DR. JUDITH GRANT LONG
SPORTS, TOURISM
& HOST CITIES
ABOUT
DR. LONG
My research examines how host cities can be more strategic, cost-effective, and successful when making public investments in sport venues and tourism districts.
I bring the disciplines of sport management and urban planning together to identify the best practices for planning, developing and financing sport and tourism infrastructure.
I hold degrees in economics, real estate development, and urban planning. After working for several years as a city planner in Canada, I came to the US for grad school, and spent over a decade on the faculty at Harvard University. At the University of Michigan, I focus exclusively on sport and tourism, working with top-notch faculty and terrific students from around the world. Go Blue!
CURRENT PROJECTS
OLYMPIC VENUES
& VILLAGES
What facilities were built? How are they used today?
Olympic host cities are facing increasing public scrutiny with regard to the promises and record of post-games legacies. In response to the need for more research on the capital construction projects undertaken as part of Olympic bids, the Olympic infrastructure project (OIP) is a graphic inventory of venues, villages, and other infrastructures built for the Olympic Games. Venue data is organized into two volumes, summer and winter, and includes data on construction, costs, post-games use, images, and references.
FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE VENUES
What happens to venues when the teams move on?
The most recent cycle of major league facility construction left more than 60 older ballparks, stadiums, and arenas in its wake. Aside from the headlines generated by high profile facility vacancies—including the Pontiac Silverdome, the Houston Astrodome, and Continental Arena—there is little research that guides host cities in planning for the redevelopment of these unusual sites. The former facility project (FFP)
tracks former facilities and details their post-major league uses.
SPORT & ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTS
What are the opportunities and challenges for host cities?
Sport venues are increasingly tied to urban development strategies that seek to leverage public investments in sport and tourism infrastructure to stimulate private investment within a targeted geographic area. The sport district project (SDP) supports students working on developing theoretical frameworks and analytic techniques in term papers, master's theses, doctoral dissertations and research rotations. Most papers are in the form of case studies that explore specific districts, their underlying rationales and impacts.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
THE OLYMPIC GAMES AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT IMPACTS
2015
This paper considers the urban development impacts of hosting the Olympic Games, discussing the evolving role of urban development aspirations in the bid process, and mapping the trajectory of “Olympic sprawl” that has occurred alongside. There are countervailing forces at work: On the one hand, urban development is an increasingly important rationale for cities bidding to host the Olympic Games and other sports mega-events. On the other, urban development impacts are poorly understood and only recently have been the subject of research that seeks to build our understanding of its particular complexities. Thus while host cities are increasingly reliant upon urban development rationales to galvanize support for their bids, they do so with little theoretical guidance about causes and effects, leading to suboptimal outcomes. As evidence, most host cities adopt legacy rhetoric in their bids that aims closer to Barcelona than Montreal on the spectrum of post-games outcomes, but the experiences of the past decade suggest that the pathway to successful Olympic-led urban development is not yet mapped.
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS FOR MAJOR LEAGUE SPORTS FACILITIES
2013
This book takes readers inside the high-stakes game of public-private partnerships for major league sports facilities, explaining why some cities made better deals than others, assessing the best practices and common pitfalls in deal structuring and facility leases, as well as highlighting important differences across markets, leagues, facility types, public actors, subsidy delivery mechanisms, and urban development aspirations. It concludes with speculations about the next round of facility replacement amidst rapid changes in broadcast technology, shrinking domestic audiences, and the globalization of sport.
TOUR DE FRANCE: A TAXPAYER BARGAIN AMONG SPORTING MEGA-EVENTS?
2012
The Tour de France is a unique case among mega sporting events, offering a relative bargain for host cities especially when compared to the Olympics, FIFA World Cup soccer, and other large-scale global events. In exchange for a relatively modest level of public investment–often a few million euros in fees, road upgrading, and municipal services, the 30 or more towns and cities that serve as 'stage hosts' each year successfully leverage the Tour to promote themselves as tourist destinations, to capture short-term spikes in local spending on hospitality services, to upgrade local cycling infrastructure, and to provide an enjoyable amenity for area residents. Since the Tour passes through more than 600 towns and cities over its approximately 3,500 kilometer length, with its route changing every year to ensure that all of France's regions are featured, these branding, tourism, infrastructure, and amenity benefits are spread across the entire country, achieving a national distribution of benefits rarely captured by sport or other mega events that are typically centered on specific metropolitan regions.
