Cobb County Research Articles

Estimating the Fiscal Impact of Stadium Developments: Evaluating a Pro Forma Model

Although researchers have demonstrated conclusively that sports stadiums are not economic development catalysts, stadium projects that include preplanned ancillary developments have been proposed as a salutary strategy to overcome the widely observed dismal economic performance of standalone stadiums. Using an objective rubric for evaluating economic impact studies, we review a commissioned pro forma model that claims to demonstrate net positive fiscal impacts of two prominent publicly-financed stadium-anchored developments. Using assumptions informed by existing research and established discipline standards, the model estimates substantial negative returns for both projects (−$40 to −$60 million in Worcester, Massachusetts and −$100 to −$200 million in Cobb County, Georgia). We find that the reported fiscal surpluses derive from chosen assumptions and not the stadiums’ complementary developments. We conclude that pro forma estimates do not provide credible forecasts of fiscal impacts, and ancillary developments do not improve the fiscal returns of stadium projects.

Cobb County Public Library Garden

Cobb County Public Library Garden

Georgia Library Spotlight: Cobb County Public Library's Georgia Room

Georgia Library Spotlight: Cobb County Public Library's Georgia Room

Sports stadiums and local economic activity: Evidence from sales tax collections

ABSTRACT Though most studies find that sports stadiums are not strong drivers of economic activity in metropolitan areas, localized development effects may be sufficient to justify public subsidies for a host municipality if circumstances are favorable. This analysis examines the economic ramifications of an intra-metropolitan area relocation of Atlanta’s professional baseball team from a traditional standalone downtown stadium to a new stadium-anchored mixed-use development in suburban Cobb County. Using the synthetic control method, the study employs metro-Atlanta counties to construct a counterfactual outcome for estimating changes in sales tax revenue after the ballpark opened. The findings indicate a net increase in taxable sales in the county; however, the magnitude of the effect is small and not statistically significant. Though net new spending is evident, approximately one-third of the project’s sales appear to derive from crowding out other local economic activity. In total, added tax collections fall well short of covering the public subsidies provided by Cobb. The stadium’s limited economic impact, despite its favorable location and ancillary mixed-use development, further supports past findings that sports venues are poor investments as economic development projects.

Does hosting a professional sports team benefit the local community? Evidence from property assessments

Local governments often justify subsidizing sports stadiums as economic development projects that have positive returns on investment. If this is true, economic and quality-of-life spillovers that are capitalized in local property values ought to generate additional tax revenue for host municipalities through increased property assessments. This analysis uses the synthetic control method to estimate the effect of a new publicly-funded professional baseball stadium and team relocation on property assessments in Cobb County, Georgia. Cobb assessment values did not increase relative to other metro-Atlanta counties following the stadiums’ announcement or opening, which is inconsistent with the stadium having a positive fiscal impact, even with its desirable location and accompanying mixed-used development. The findings are consistent with past economic studies and are likely generalizable to other stadium projects.

The impact of sports stadiums on localized commercial activity: Evidence from a Business Improvement District

AbstractThis analysis exploits the relocation of a professional baseball team from downtown Atlanta to a pre‐existing Community Improvement District (CID) in suburban Cobb County to estimate the impact of the stadium development on commercial property values. The existence of multiple CIDs in the metro‐Atlanta area provides the opportunity to estimate a counterfactual comparison absent the stadium to draw causal inference regarding the stadium's impact on economic activity using the synthetic control method. Estimates do not identify increased commercial property values from the stadium development, which is consistent with past studies that find little to no positive impact on economic activity.

Sports Stadiums and Local Economic Activity: Evidence from Cobb County, Georgia

Though most studies find that sports stadiums are not strong drivers of economic activity in metropolitan areas, localized development effects may be sufficient to justify public subsidies for a host municipality if circumstances are favorable. This analysis examines the economic ramifications of an intra-metropolitan area relocation of Atlanta’s professional baseball team from a traditional standalone downtown stadium to a new stadium-anchored mixed-use development in suburban Cobb County. Using the synthetic control method, the study employs metro-Atlanta counties to construct a counterfactual outcome for estimating changes in sales tax revenue after the ballpark opened. The findings indicate a net increase in taxable sales in the county; however, the magnitude of the effect is small and not statistically significant. Though net new spending is evident, approximately one-third of the project’s sales appear to derive from crowding out other local economic activity. In total, added tax collections fall well short of covering the public subsidies provided by Cobb. The stadium’s limited economic impact, despite its favorable location and ancillary mixed-use development, further supports past findings that sports venues are poor investments as economic development projects.

Does hosting a professional sports team benefit the local community? Evidence from property values

Local governments often justify subsidizing sports stadiums as economic development projects that have positive returns on investment. If this is true, economic and quality-of-life spillovers that are capitalized in local property values ought to generate additional tax revenue for host municipalities through increased property assessments. This analysis uses the synthetic control method to estimate the effect of a new publicly-funded professional baseball stadium and team relocation on property assessments in Cobb County, Georgia. Cobb assessment values did not increase relative to other metro-Atlanta counties following the stadiums' announcement or opening, which is inconsistent with the stadium having a positive fiscal impact, even with its desirable location and accompanying mixed-used development. The findings are consistent with past economic studies and are likely generalizable to other stadium projects.

