Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Taxing The Opposition: Cactus League Attendance And The Efficiency Of The 'Cubs Tax', Michael C. Davis, Craig Palsson, Joseph Price

Economics Faculty Research & Creative Works

In 2010, a plan to finance a new spring training stadium for the Cubs through a ticket surcharge on all games in the Cactus League was proposed. We find that the Cubs increase attendance when they are the away team by about 37%. Thus, the surcharge would be economically justified as long as the price elasticity of tickets is less than 0.32, which many prior studies find to be the case. This tax provides one of the few examples in which the cost of a subsidized stadium would be born primarily by the group that benefits the most from the …