More than a decade after "serious discussions about building a new stadium first commenced, the finishing touches are being put on" Perth Stadium, and reviews from those who have seen the facility "are glowing," according to Jacob Kagi of the ABC. But at a time when the Western Australia government's finances "are severely stretched, the 60,000-seat stadium has not come cheap for the state's taxpayers." The project "is one of the most expensive ever built in WA," with the total cost of the stadium and required transport infrastructure around A$1.6B ($1.2B). For perspective, that equates to roughly A$1,500 ($1,152) per West Australian household or A$600 ($461) per resident. The construction period came in an era of "mounting state debt and significant tax hikes, prompting some to question whether building such an expensive stadium was the right decision." Headlines talking up the project have given it labels such as an "economic game-changer" or "job bonanza." But some experts said that punters should be skeptical of claims that building sports stadiums "will deliver a significant economic boost." University of South Australia senior economics lecturer John Wilson said, "All of that, at the margins, is true but the actual effects aren't large." The Sports & Urban Policy Initiative (SUPI) at Georgia State University in the U.S. has examined "scores of publicly-funded stadiums and reached similar conclusions" to Wilson's. SUPI Dir Tim Kellison said, "There's a really long and reliable history of academic literature that suggests that public investments in major sports stadiums do not result in net positive economic benefits for cities or regions." But even those who criticize many government-funded stadium projects "admit there are benefits beyond raw economic impact, such as the boost to civic pride and public morale." Wilson: "They do give feel-good effects to the population and maybe that's the best reason to build them" (ABC, 10/28).