OVERVIEW OF COURSES
SPORT REAL ESTATE I:
PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT FOR MAJOR LEAGUE VENUES
Real estate development is increasingly important--and exciting--part of the global sport economy. From Comerica Park to the Big House, large-scale sport properties play a significant role in the profitability of teams, and at the same time, are positioned by host cities to play a pivotal role in shaping adjacent real estate development. Participating in these complex deals requires an understanding of real estate finance, city planning, local politics, as well as the nuances of different sports. In this new course, students learn about the strategies and analytic frameworks used to create large-scale sport properties, with an emphasis on major league ballparks, stadiums, and arenas. Students are introduced feasibility analysis, site selection and facility design attributes, construction budgets, real estate pro forma analysis, and economic impact analysis, including the role of sport governing bodies.
SPORT REAL ESTATE II:
VENUE CASE STUDIES & GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES
Following on Sport Real Estate I, students strengthen their understanding of large-scale sport venues through in-depth examinations of important properties from around the world. Typologies examined include venues built for the Olympic Games, the Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup Soccer, Premier League, Grand Slam Tennis, the Tour de France, the Asian, Commonwealth and Pan Am Games, and so forth. Beyond the gates of the venues, we also explore their role in the overall event, from the bid process, to event operations, and on to post-games legacies. Finally, we examine the how large-scale sport venues function in urban areas, particularly when positioned as part of a formal sport and tourism district.
OLYMPIC INFRASTRUCTURE: BUILDING FOR THE GAMES
This research seminar investigates the urban aspirations and spatial expressions of sports facilities and other infrastructure built to accommodate the modern Olympic Games. Beginning with Pierre de Coubertin’s manifesto for the modern games, the seminar pairs readings in infrastructure and urban development theory with discussions exploring the history of the Olympic Games and the rise of its urban agenda; the evolving inventory of required facilities and infrastructure; the importance of infrastructure planning in the host city selection process; the role of the games in fostering architectural and engineering innovation; a survey of approaches to infrastructure planning for both the summer and winter games; techniques for financing infrastructure; and the influence of the sustainability discourse on greening the games.
TOURISM PLANNING & LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Governments around the world seek to leverage economic development by increasing their share of the global tourism market. This course introduces students to tourism as an emerging niche of planning expertise. Students are exposed to the variety of strategic elements that inform contemporary tourism planning including city branding, destination portfolio theory, historic preservation, environmental tourism, event tourism, medical and religious tourism, among others. Through a combination of lectures and international case studies—including the Olympic Games, the UNESCO world heritage sites program, and the casino industry in Macau, China—students explore the institutional context of tourism, the planning and financing of its specific infrastructure, and the economic development frameworks commonly used to evaluate public investments.
STUDENT TEAM
Listed below are UMich students currently working on research projects related to sport, tourism and host cities with Professor Long.
Would you like to be part of our team?
Students from UMich, as well as researchers from other institutions around the world,
working at the intersection of SPORT, TOURISM + HOST CITIES
are invited to collaborate with us. Please see contact Prof. Long directly using the information below.
SARAH PERRIGO
SM '20, MURP ' 22
Research Assistant
Teaching Assistant
Sarah received her B.A. in Sport Management from the University of Michigan in 2020 and is currently a student in the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program at U-Mich. With Prof. Long, Sarah has conducted research on sport and entertainment districts, as well as providing support in undergraduate venue courses.
EMILY BURROWES
Now Alumni!
MURP '19
Designer at InsideSource
Emily's research involved graphic design, mapping, and image management for Prof. Long's database of venues built for the Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games.
STEPHANIE GERRETSON
Now Alumni!
PhD '20
Urban Policy Specialist, United Nations
Stephanie's dissertation research examines development around a set of major league arenas in the US. With Dr. Long, Stephanie worked on a study examining demographic changes in sport and tourism districts in the US and in Canada.
FLORENT METTATAL
Now Alumni!
MURP '20
Urban Designer, Perkins and Will
Florent's research involved updating Prof. Long's database and corralling source materials and research about venues built for the Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games. Florent joined Prof. Long in presenting to U-Mich alumni at the prestigious Michigan Seminars in 2020.
ROBERT SROKA
Now Alumni!
PhD '21
Lecturer, Northumbria University
Rob is a lawyer from Canada whose dissertation, under Prof. Long, examines the legal and financial implications of tax increment financing (TIF) in support of large-scale sport venues and districts.
EMILIE YONAN
Now Alumni!
MURP '19
Chief of Staff, City of Pittsburgh, City Council District 8
Emilie's research involved updating Prof. Long's database and corralling source materials and research about venues built for the Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games.
CONTACT
Dr. Judith Grant Long
Director, Center for Sports Venues and Real Estate Development
Director, Sports Venues Education and Research Group
judithgrantlonghostcities.com
University of Michigan
Sport Management Program
840 N. University Avenue, Suite 3210
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
email: jglong@umich.edu