Nice graphics and summary from Deadspin (via Noah Pransky’s Shadow of the Stadium blog) on what they call “$#!&@& of taxpayer money” for stadiums in America:
The map below is an attempt to answer those questions visually. It charts the construction of 186 NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL stadiums from 1909-2012, which covers pretty much all of them. The size of the stadium icon is proportional to the total cost (inflation-adjusted to 2012 dollars), and the color is proportional to the method of financing, with 100 percent private showing up in red, 100 percent public in blue, and a range of purple in between. Major renovations are included as well, and stadiums are faded out when they lose their professional team.