Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-8zxtt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-11T08:31:35.238Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Dynamics of Elite Endorsements in Professional Sports Facility Referendums

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

David M. Paul  and
Clyde Brown
David M. Paul
Affiliation:
The Ohio State University-Newark
Clyde Brown
Affiliation:
Miami University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, nearly every major city in the United States has faced making the decision of whether to build a new stadium or other professional sports facility. In this period, 41 referendums have been held to authorize the public financing of such a facility. Previous studies have demonstrated that elite endorsements affect referendum voters, but these studies have not differentiated the effects of different kinds of elites on public support. We examine the differing effects of the support and opposition of elected officials, business groups, minority leaders, and community groups when modeling referendum outcomes. Our analysis reveals that among these elites' cues, opposition by elected officials (either Republican or Democratic) has the greatest effect on the final referendum vote and that the size of the public subsidy has a significant influence on public support. We also find evidence that opposition by elected officials is exogenous to public opinion.

Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , Fall 2006 , pp. 272 - 299
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Asher, Herbert B. 1983. Causal Modeling. 2nd ed. Sage University Paper Series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences, series no. 07-003. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, Tom. 1997. “TV Ads Tout the Benefit of Tax Boost,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12 June, A-12.Google Scholar
Berger, Eric. 2000. “Rockets OK Arena Terms; Major Hurdle is Crossed for Nov. 7 Referendum,” Houston Chronicle, 13 July, A1.Google Scholar
Bowler, Shaun, and Donovan, Todd. 1998. Demanding Choices: Opinion, Voting and Direct Democracy. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brady, Henry E., and Sniderman, Paul M.. 1985. “The Attitude Attribution: A Group Basis for Political Reasoning.” American Political Science Review 79:1061–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, Clyde, and Paul, David M.. 1999. “Local Organized Interests and the 1996 Cincinnati Sports Stadia Tax Referendum.” Journal of Sport & Social Issues 23:218–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, Clyde, and Paul, David M.. 2002. “The Political Scorecard of Professional Sports Facility Referendums in the United States, 1984-2000.” Journal of Sport & Social Issues 26:248–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carmines, Edward G., and Kuklinski, James H.. 1990. “Incentives, Opportunities, and the Logic of Public Opinion in American Political Representation.” In Information and Democratic Processes, eds. Ferejohn, John A. and Kuklinski, James H.. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Cronin, Thomas E. 1989. Direct Democracy: The Politics of Initiative, Referendum, and Recall. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Donovan, Todd, and Bowler, Shaun. 1998. “An Overview of Direct Democracy in the American States.” In Citizens as Legislators: Direct Democracy in the United States, eds. Bowler, Shaun, Donovan, Todd, and Tolbert, Caroline J.. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.Google Scholar
Druckman, James N. 2001. “On the Limits of Framing Effects: Who Can Frame?” Journal of Politics 63:1041–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flanigan, William H., and Zingale, Nancy H.. 2006. Political Behavior and the American Electorate. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Gerber, Elisabeth R. 1999. The Populist Paradox: Interest Group Influence and the Promise of Direct Legislation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Gerber, Elisabeth R., and Phillips, Justin H.. 2003. “Development Ballot Measures, Interest Group Endorsements, and the Political Geography of Growth Preferences.” American Journal of Political Science 47:625–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, Donald, and Krasno, Jonathan. 1988. “Salvation for the Spendthrift Incumbent: Reestimating the Effects of Campaign Spending in House Elections.” American Journal of Political Science 32:884–907.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
“Growth Advice, Dallas Style.” 2000. Charlotte Observer, 19 May, 1D.Google Scholar
Grunwald, Michael. 1998. “Even Bronco Fans May Buck Plea for Tax-Funded Stadium,” Boston Globe, 16 March, A1.Google Scholar
Hart, Mark A. 1997. “Tampa Sales Tax Touchdown.” Campaign & Elections 18:23–5.Google Scholar
Iyengar, Shanto, and Kinder, Donald R.. 1987. News That Matters: Television and American Opinion. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Jacobson, Gary. 1990. “The Effects of Campaign Spending in House Elections: New Evidence for Old Arguments.” American Journal of Political Science 34:334–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karp, Jeffrey A. 1998. “The Influence of Elite Endorsements in Initiative Campaigns.” In Citizens as Legislators: Direct Democracy in the United States, eds. Bowler, Shaun, Donovan, Todd, and Tolbert, Caroline J.. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.Google Scholar
King, Gary, Honaker, James, Joseph, Anne, and Scheve, Kenneth. 2001. “Analyzing Incomplete Political Science Data: An Alternative Algorithm for Multiple Imputation.” American Political Science Review 95:49–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuklinski, James H., and Hurley, Norman L.. 1994. “On Hearing and Interpreting Political Messages: A Cautionary Tale of Citizen Cue-Taking.” Journal of Politics 56:729–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lau, Richard R., and Redlawsk, David P.. 2001. “Advantages and Disadvantages of Cognitive Heuristics in Political Decision Making.” American Journal of Political Science 45:951–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowenstein, Daniel H. 1982. “Campaign Spending and Ballot Propositions: Recent Experience, Public Choice Theory, and the First Amendment.” UCLA Law Review 29:505–641.Google Scholar
Lupia, Arthur. 1994. “Shortcuts versus Encyclopedias: Information and Voting Behavior in California Insurance Reform Elections.” American Political Science Review 88:63–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lupia, Arthur, and McCubbins, Mathew D.. 1998. The Democratic Dilemma: Can Citizens Learn What They Need to Know? Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lynch, Maxine L. 1984. “Caucus, Stokes Oppose Dome, New Guns, Hollow-Point Bullets,” Cleveland Plain-Dealer, 27 March, 5-A.Google Scholar
Magleby, David B. 1984. Direct Legislation: Voting on Ballot Propositions in the United States. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Mondak, Jeffrey. 1993. “Source Cues and Policy Approval: The Cognitive Dynamics of Public Support for the Reagan Agenda.” American Journal of Political Science 37:186–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, Thomas E., and Oxley, Zoe M.. 1999. “Issue Framing Effects on Belief Importance and Opinion.” Journal of Politics 61:1040–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicholson, Stephen P. 2003. “The Political Environment and Ballot Proposition Awareness.” American Journal of Political Science 47:403–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paul, David M. 2001. “The Politics of Persuasion: Testing the Power of Local Elites.” Ph.D. diss. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Google Scholar
Paul, David M., and Brown, Clyde. 2001. “Testing the Limits of Elite Influence on Public Opinion: An Examination of Sports Facility Referendums.” Political Research Quarterly 54:871–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newswire, PR. 1995. “Most Americans Oppose Public Funding of Stadiums, WJBK TV2 Poll Finds.” PR Newswire Financial News, October 1. Accessed via Lexis/Nexis Academic.Google Scholar
Robinson, Lynn, and Goren, Paul. 1997. “Religious Conservative Elites as Source Cues.” Social Science Quarterly 78:223–33.Google Scholar
Smith, Mark A. 2001. “The Contingent Effects of Ballot Initiatives and Candidate Races on Turnout.” American Journal of Political Science 45:700–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weissman, Dan. 1987. “Baseball Bond Boosters See Major League Lift for State Image, Economy,” Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), 25 October, A15.Google Scholar
Wepman, Noah. 1997. “Political Football.” Campaign & Elections 18(9):19–22.Google Scholar
Wilson, James Q. 1974. Political Organizations. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Zaller, John R. 1992. The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zisk, Betty. 1987. Money, Media and the Grassroots. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar