Since Lambeau Field was renovated, it has attracted more tourists. That translates into more money for the mom and pop sports bars and restaurants surrounding the stadium.
I agree though, that taxpayers shouldn't be responsible for paying for new stadiums. It was Jesse Ventura who said "If they can afford to pay players millions of dollars a year, then they can afford to build their own stadiums."
Non-sports caring about me that likes history a lot took the Lambeau tour a few years back looking for a break from the Oshkosh airshow.
I learned a bit, the two guides I had were great people, and I spent a little money in Green Bay on lunch, some fuel, and at the railroad museum.
Yes, but Lambeau is more of a pilgrimage stop, and can’t really compare to something new.
A little back-story about the Lambeau Field renovation:
I lived in the Green bay area for about 20 years, finally moving south a couple of years back. When the referendum for public financing of the renovation was on the ballot, there were two questions which I will paraphrase:
1) should Brown County institute a 1/2% sales tax to fund the renovation?
2) Should Brown county be able to divert a portion of the new tax to the general fund?
#1 passed, but #2 failed.
The then Brown County Executive, Nancy Nussbaum(D), immediately wailed that without this tax money, the county would have to close a bunch of libraries (didn't happen BTW, but it shows the typical liberal whining when things don't go their way). Since the county wasn't able to get their greedy paws on this money, the renovation was paid off and the extra tax went away.