2. There is a major difference between a manufacturing or IT-related business and a sports team. The Toyota Motor Manufacturing plant in San Antonio, for example, has almost 4,000 full-time employees. And that doesn't even include the thousands of people employed at other nearby businesses that wouldn't be there without Toyota. There isn't a professional sports team in North America that comes close to this when it comes to local economic impacts.
3. Of all the different types of sports venues you can consider, an NFL stadium has got to be the absolute worst when it comes to its value to a local economy. Even if it is home to a team that makes a deep run into the playoffs every year and hosts 30-40 other events every year not related to the NFL (concerts, soccer games, etc.), the place is going to be dark for more than 300 days of the year. Nobody is going to invest in a project across the street from that stadium under those circumstances.
A lot. They don’t tend to be as direct as they are with the stadiums. But they regularly use eminent domain to clear large tracts of land. Redo freeways to make large buildings there usable.
I’m not saying cities SHOULD do that for sports teams. I’m saying I don’t blame sports team owners for taking advantage of the situation. If I could get multiple cities bidding to build me a new house I’d do it. Not my fault their city councils are stupid.