The controversy over whether taxpayers in the region should provide funding for the arenas, stadiums and ballparks for Pittsburgh’s professional teams was played out in the 1990s, but a West Virginia University professor is revisiting the controversial topic in a speech at Saint Vincent College near Latrobe.

WVU economics professor Brad Humphreys will present “Crony Capitalism and the Subsidization of Professional Sports Facilities” at 7 p.m., Nov. 12, in the Fred Rogers Center on the Saint Vincent campus. Humphreys, who has a doctorate in economics, has conducted research on the economics and financing of professional sports and the economics of gambling. Humphreys serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Sports Economics.

The issue is relevant in Western Pennsylvania, where voters in 11 counties rejected referendums in November 1997 to raise taxes to build a new ballpark for the Pittsburgh Pirates and a stadium for the Pittsburgh Steelers to replace Three Rivers Stadium, which opened in 1970. A funding plan was later developed to build the two sports facilities by using a development tax that was in place, without the need for voter approval.

The college’s Center for Political and Economic Thought is hosting the free presentation, which is open to the public.

For more information, contact Mary Beth McConahey at marybeth.mcconahey@stvincent.edu.

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