Yup. They’re often based on very dubious economics; namely, that the money spent on tickets, food, drinks, etc. will not come at the expense of another local establishment. People don’t magically get more discretionary income just because a stadium is built.
Exactly. Most people who use areas and stadiums are local. As such they’re simply shifting money from one form of entertainment to another. I’ve gotten into shouting matches with people over who the Detroit Red Wings real competition is. It isn’t the Toronto Maple Leafs or Chicago Blackhawks, it’s the Detroit Pistons, locally shown movies and concerts. All of these things compete in metro Detroit for local people’s entertainment dollars. It’s the same in any other city, be it Milwaukee, New York or Kansas City.
There are very few staged events where a significant number of outsiders come and with them new money into a particular region. The Final Four, Super Bowl and a handful of college Bowl games are the only events that bring in outside fans and money. These occasional events, which might come to a city once every few years at the most, don’t make spending hundreds of millions on a stadium worthwhile.