The economies of many American cities have shown signs of recovery after the deindustrialization of the preceding two decades. Tourism has been one of the principal components of inner-city economic growth. Although building facilities for tourists represents a gamble for urban leaders, numerous examples of success exist. New York City possesses a sizable competitive advantage in the tourism sector The authors examine New York's tourism market. Case studies are presented of three tourist-based developments: the Jacob Javits Convention Center; the 42nd Street entertainment district, and a proposed stadium plan for the Yankees. These cases are typical of the type of tourist-based developments currently being pursued by many U.S. cities. It is concluded that tourism facilities are promising investments; this is tempered by considerations relating to the high levels of public subsidy demanded for projects-like the proposed Yankee Stadium development-that do not offer a sufficient return on public subsidy.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Baade, R. A. (1994). Stadiums, professional sports, and economic development: Assessing the reality (Heartland Policy Study No. 62). Detroit, MI: Heartland Institute.
2.
Bagli, C. V. (1996a, September 16). How to scalp the city: Stadiums bust budget, U.S. Open serves an ace. New York Observer, p. 1.
3.
Bagli, C. V. (1996b, July 28). Moynihan's beanball: Can he keep the Yankees from leaving Bronx?New York Observer, p. 1.
4.
Bai, M. (1994, July 25). Yankee imperialism. New York Magazine, 30-35.
5.
Baim, D. V. (1994). The sports stadium as a municipal investment. New York: Greenwood.
6.
Beauregard, R. (1993). Voices of decline. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
7.
Blumenthal, R. (1972, March 24). Yankees to stay 30 years in pact approved by City. The New York Times, p. 1.
8.
Boyer, M. C. (1992). Cities for sale: Merchandising history at South Street Seaport. In M. Sorkin (Ed.), Variations on a theme park (pp. 181-204). New York: Hill and Wang.
9.
Cogen, D. N. (1993, October 5). Blinded by the lights. New York Newsday.
10.
Crain's New York Business, 11 (June 12-18, 1995).
11.
Dunlap, D. W. (1993, September 16). Choreographing Times Square into 21st century. The New York Times, p. B1.
12.
Euchner, C. (1993). Playing the field: Why sports teams move and cities fight to keep them. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
13.
Fainstein, S. S. , & Gladstone, D. (in press). Evaluating urban tourism. In D. Judd & S. S. Fainstein (Eds.), Places to play: the remaking of cities for tourists. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
14.
Fainstein, S. S. (1994). The city builders. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
15.
Feldman, A. (1996, September). The Javits resurrector set. Crain's New York Business.
16.
Fenich, G. G. (1992). The dollars and sense of convention centers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
17.
Fenich, G. G. (1994). An assessment of whether the convention center in New York is successful as a tool for economic development. Economic Development Quarterly, 8, 245-255.
18.
Foglesong, R. E. (1986). Planning the capitalist city. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
19.
Gladstone, D. (forthcoming). Tourism urbanization in the United States. Urban Affairs Review.
20.
Gladwell, M. (1994, August 7). Yankees hurl big league knockdown pitch at politicians. Washington Post, p. A3.
21.
Goldberger, P. (1996, June 23). Atlanta is burning. The New York Times Magazine, 52-53.
22.
Judd, D. (1995). Promoting tourism in U.S. cities. Tourism Management, 16(3), 175-187.
23.
Kotler, P. , Haider, D., & Rein, I. (1993). Marketing places. New York: Free Press.
24.
Krieg, R. M. (1996, November). Warding off the convention center blues. Planning, 62, 14-17.
25.
Lentz, P. (1996, May 27). NYC, state, split over financing Javits growth. Crain's New York Business, p. 1.
26.
Lipsyte, R. (1976, April 26). A diamond in the ashes. Sports Illustrated, 39-43.
27.
Lueck, T. J. (1995, October 8). Taking heart in New York City. The New York Times, Section 4.
28.
Lueck, T. J. (1997, January 14). Prime lot near Times Square is to be site of a new hotel: Deal with state ends a long legal battle. New York Times, p. B3.
29.
New York City Department of City Planning . (1984, July). The convention center area: Recommendations for land use, zoning and development. New York: Author.
