Professional Sports Facility Construction Projects and Infant Health

Building subsidized new professional sports facilities represents a common local economic development policy. Little research focuses on negative local impacts generated by these projects. Linking data on the exact timing and location of new sports facility construction projects to birth data, we find that facility construction projects generate negative local externalities. Infants born during construction have lower birth weights than infants born in comparable areas where no new facility opened. Prenatal health visits also declined. Disproportionate negative impacts occurred in vulnerable populations. Mechanisms identified include local airborne particulate matter and reduced provision of government services affecting prenatal health.