Sports facilities and the local property tax base in recovery

Abstract

AbstractThis study considers if major league sports facilities help the property tax base in their vicinity recover from recession. The Great Recession is treated as an exogenous shock to the property tax base, and proximity to three facilities in Los Angeles County, California is used to predict the speed at which nearby properties’ taxable assessed value recovers. California is a useful context because state law provides a consistent and uncontroversial way to measure property tax base recovery. Using parcel‐level data from 2006 through 2019 for properties within 3 miles of the Staples Center, Dodger Stadium, and Dignity Health Sports Park, only proximity to Dodger Stadium impacts recovery speed. The results indicate that an average property a mile closer to the stadium recovers in 87% of the time an otherwise similar property a mile further away does, a finding that is robust to placebo. The study’s implications are discussed.