Stadium spending zooms to new record

Since 2012, inflation-adjusted spending on sports stadiums and arenas has shot up 80 percent, according to an August 31 study by the Economics Group of Wells Fargo Securities.

In June, the inflation-adjusted value of stadium construction on a yearly basis reached an all-time high of $10 billion, says Wells Fargo. The National Football League (NFL) is leading this spending spree, despite all the media attention given players' debilitating head injuries.

This boom comes as gate revenue is slowing down. Ticket sales were growing at 3 percent a year in 2013 but by 2016 were only growing at 1 percent annually. Wells Fargo expects that trend to continue. NFL attendance actually dropped 2.7 percent last year compared with 2015.

However, revenue for North American sports has been growing steadily at 5 to 6 percent through last year. More than half that growth comes from media rights, or fees paid to show games on TV, radio, the internet, and mobile devices.

"For the NFL, the $450 million two-year CBS and NBC Thursday Night Football deal and the $50 million Amazon agreement with the NFL to stream ten Thursday night games this year are examples," says Wells Fargo. NFL teams received $244.4 million in media revenue last year, up from $222.6 million the year before. Still, Wells Fargo thinks the media-related growth will slow down.