In the modern, business-driven sports world, the stadium is the epicenter of the action. A good-looking, well-located, new stadium will draw the interest of the fans, as well as multiple high-grossing neutral-site games to a city, causing nearly every team to attempt to recreate Dallas' state-of-the-art AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The palace known as "Jerry World," for well-recognized owner Jerry Jones, set the mold for the modern era of stadiums: an all-out entertainment complex, denoted by many other businesses and distractions outside of just the game, retractable glass roofs to get the best of both a dome and outdoor stadium, and billion-dollar price tags. That's the sports world we live in now, and the reality is that some cities simply don't have the capital to pour $500 million or more into these projects, creating the modern-day stadium battle; that even with a rabid fanbase that shows up every week, if the stadium isn't world-class, the team is not afraid to leave.
Take San Diego for example. The Chargers played in America's Finest City for 56 years, establishing themselves as the city's most popular sports team, but when push came to shove, a measure to get public money to save the team flopped on Election Day, sending a very clear message: we want you here, but we will not sacrifice mass sums of public money for you to build your dream house. San Diego made it very clear that private investment was the only way to get a deal done, and team owner, Dean Spanos, simply didn't have the income to build it, so he became a tenant in billionaire Rams owner, Stan Kroenke's, privately-funded City of Champions Stadium in Inglewood, a suburb of Los Angeles. 56 years of history and support meant nothing, as San Diego lost their team. Numerous others are trying to do the exact same thing, leaving the option open to any city that will pony up enough public money to bring a major sport to their city.
The Oakland Raiders have been attempting the same thing. After failing time and time again to get a deal done in Northern California, the Raiders have looked to Los Angeles, San Antonio, and most recently, Las Vegas to get them their brand-new stadium. The overarching point that needs to be made is that cities are operating on an outdated system, begging for private financing that simply isn't there; billionaires aren't lining up to hand sports teams half of their net worth for a stadium that's lifespan is exponentially decreasing. None of the new stadiums constructed in Minneapolis, Santa Clara, Atlanta, Arlington, or Inglewood will be in use as long as their predecessors because teams constantly want newer, more flashy stadiums and will claim that these palaces of football are simply not good enough anymore.
As costs continue to rise and usage years continue to decline, this economic bubble continues to inflate, and there will come a time when it will burst. Teams will finally be forced to either keep playing in their stadium or settle for something more reasonable. However, even though this is the fault of the teams and especially the NFL (for never stopping teams from relocating and letting the carousel of moving teams carry on for years), part of the blame does fall on the cities. San Diegans who didn't vote or voted against Measure C have no right to cry about the Chargers leaving, as this is the way of the NFL now, and if citizens are not willing to sacrifice to keep their team, the league has proven that they will leave. Also, city leaders must become more receptive to stadium plans, as they are huge revenue boosters that draw the world's biggest events in entertainment to your city and fuel the local economy through tourism. To conclude, the stadium bubble is a huge problem that will persist in defining the modern professional sports world, a business that has proven that fans must show them the money or your team will hit the highway.
