Arthur T. Johnson

Assessing the Value of Sports Facilities: The Importance of Noneconomic Factors

Capital projects have economic as well as social (i.e., noneconomic) outcomes. Therefore, one cannot evaluate such projects by focusing on economic data only. This article describes the first five years of a tennis facility, built with public funds in 1990-91 in New Haven, Connecticut, to host the Volvo International Tennis Tournament (VITT). In doing so, it explores the economic impact of the facility, discusses the shortcomings of economic impact studies, and defines appropriate criteria for evaluating the community value of sports facilities by calling attention to noneconomic factors such as political capital expended, potential for political conflict, and community pride and solidarity. The importance of a development logic to guide policy makers and to provide a framework for evaluation also is noted.

Employee Assistance Programs and the Troubled Employee in the Public Sector Workplace

This article provides an overview of public sector Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and identifies issues to which public sector managers should be sensitive EAPs can assist troubled employees and their supervisors and reduce health care costs related to the behavior of troubled employees and their families The continued escalation of health care costs will motivate many employers to turn to EAPs as part of their health care cost containment efforts However, there are many barriers to EAP effectiveness, and measuring EAP success is difficult To he effective, public sector EAP administra tors must be sensitive to the unique characteristics of the public sector workplace and the changing nature of the government workforce, and must have access to the or gani zations personnel system

Local Government, Minor League Baseball, and Economic Development Strategies

Policy debates over the investment of public funds in sports stadiums are dominated by a concern for the economic impact of local sports teams. Local officials in communities with minor league teams have little research on which to base their policy decisions and often assume that economic benefits similar to those received by cities with major league teams will accrue to them if a minor league stadium is built. The article finds that a minor league teams economic impact is insignificant relative to a communitys total economy. However, if a development logic is used in planning a stadium project the facility can help achieve such outcome goals as downtown revitalization, new development, enhancement of community image, and recreational infrastructure improvement. Examples of the successful use of minor league stadiums to achieve these goals are presented. Outcome goals such as these, rather than debate over a teams economic impact should shape policy decisions.

Book Reviews : This Great Symbol by John J. MacAloon. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1981. 359 pp. Hardcover,

playing to the game; and the necessity for a major re-structuring of the game. Beginning with a characterization of hockey as &dquo;magic with grace, speed, and rhythm&dquo; which requires technical excellence at such a level that play is transformed intowork, Vaz suggests that each young hockey player becomes a mirror image of the National Hockey League &dquo;star’; aggressive, fearless. physily intimidating, and apparently &dquo;digging&dquo; pain. In a revealing series of interviews on fundamentals, Vaz brings out the dual nature of hockey education. At an elementary level, skating and basic skills are emphasized to be followed by an intensified technical instruction including position related skills, positional hockey, and team strategies. Simultaneously, role obligations are detailed by both players and coaches which emphasize the importance of hitting and the need to endure physical punishment. Playingwhile injured gradually becomes a taken-for-granted perspective of the boy. Commitment to the sport varies widely but is highest among boys who desire to play at the professional level. As youths move to more competitive levels they are further socialized. Sportmanship recedes in importance while winning becomes such an imperative that only‘losers’ end up in second place. To insure that matters do not get totally out of hand, a formal system of controls in the form of officials, rules, and sanctions operates side-by-side with

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The urban politics literature, excepting referenda studies, has ignored local electoral behavior as an indicator of citizen response to local policy decisions. The article examines the possibility that neighborhood improvement projects may result in negative voter feedback if such projects are causing disruption at the time of an election. Public construc tion and voting data were collected for a mayoralty election in a major midwestern city and aggregated at the precinct level. Analysis of the data suggests that local officials must be conscious of the potential costs, as well as benefits, of public works projects if they expect to reap electoral rewards for their efforts.