The Effects of Pro Sports Teams Movements On Real Estate Prices

[Russell Brazil]

Here is a topic that would not come up that often, as it is something that is rare that happens. What do you see to prices in and around pro sports arenas as teams move into or out of a market.  We see with multiple NFL teams looking to leave their current cities, could we see a significant drop in prices near such arenas in San Diego, St Louis etc.?

In my local market of DC we have seen recently a sports team move here and build a new stadium (Montreal Expos becoming the Washington Nationals). This sparked in the neighborhood where they built the stadium a bunch of gentrification and run up in prices in that general vicinity.  Similarly, prior to that the building of the Verizon Center where the Washington Wizards play sparked gentrification of the Chinatown neighborhood in DC.

Also has anyone had any luck in buying ahead of such change? I tried to buy a property near the Nationals stadium before they were there and my wife vetoed it, sigh. 

[Max Householder]

Speaking to St. Louis specifically, a new stadium may affect prices in at least one area. The land immediately north of the current stadium (and proposed stadium site across the street) is basically a war zone with little value. The injection of taxpayer capital (ugh, don't get me started) into the riverfront could spur some gentrification to the north there if the initial investors were brave enough. The new Cardinals stadium ~10 years ago eventually beget Ballpark Village and some other investment immediately adjacent to it.

That said, not many people actually live downtown St. Louis so it's hard to see a downtown stadium affecting any SFR prices. Downtown commercial space would probably go up and maybe the owners of the few high rise apartments and lofts could raise rents. On the whole, the residential areas of St. Louis are quite detached from downtown so I can't see there being a big effect on prices because of a new stadium or conversely if the team leaves. At the end of the day you're talking about 8 Sundays per year. A baseball, basketball, hockey, or soccer stadium could be different though as there is a steadier level of activity associated with 40-80 games per year than just 8.