Looks like the N&R has banished Ed Hardin’s column to the e-edition. I’ll let you, dear readers, decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
At any rate, Hardin weighs in on declining attendance at New Bridge Bank Park, Greensboro’s downtown minor league baseball stadium. I watched the Hoppers get slapped around by the Savannah Sand Gnats last night before a very sparse crowd. Surely tonight’s home finale —–also a Thirsty Thursday —– will draw crowd.
I couldn’t help but notice that the N&R lets out one last cheer before the season wraps:
Even in the best of times, many experts dismiss sports stadiums as drivers of development. “Scholarly evidence would dispute the claim that professional sports contribute much to local economies at the minor league or major league level,” concludes a Brookings Institution study, “Sports, Jobs &Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums.”
Generally speaking, that assessment is probably right.
But it’s harder to quantify inspiration. Developers, including the builder of the Center Pointe tower, Roy Carroll, have cited the ballpark’s presence as a reason they invested in major downtown projects. The notion for the stalled Bellemeade Village development on the old North State Chevrolet site also was sparked by the construction of the stadium.
Meanwhile, the Winston-Salem Dash averages 4500 per game for a season total of just under 300,000 in their new taxpayer-financed downtown stadium.
