Investigative Journalist Kevin Foster discusses the bad economics of public investments in sports and how billionaires will try to rob your city

Sources:
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https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/keyarena-turns-a-bigger-profit-than-it-ever-did-with-the-sonics/
https://journalistsresource.org/economics/sports-stadium-public-financing/
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https://multnomah.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7145153/2026/03/25/nba-expansion-seattle-las-vegas/

Investigative Journalist Kevin Foster discusses the bad economics of public investments in sports and how billionaires will try to rob your city
Sources:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/thomas-dundon/">https://www.forbes.com/profile/thomas-dundon/</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-nbas-newest-cheapest-owner-shows-how-billionaires-ruin-sports">https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-nbas-newest-cheapest-owner-shows-how-billionaires-ruin-sports</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/03/tom-dundon-blazers-subprime-loan/">https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/03/tom-dundon-blazers-subprime-loan/</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/dealbook.nytimes.com/2015/01/26/investment-riches-built-on-auto-loans-to-poor/#:~:text=Ms.,the%20loan%20with%20her%20daughter">https://archive.nytimes.com/dealbook.nytimes.com/2015/01/26/investment-riches-built-on-auto-loans-to-poor/#:~:text=Ms.,the%20loan%20with%20her%20daughter</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/UD8erzI72Fg?si=o3NMpXcG38_qWUQq&amp;t=13494">https://www.youtube.com/live/UD8erzI72Fg</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/shadow-bank-blue-owl-caps-021700097.html">https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/shadow-bank-blue-owl-caps-021700097.html</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://wealth.blueowl.com/solutions/investment-strategy-real-assets-digital-infrastructure">https://wealth.blueowl.com/solutions/investment-strategy-real-assets-digital-infrastructure</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-04/blue-owl-fund-sells-warehouse-to-dhs-for-ice-mega-jail">https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-04/blue-owl-fund-sells-warehouse-to-dhs-for-ice-mega-jail</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://youtu.be/3BqOjrFFNK0">https://youtu.be/3BqOjrFFNK0</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.14.3.95">https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.14.3.95</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecin.12572">https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecin.12572</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://belkcollegeofbusiness.charlotte.edu/economic-working-papers/wp-content/uploads/sites/850/2012/10/wp2016-014.pdf">https://belkcollegeofbusiness.charlotte.edu/economic-working-papers/wp-content/uploads/sites/850/2012/10/wp2016-014.pdf</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounders/economics-hosting-olympic-games">https://www.cfr.org/backgrounders/economics-hosting-olympic-games</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24131508_Mega-Events_The_effect_of_the_world's_biggest_sporting_events_on_local_regional_and_national_economies">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24131508_Mega-Events_The_effect_of_the_world's_biggest_sporting_events_on_local_regional_and_national_economies</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://econjwatch.org/file_download/222/2008-09-coateshumphreys-com.pdf">https://econjwatch.org/file_download/222/2008-09-coateshumphreys-com.pdf</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://econjwatch.org/file_download/222/2008-09-coateshumphreys-com.pdf">https://econjwatch.org/file_download/222/2008-09-coateshumphreys-com.pdf</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://media.clemson.edu/economics/data/sports/Stadiums%20and%20Econ%20Impact/Matheson-2019-Journal_of_Policy_Analysis_and_Management.pdf">https://media.clemson.edu/economics/data/sports/Stadiums%20and%20Econ%20Impact/Matheson-2019-Journal_of_Policy_Analysis_and_Management.pdf</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.blazersedge.com/trail-blazers-analysis/114957/portland-moda-center-portland-trail-blazers-arena-revenue-debate-sports-teams-city-revenue-taxes-deal">https://www.blazersedge.com/trail-blazers-analysis/114957/portland-moda-center-portland-trail-blazers-arena-revenue-debate-sports-teams-city-revenue-taxes-deal</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.kjzz.org/business/2026-05-10/diversification-matters-glendale-says-desert-diamond-arena-is-thriving-post-hockey">https://www.kjzz.org/business/2026-05-10/diversification-matters-glendale-says-desert-diamond-arena-is-thriving-post-hockey</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/oakland-arena-coliseum-record-best-fiscal-year-of-all-time-after-sold-out-bad-bunny-k-pop-concerts/">https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/oakland-arena-coliseum-record-best-fiscal-year-of-all-time-after-sold-out-bad-bunny-k-pop-concerts/</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://oaklandside.org/2026/06/16/how-hot-is-the-oakland-arena-a-second-bidder-has-emerged-to-buy-it/">https://oaklandside.org/2026/06/16/how-hot-is-the-oakland-arena-a-second-bidder-has-emerged-to-buy-it/</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/keyarena-turns-a-bigger-profit-than-it-ever-did-with-the-sonics/">https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/keyarena-turns-a-bigger-profit-than-it-ever-did-with-the-sonics/</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/sports-stadium-public-financing/">https://journalistsresource.org/economics/sports-stadium-public-financing/</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/07/03/smith-entertainment-group-estimates-spending-525-million-remodeling-delta-center/">https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/07/03/smith-entertainment-group-estimates-spending-525-million-remodeling-delta-center/</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/20/trail-blazers-moda-center-portland-basketball-sports/">https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/20/trail-blazers-moda-center-portland-basketball-sports/</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ripcitynotripoff.com">https://www.ripcitynotripoff.com</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://weareripcity.org/#supporters">https://weareripcity.org/#supporters</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2026/07/16/portland-councilors-release-draft-term-sheet-as-business-coalition-presses-for-public-moda-center-funding/">https://www.opb.org/article/2026/07/16/portland-councilors-release-draft-term-sheet-as-business-coalition-presses-for-public-moda-center-funding/</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://multnomah.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3">https://multnomah.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7145153/2026/03/25/nba-expansion-seattle-las-vegas/">https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7145153/2026/03/25/nba-expansion-seattle-las-vegas/</a></li>
</ul>

It Could Happen Here started as an exploration of the possibility of a new civil war. Now a daily show, it's evolved into a chronicle of collapse as it happens, and an exploration of how we might build a better future. Every day Robert Evans, Garrison Davis, Mia Wong, and James Stout take you on a jaunty walk through the burning ruins of the old world and towards a better one that lays just on the horizon.

It Could Happen Here started as an exploration of the possibility of a new civil war. Now a daily show, it's evolved into a chronicle of collapse as it happens, and an exploration of how we might build a better future. Every day Robert Evans, Garrison Davis, Mia Wong, and James Stout take you on a jaunty walk through the burning ruins of the old world and towards a better one that lays just on the horizon.

It Could Happen Here

How to Rob a City: NBA Billionaire Edition

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d5dac8c6-5916-487f-81cc-b4ae0024b1b4/transcript