DENVER — The City of Denver is moving forward with plans to build a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) stadium, investing $70 million upfront to get the ball rolling. Is it worth the cost to taxpayers?
Denver7 is getting answers about whether the project will deliver the benefits the city promises.
The City of Denver wants to help the Denver NWSL ownership group build a new stadium at the Santa Fe Yards at Interstate 25 and Broadway. The city will invest $70 million to get the project started.
“The $70 million will be going toward a couple of things,” explained Jon Ewing, a spokesperson with the Denver mayor’s office. "It'll be going to purchasing the land that we will own in perpetuity if it is no longer used as a soccer stadium. It will also be going to infrastructure improvements around the area."
The ownership group will spend $150 million to $200 million to finish the project. The group has indicated it may pursue tax breaks to recoup some of those costs.
The city released its preliminary economic impact report, which says the new stadium will provide a $2.2 billion economic boost along with up to 1,100 new jobs.
"This is an investment in jobs in the city. This is an investment in the South Broadway community. This is an investment in those restaurants and neighborhoods that could use those dollars,” said Ewing.
- Read the full economic impact report below
However, not everyone is convinced by the city's report.
“A lot of assumptions went into creating that $2.2 billion estimate,” said Geoffrey Propheter, a sports facility economist at the University of Colorado Denver. “If we change one assumption, does all of a sudden that $2.2 billion turn into $100 million? Or if we change one assumption, does it balloon to $10 billion?”
Propheter told Denver7 the city’s report counts all of the money spent on the project, including construction and the city’s $70 million investment, as if it were new money coming into the city. He also said the report doesn't consider that many people would spend the same money on something else if the stadium were never built.
Propheter said it’s the same story with jobs.
"A lot of those people would have had a job anyway. They would have been earning income anyways,” said Propheter.
Economists around the country say sports facilities often don’t provide the economic benefits that local leaders claim they will. They say many cities figure this out when it’s too late.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston dismissed those concerns when Denver7 brought them to his attention last week.
"I'd say those economists should probably be unemployed,” the mayor said.
Johnston said the investment in the soccer stadium will spur economic growth and help the city weather tough economic times. Denver is facing a projected $250 million budget deficit over the next two years and has announced a hiring freeze and furloughs.
“One of the things you have to do to get out of tough economic times is to invest,” said Ewing.
The $70 million for the stadium would not come from the general fund, which is the city's main operating fund. Instead, it would come from the capital fund.
Money from the capital fund can't be used to help the city balance its budget. However, capital fund dollars can be used to pay for other projects besides the soccer stadium.
"It could, for example, it could go toward a road project," Ewing acknowledged. "That wouldn't create long term jobs in the same way that a soccer stadium would."
Propheter said it's not surprising the city would overstate the benefits of the project.
“Your goal as a supporter of a policy is to make the benefits look great and the costs look low,” said Propheter. "The mayor has an incentive to exaggerate the benefits, positively exaggerate the benefits, and understate the costs."
Related stories:
- Denver's NWSL team unveils plans for 14,500-seat stadium at Santa Fe Yards
- Cherry Creek Board of Edu. approves plan to help build temporary Denver stadium, soccer fields for NWSL team
- Denver NWSL shatters franchise history by selling 10,000 season ticket deposits
- Denver City Council members voice doubt about potential $70 million investment into NWSL stadium
- Denver city leaders tour proposed NWSL stadium site as city considers $70 million investment
- South Broadway businesses advocate for new NWSL stadium as Denver City Council considers investing
- Colorado Olympian Mikaela Shiffrin joins Denver NWSL team's ownership group
- Denver City Council approves 'generational investment' into NWSL stadium, Park Hill
Ewing said economists may be right when it comes to stadiums that are built in the middle of nowhere. However, the NWSL stadium will be constructed in the middle of a major city, where nearby businesses already exist.
“If you build a stadium in a cornfield, you've got a stadium in a cornfield,” said Ewing. “If you build a stadium in a place that already has business, that already has that connectivity, where everyone in Denver already knows how to get to it and probably goes by it on their daily commute, then you're going to see those dollars generate in a different way than you would if you built it out in Timbuktu.”
Ewing said the city believes the project will have a similar impact to that of Coors Field on downtown.
“LoDo needed that engine. Lodo needed something that would draw people there,” said Ewing, adding that people are still visiting the area, even if the Colorado Rockies are having a historically bad season. “There are still a lot of fans in the stands. There’s still a ton of activity in LoDo."
Ewing said that's why the city believes this field of dreams will live up to its promise.
