McTier, Alexander John (2019) Community stadia: A sustainable phenomenon? PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/75117/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/
[email protected] COMMUNITY STADIA: A SUSTAINABLE PHENOMENON? Alexander John McTier MA (Joint Hons), MSc. Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Adam Smith Business School College of Social Sciences University of Glasgow August 2019 i Abstract Influenced by urban entrepreneurial economic development policy, new professional sports stadia have been widely advanced as flagship developments that can generate jobs and wealth, support place branding and culture-led strategies, and host mega-events that collectively boost the economic competitiveness of their towns and cities. Public funding for stadia developments has been secured on these bases but also increasingly challenged as stadia costs are under-estimated and the benefits, particularly for lower income communities, exaggerated. Responding to these criticisms and with greater policy attention on establishing sustainable communities, the social and community benefits of new stadia developments have increasingly been promoted to secure and justify public investment.