30.
New York City, Office of Comptroller . (1993, September). What sports bring to NYC's economy. Economic Notes, 13.
31.
New York State, Office of the State Comptroller . (1995, May 3). New York convention center operating corporation. An evaluation of management activities and controls at the Jacob K Javits convention center (Division of Management Audit, Report No. 95-S-25). New York: Author.
32.
Okner, B. A. (1974). Subsidies of stadiums and arenas. In R. G. Noll (Ed.), Government and the sports business (pp. 325-347). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
33.
Peterson, D. (1989). Convention centers, sports stadiums and arena. Washington, DC: Urban Land Institute.
34.
Peterson, D. (1996). Sports, conventions and entertainmentfacilities. Washington, DC: Urban Land Institute.
35.
Pinder, J. B. (1993, September 15). Disney considers move into Times Square. The New York Times, p. C15.
36.
Pooley, E. (1995, February 13). Damn those Yankees. New York Magazine, 82-87.
37.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANY&NJ) . (1994). Destination New York-New Jersey: Tourism and travel to the metropolitan region. Part II of tourism & the arts in the New York-New Jersey region. New York: Author.
38.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANY&NJ) . (1995). Regional economy, review 1994, outlook 1995, for the New York-New Jersey metropolitan region. New York: Author.
39.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANY&NJ) . (1996). Regional economy, review 1995, outlook 1996, for the New York-New Jersey metropolitan region. New York: Author.
40.
Pulley, B. (1995, July 29). A mix of glamour and hardball won Disney a piece of 42nd Street. The New York Times, p. II.
41.
Purdy, M. (1994a, June 8). Alternate sites for Yankee Stadium are studied. The New York Times, p. B-i.
42.
Purdy, M. (1994b, May 2). Resentment zone: Officials' courtship of Yankees stirs anger in the Bronx. The New York Times, p. B1.
43.
Purdy, M. (1995a, May 7). New Jersey to Bronx Bombers: Stay put!The New York limes, p. 13NJ-1.
44.
Purdy, M. (1995b, January 25). "Theme park" atmosphere is part of proposal for Yankee Stadium. The New York limes, p. Bi.
45.
Ranzal, E. (1972, August 17). Yanks, city sign 30 year stadium lease. The New York limes.
46.
Reiss, S. A. (1989). City games: The evolution of American urban society and the rise of sports. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
47.
Sandomir, R. (1995, March 9). 13 stadium renovation plans later, Yankees still dissatisfied. The New York Times, p. B1.
48.
Sandomir, R. (1996, April 5). Study recommends the Yankees move to a West Side site. The New York limes, p. B1.
49.
Sassen, S. , & Roost, F. (in press). The city: Strategic site for the global entertainment industry. In D. Judd & S. S. Fainstein (Eds.), Places to play: The remaking of cities for tourists. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
50.
Sennett, R. (1990). The conscience of the eye. New York: Knopf.
51.
Shaw, G. , & Williams, A. M. (1994). Critical issues in tourism. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
52.
Simon, J. (1986, July 14). Conventions, trade shows become big business. Advertising Age, 4.
53.
Sorkin, M. (Ed.). (1992). Variations on a theme park. New York: Hill and Wang.
54.
Tierney, J. (1995, March 19). The center's chronic woes seen as going beyond mob. The New York Times, p. II.
55.
Ward, J. (1992, March). Arrests at Javits. Meeting News, p. 3.
56.
Warf, B. , & Grimes, J. (1996). New York City's economy in the 1990s: Globalization in a local context. Unpublished paper, Department of Geography, Florida State University.
57.
World Tourism Organization (WTO) . (1995a). Global tourism forecasts to the year 2000 and beyond (Vol. 1). Madrid, Spain: Author.
58.
World Tourism Organization (WTO) . (1995b). Yearbook of tourism statistics (Vol. 1, 47th ed.). Madrid, Spain: Author.
59.
Zipp, J. F. (1996). The economic impact of the baseball strike of 1994. Urban Affairs Review, 32(2), 157-185.
60.
Zukin, S. (1991). Landscapes of powerBerkeley: University of California Press.
