Ten key elements for those involved in stadium and arena construction decision making:

1. Combined basketball and hockey arenas get the most use and have the potential, if integrated properly, to create pre and post-event consumer activity in the surrounding area, compared with other sports facilities.
2. Baseball parks, which host at least 81 home games per year, have also served as successful vehicles for generating consumer activity within cities.
3. Football stadiums, which require more land and may host as few as eight home games per year, tend to generate less frequent activity. However, usage is often underestimated. With a college team, a professional soccer franchise and other events sharing the venue with a professional franchise, stadiums may host upwards of forty events per year. The irony is that NFL franchises are generally better financially situated to pay for these projects than are Major League Baseball franchises.
4. Multipurpose football/baseball facilities are attractive from the construction-cost perspective but user-friendly designs are a problem, and arguably, do not exist. This is evidenced by the longstanding dissatisfaction of fans of the cookie cutter stadiums of the 1970's such as the old Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
5. Location, preferably downtown, does matter. Whatever pre and post-game spending does occur, probably occurs near the venue. The return on a downtown location must be measured against the higher land acquisition costs.
6. The most successful projects will be just a part of a city's broader development plans. Development will not necessarily come to the venue.
7. Accessibility by public transportation, limiting parking and promoting foot traffic, is key. This must be measured against parking revenues that will be lost if fans are discouraged from driving.
8. Concessions should be made to city dwellers residing adjacent to facilities. This goes beyond the basics of handling parking, traffic and trash. The key is to insure that some direct benefits are provided to those taking on the burden of hosting a facility in their neighborhood.
9. There exists a difficult to measure psychic benefit to a city that gains or retains a sports franchise. Don't bother trying to place a monetary value on this benefit. Additionally, not every individual in the city receives it.
10. If a city cannot afford a sports facility project and private funds are not forthcoming, the facility should not be built with public dollars.