WITHDRAWN: Voter intentions and political implications of legislated stadium subsidies

ABSTRACT In the US, decisions to allocate public funding toward professional sports facilities are usually made not by voters via referendum or initiative, but rather by their elected representatives. We examine the attitudes of residents in a region affected by a no-vote stadium subsidy to determine whether policymaking is congruent with public will and to consider the political impact of residents’ support of or opposition to the stadium subsidy. Using survey data from 369 registered voters in Cobb County, Georgia, we found the average voter would have approved of publicly funding a new ballpark, but felt that voters should have had the opportunity to vote via referendum. Additionally, we identified factors contributing to voters’ support of the financing plan, perceptions of support by other residents, and intentions to vote in future elections. Finally, we identify prospective impacts of plan support on voter behaviour in subsequent elections that could have political implications for legislated stadium subsidies.

The Impact of Sports Stadiums on Localized Commercial Activity: Evidence from a Business Improvement District

Local government funding of sports stadiums is frequently justified as stimulating economic activity despite consensus contrary findings in the academic literature. Though some studies have identified positive neighborhood effects from stadiums on nearby residential property, scant research exists regarding impacts on highly-localized commercial activity that is hypothesized to spur further local economic development. This analysis exploits the recent relocation of a professional baseball team from downtown Atlanta to a pre-existing Georgia Business Improvement District (Community Improvement District or CID) in suburban Cobb County to estimate the impact of the stadium development on commercial property values. The existence of multiple CIDs in the metro-Atlanta area provides the opportunity to estimate a counterfactual comparison absent the stadium to draw causal inference regarding the stadium’s impact on economic activity using the synthetic control method. Estimates do not identify increased commercial property values in the district following the stadium opening, which is consistent with past studies that find little to no positive impact on economic activity. The results indicate that previous findings of positive impacts on residential property may not be applicable to commercial property.

Georgia Community Expands Disinfection Safety

Committed to provide sustainable, reliable drinking water while ensuring public health and safety in the region, Cobb County, Ga., has found a practical solution with on‐site sodium hypochlorite generation.

Activism Preserved: The Records of the Cobb County NAACP at the Kennesaw State University Archives

Activism Preserved: The Records of the Cobb County NAACP at the Kennesaw State University Archives

‘Seesaw’ Between School and Home

‘Seesaw’ Between School and Home

Georgia Library Spotlight - Cobb County Public Library System's Falls Prevention Awareness Initiative

Georgia Library Spotlight - Cobb County Public Library System's Falls Prevention Awareness Initiative

No Cents in Doing It Again: the Importance of Disclosing Insurance Coverage at Discovery

HENRY Ellis, the state of Georgia's second royal governor, is the attributed author of the famous admonition that one should not make a mountain of a mole-hill. (1) The phrase offers a tenable explanation for the Supreme Court of Georgia's recent ruling in Ford Motor Co. v. Conley, (2) where the court attempted to convince subsequent interpreters of its opinion that [their] decision... should be not be read as breaking any new ground, but rather as simply affirming... the application of settled rules of law to a set of facts that may well be peculiar to Ford's ill-considered discovery practice. (3) This is true in one respect, given the Conley decision reinforces a Georgia statute more than eighty years old; however, it cannot be denied that the court made a distinct and novel finding in this case. (4) The court's decision: (1) clarified the requirements for an extraordinary motion for new trial that is not based on newly discovered evidence; (2) developed a novel sliding-scale approach to interpret the veracity of discovery responses for the purpose of granting such motions; and (3) found that vague responses can be treated--in some circumstances--as equivalent to overtly false responses. Though not quite as old as Governor Ellis' storied idiom, the basis of the Conley case stems from a longstanding law in Georgia that allows plaintiffs to question the jury to discover any relationships that may exist between the jury and the defendant's insurer. (5) The plaintiff has a right to request this information from the defendant during discovery, (6) and because this information is discoverable, the defendant is expected to give good faith responses to such requests. (7) Courts strongly disfavor discovery responses that do not provide a party with a clear answer and are intended to manipulate the requesting party into prematurely stopping their inquiry. (8) In Conley, the Supreme Court recognized the vital impact of such discovery requests when it affirmed the plaintiffs extraordinary motion for new trial on the grounds that the plaintiff was intentionally misled by the defendant's response and was unduly prejudiced as a result. (9) The court recognized that extraordinary motions for new trial are not ordinary remedies. (10) However, it weighed this general aversion to extraordinary motions against the necessity of preserving an honest discovery process and, ultimately, chose to send a message to those who provide intentionally misleading responses that their misrepresentation will be revealed and the trial will be re-opened and re-tried as a result. (11) This article reviews Conley to demonstrate the risks that counsel may face should they choose to conceal the availability of insurance coverage. I. Factual Background In December 2007, Renee and Jordan Conley filed a product liability suit against Ford Motor Company in the State Court of Cobb County. (12) During discovery, the Conleys requested that Ford identify any insurance policies that would cover a possible judgment. Ford objected to the request claiming that it was overly broad and that it sought irrelevant evidence. (13) The company added qualifying language that gave the Conleys the impression Ford was self-insured. (14) The jury, as a result, was not qualified for any relationships with insurers. Trial commenced on November 9, 2009 and, ten days later on November 19, 2009, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Ford. The Conleys did not appeal. (15) Then on June 13, 2011, more than a year after the Conley's original action, the parents of Donald R. Young III filed a similar product liability action against Ford--in the same court and before the same judge as the Conley case. (16) During discovery in Ford Motor Co. v. Young, (17) the plaintiffs requested that Ford disclose any insurance policies that might cover a judgment against the company. Ford did not object to the request, as it did in the Conley case, but responded using language very similar to its response in Conley. …

