Derrick Mason is smarter than many politicians, voters

NFL receiver Derrick Mason recently gave an interview to Kevin Van Valkenburg of The Baltimore Sun.  In one paragraph, he succinctly states the problem with putting false hope in sport franchises as engines of economic development.  If only city council members, state officials, and the general voting public would agree, we could reduce** "franchise free agency" and the amount of public money going toward private sport organizations. See the excerpt below, emphasis added by me. (HT: Dennis Coates at The Sports Economist).

Q: You're from Detroit. You were born there, grew up there, went to college at nearby Michigan State, and still have family there. Obviously Detroit is a city that's dealt with its share of problems in recent years. I've seen a lot of people in my profession write stories about how the success of a profession sports franchise can uplift a city, and inspire it's residents in difficult times. We saw it happen a ton when the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl last year, but those same stories were written when the Tigers made the playoffs, when the Pistons won an NBA title, and when Michigan State made the Final Four. What do you think about that?

A: I don't think there is any truth to it. When you're winning, honestly, people are excited. But it's not going to do any good for jobs. It's not going to bring General Motors, Chrysler and Ford back. If their team is winning, that just gives them something to enjoy on a Sunday. Or something to talk about. But as far as uplifting a city, I haven't seen it happen. Even in New Orleans. People said when the Saints won the Super Bowl it would regenerate the economy down there in the city. For a time being, it did help the city. But New Orleans is still in the same situation they're in now, just like a lot of other cities. Especially in this economy, a sports team is not going to lift up a city to where it's going to come out where it was. It will lift it up to a point, but once the season is over with, they're done. That uplifting is gone.

Thanks Derrick!  If people don't listen to economists, maybe they'll listen to football players. (sigh)

**I say "reduce" because "eliminate" is too strong.  Some money can go toward stadiums and teams, as they do have positive externalities for the community, but too often far too much is spent so that team owners don't have to spend as much of their own money.