More on stadia: juicy info from Indianapolis

Indianapolis Colts stadium. Rendering from the City of Indianapolis.

Apparently, a new football stadium is a big issue in Indiana and Indianapolis specifically. In the article "Smaller NFL markets pay more for new stadiums" Matthew Tully of the Indianapolis Star reports that in larger markets, cities paid about 45% of the cost of a new stadium, but in smaller markets such as Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Denver, these cities paid more than 80% of the cost of new stadiums.

So, DC is one of the largest markets and one of the larger television markets. Granted this story looked at football, not baseball, but why 100% of the cost in DC?

Note that the article mentions that "smaller markets offer less of the revenue, from local TV and radio deals, suite sales and sponsorship agreements." That wouldn't have been the case with the Washington Nationals, if their rights to ownership of television broadcast rights hadn't been given on a silver platter to the Baltimore Orioles.

For more interesting stuff, check out the Field of Schemes website. In this item, "Boon to Bust in Indy," on the stadium in Indianapolis, more detailed analysis yields an increase in annual tax revenues of $1.2 million for the new stadium. Is that a decent return on a $687 million "investment?" Uhh, no.

For more information, check out the Indianapolis Star Citizen's Guide feature on the Colts Stadium, as well as this special report.