A look at how sports affect a state’s economic situation

By: Bryan Lemus (Sports Editor and Social Media Manager)- 10/5/18

California has one of the largest economies in the world, and it continues to trend upwards with California’s economy being credited as  the fifth largest in the world, and a part of that is due to sports. The state has many cities with professional teams that bring in millions of dollars of tax revenue.

In Los Angeles alone there are 10 Major sports organizations. The NHL, NFL, NBA, MLS, and MLB  all have two teams based in Los Angeles. This year, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Dodgers are two teams expected to reach the postseason, and post season runs often lead to increased revenue for their cities.

Impressively, the Lakers snagged LeBron James during free agency this summer, putting the Lakers back in contention to win a title. According to a study conducted by legal document website FormSwift in February, James will likely have a positive economic impact on the food and drink industries in Los Angeles based on data from the previous cities he’s called home, including Cleveland and Miami, before and after he left.

The addition of a top-tier athlete will undeniably improve game attendance attracting more tourist and consumers to that marketplace. FormSwift used the economic forecasting model from a 2017 Harvard study, which found James had a “statistically and economically significant positive effect” on employment and restaurants within a mile of the stadium where he played.

“Specifically, his presence increased the number of restaurants within 1 mile of a stadium by about 12.8% and the number of eating and drinking establishments by about 13.7%,” according to Harvard Study. James’s presence also increased employment by 23.5% in the city’s district.

As more teams come into Southern California, the fastest job gains are going to be through 2020 and expected economic boost in the Inland Empire, followed by Orange County, Ventura County, and Los Angeles County. Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, and because NFL team the Rams approved plans to build a 4.963 billion dollar stadium called LA stadium and Entertainment district, Inglewood will see a tremendous influx of money. The new stadium is expected to open in 2020 and business will be improved because of all the new traffic and supply of customers brought about by the new stadium.

All that economic activity will improve Inglewood’s economy as a city all because of this new entertainment district. Inglewood then is an example of how sports can affect the economic bottom line for all of California.