The stadium game in an uncertain environment: A preliminary look at arena discourse in Edmonton, Canada

Abstract

Stadiums and arenas, built as anchors of broader urban development projects, have become a flashpoint of debate among taxpayers and scholars alike. This is because the attachment that citizens have with their local sports teams, combined with restraints on the number of available franchises, has resulted in these developments becoming the most substantively funded pieces of the urban development puzzle, from a taxpayer perspective. This chapter provides a preliminary examination of media discourse in a Canadian city currently considering the construction of an arena in its downtown core. A discussion of four frames identified by Buist and Mason (in press): (1) economic development, (2) civic status, (3) civic priorities, and (4) financing, is provided. In addition, given the current state of the global and regional economies, data were also coded for an additional frame--economic downturn. In the second phase of data analysis, an inductive approach was undertaken to determine if any additional frames existed in the Edmonton context, which resulted in the identification of frames relating to the comprehensiveness of the project and the need for public consultation. The examination of newspaper coverage in Edmonton over the past year has revealed that many of the same frames found in other debates over the public subsidization of sports facilities in other cities are present in the current context. In the case of Edmonton, because the process is ongoing and has been drawn out over time, additional speculation regarding the financing of the project has become a dominant frame. Interestingly, bold claims of economic impacts have not been used by proponents to the same degree as elsewhere; however, as the project moves forward this does not preclude some of these claims from being made. It is important to note that this chapter has only focused on a portion of the coverage of an ongoing issue. If and when the issue is resolved in Edmonton, a content analysis of the entire body of newspaper coverage might yield more insights into the balance found of media coverage. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.