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Economist: LA Jobs Boost From NFL Stadium All Hype

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Football fans are abuzz about how soon the NFL could be coming back to town, but when it comes to the economic benefits of a new downtown stadium, taxpayers may not like the final score.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other city officials say one of the key benefits of the AEG plan to build a 64,000-seat stadium near the Staples Center is the estimated 20,000 jobs that the building and operation of the stadium would bring.

But as KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports, one expert on sports franchises and their impact on local economies says the data from the past 30 years tells a different story.

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Brad Humphries, a professor of Economics at the University of Alberta, says about the only positive spin-offs in the economic realm will come to the team and the players, with the city seeing primarily a feel-good benefit — at best.

However, Humphries warns that in the long run, taxpayers could possibly get stuck with the bill for part of the stadiums construction and operation.


(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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