‘Hogwash: Why the Washington Redskins aren’t worth $10 million to Richmond’
Style Weekly
In an article in Style Weekly, Victor Matheson, associate professor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross, commented on the financial impact of the NFL’s Washington Redskins’ new summer training camp facility located in Richmond, Virginia.
While the cost of these new facility totals $10 million, city and team officials claim the Redskins’ training camp will draw an estimated number of 100,000 tourists to Richmond, leading to a profit of $8.5 million per year. However, as Matheson suggests, the numbers don’t quite add up.
“Even if it is 100,000 people, the chances of it being [a] significant economic impact is pretty low,” he said, explaining that the number of fans who visit training camp will most likely not be from out of town, meaning Richmond will not actually turn a profit.
“If you are really getting 40,000 new people to stay in hotels overnight, then this really is an economic generator,” Matheson continued. “But you should always take such claims with a grain of salt.”
This ‘Holy Cross in the News Item’ by David Cotrone ’13.