Economists At Odds Over Impact Of Proposed NFL Stadium On Jobs, Spending
CARSON (CBSLA.com) — Will a proposed return of at least one NFL team to Southern California bring home new jobs and pump millions of dollars into the local economy?
KNX 1070's Jon Baird reports an economic study funded by the Chargers and Raiders is making bold predictions about an economic windfall to the Carson area.
The study released this week (PDF) by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation found the construction of a new NFL stadium could result in $2.6 billion in total output, $1.1 billion in local labor income and the creation of over 16,000 annual jobs.
If two NFL teams end up occupying the stadium, more than 13,000 new jobs could be created by the proposed stadium's annual operations, with a potential for nearly $900 million in total economic output, an infusion of more than $520 million to the regional gross domestic product (GDP), and nearly $60 million in new state and local taxes revenues, according to analysts.
The Raiders and Chargers are planning a shared stadium in Carson, which is located about 13 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, if both teams fail to get new stadiums in their current hometowns.
Despite the upbeat predictions, however, Andrew Zimbalist, a professor of sports economics at Smith College, said it's still not clear how widespread the impact would actually be.
"The city of Carson will have some tax benefits, and they'll probably have some other benefits," Zimbalist said. "That's different than saying that the surrounding area, or certainly the larger metropolitan statistical area of Los Angeles, will benefit."
While most football fans are eager to welcome whoever ends up making their home in the Southland, some Carson residents still have mixed feelings about it.
"Carson is building up too fast," said one woman.
Both the Raiders and Chargers are hoping to get full approval on the stadium by the end of May.