Increasing Community Access to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: A Case Study of the Farm Fresh Market Pilot Program in Cobb County, Georgia, 2014.

BackgroundEcological models of health suggest that to effectively prevent chronic disease, community food environments must support healthy eating behaviors. However, disparities in access to healthy foods persist in the United States.Community ContextThe Farm Fresh Market (FFM) was a fruit and vegetable market that sold low-cost fresh produce in Cobb County, Georgia in 2014.MethodsThis case study describes the development of the FFM through a community engagement process and presents evaluation results from the project’s pilot implementation. Community engagement strategies included forming a community advisory board, conducting a needs assessment, and contracting with a community-based organization to implement the FFM. OutcomeIn the pilot year, the FFM served an average of 28.7 customers and generated an average of $140.20 in produce sales per market day. Most returning customers lived in the local community and reported a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. Most returning customers strongly agreed that the FFM made it easier (69.0%) and less expensive (79.0%) for them to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, reported that they ate more vegetables (65.0%) and fruit (55.0%) as a result of the FFM, and reported that they were very satisfied with the FFM overall (92.0%).InterpretationResults from this community case study underscore the importance of engaging communities in the development of community food environment interventions. Results also suggest that the FFM initiative was a feasible and acceptable way to respond to the community-identified public health priority of increasing access to healthy foods.

Seasonal Specialization and Selectivity of the Eastern Mosquitofish,Gambusia holbrooki, Toward Planktonic Prey

Abstract Gambusia holbrooki (Eastern Mosquitofish) are often characterized as opportunistic surface feeders. We examined seasonal shifts in prey use, feeding specialization, and prey electivity to determine whether a feeding bias existed toward small planktonic prey. We sampled invertebrates (from the water column and from near plant surfaces) and Eastern Mosquitofish over 4 seasons in a wetland (Cobb County, GA). Gut analysis indicated seasonal shifts from large to small prey, particularly toward cladocerans, even when larger prey remained abundant. Small planktonic prey were consumed by all sizes of Eastern Mosquitofish. Electivities for cladocerans tended to be positive, whereas electivities for other prey, and especially copepods, were negative. Prey that would be expected to aggregate at the air—water interface were consumed in much greater proportions than those sampled elsewhere in the environment, suggesting that Eastern Mosquitofish are able to consume cladocerans caught in the surface tension.

Evaluation Results of an Innovative Pilot Program to Increase Access to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in Cobb County, GA

Evaluation Results of an Innovative Pilot Program to Increase Access to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in Cobb County, GA

Nonparametric Evaluation of Adaptive Traffic Signal Control System Based on Reliability Measures

Adaptive traffic control systems often require additional sensors and more advanced computing technologies than time-of-day control, resulting in a more costly system installation. A more comprehensive evaluation than traditionally undertaken is needed to justify these increased costs. Conventional measures to evaluate traffic signal control have been average measures, such as average speed, travel time, delay, etc. Depending on the selected measures, the evaluation results may favor different systems. Thus, to address the need for a more comprehensive evaluation, this study explores measures that aim to quantify travel time reliability. From the transportation system perspective, reliability is commonly defined according to the level of travel time variation or the probability that travelers will arrive at their destination within a given time. To quantify this, reliability measures are often closely associated with the width of travel time distribution, or 95th percentile travel time, implying that estimating a reliability measure with a reasonable accuracy requires more data than estimating an average measure. The evaluation of traffic signal control on arterials has typically relied on test vehicle data in which the sample size is limited in most applications. Given the above background, the main objective is to provide a method to evaluate the effect of an adaptive traffic signal control system using reliability measures based on test vehicle data. The method is presented using the data collected in the SCATS pilot study in Cobb County GA, U.S. To achieve the objective, existing travel time reliability measures were reviewed, and appropriate measures are selected for the evaluation. To overcome the sample size limitation, a bootstrap sampling technique to estimate the confidence interval of a reliability measure was adopted to compare the control performance before and after the new system was adopted. The comparison results showed that in selected time period-route combinations, SCATS performed better than the before system, but the overall performance is comparable each other. Also it was found that traffic control system performance evaluation may lead to different results depending on the measure selection.

Georgia Library Spotlight - Cobb County Public Library System

Georgia Library Spotlight - Cobb County Public Library System