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Chesapeake Energy Arena Case Study

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While many people disapprove of publicly financing sports facilities, Chesapeake Energy Arena is one scenario in which the construction of the stadium has time and time again proved to be a sound public investment. Since the Thunder relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City, the franchise is widely viewed as a major component of the city’s resurgence. The construction of Chesapeake Energy Arena was part of a large civic redevelopment that took more than 20 years to complete. Ballots tallied from a vote taken on December 14, 1993 passed with 54 percent (Moser, 2013).

Since it was originally passed in 1993, Oklahoma City’s Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) plan has been renewed twice by voters (Moser, 2013). The arena, which was financed with …show more content…

Additional improvements made to Chesapeake Energy Arena were completed in 2013 and were funded by a 15-month sales tax that that was approved by Oklahoma City voters (Moser, 2013).

The total economic impact the Oklahoma City Thunder had on the community during the shortened 2012-13 regular and post-season was estimated to be $54.3 million. In 2013, Oklahoma City officials estimated the Thunder’s economic impact to be $1.5 million per game. Destination Marketing Association International concluded that each local attendee who travels within the metro area spends approximately $65. However, each game attendee from outside the metro area spends roughly $216 (Lackmeyer, 2013).

While the Thunder’s economic impact figure appears impressive, the estimate is often criticized as being too conservative. Tom Anderson, special projects manager for Oklahoma City, stated that it does not include arena employment or any restaurant and hotel business due to home games. Also, the estimate fails to calculate the millions of dollars worth of positive promotion received from people on a national and international scale via television and print coverage (Lackmeyer,

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