pro Bowl. In his words, You …
The Inauguration as a Mega-Event
There are interesting comparisons and contrasts between sports mega-events and today’s presidential inauguration. Obama’s big day is expected to bring about 2 million visitors to …
Sports at the Movies
A new study from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) comes to the conclusion that state and local subsidies for one particular industry: …
Dominating the Country Club
Competitive balance in sports is among the most commonly discussed topics among sports economists. Three of the four most cited articles at the Journal of …
Perverse Incentives in College Football
So, suppose you were the University of Nevada playing Boise St. last Saturday… Your 8-3 record has already locked up a bowl appearance regardless of …
From Russia with Love?
American soccer fans are not the only ones who should be bemoaning the US’ elimination from the 2018 World Cup at the hands of Trinidad …
Live Strong, Name Strong
Major League Soccer’s Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City have just announced that they have “sold” the naming rights to their new soccer specific stadium …
NFL Draft Trifecta
If Phil Miller’s Saturday post on the NFL draft is Day 1, and Brian Goff’s Monday post on the NFL draft is Day 2, let’s …