A US trend of multi-use sports stadiums will expand

Significance

The convergence of the sports, media, entertainment and hospitality industries and the emergence of private equity multi-sport investors is driving unprecedented investment in multi-use sports infrastructure capable of generating revenue from multiple sources.

Impacts

• Multi-use venues will reverse the US trend since the 1990s of building stadiums in downtown areas to catalyse inner-city rejuvenation.
• Teams in cities that are already tourist destinations will benefit most from the development of multi-purpose stadiums.
• Redeveloping the antiquated stadiums of Italian football clubs is particularly appealing now to international investors.
• Other leagues may follow Spain's La Liga in shaping 'financial fair play' rules to enable investment in stadium infrastructure.