J.C. Bradbury
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jcbradbury.com
J.C. Bradbury
@jcbradbury.com
1.6K followers 210 following 2.2K posts
Economist, Georgian, Gadfly
Stadium Subsidies, Film Incentives, Local Economic Development, Sports Economics
Tariffs bad. Vaccines good.
*If I block you, you deserved it.*
jcbradbury.com
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November 13, 2025 at 2:58 AM
jcbradbury.com
12 years ago today, the Atlanta Braves announced it was abandoning Turner Field and moving to Cobb.
November 11, 2025 at 2:42 PM
jcbradbury.com
RIP Lenny Wilkens
November 9, 2025 at 11:54 PM
jcbradbury.com
Happy 60th to Jeff Blauser. Never forget what Ted Turner said to then-GM John Schuerholz about him: "what’s this shit I read about a budget. You want to sign Jeff Blauser, sign him!"
November 8, 2025 at 11:11 PM
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November 7, 2025 at 8:58 PM
jcbradbury.com
No public sports venue has ever paid for itself. For years, I've been asking for an example, but none has ever been provided. Yet, the @expressnews.com editorial board is crowing about what a success the Spurs arena will be before construction has ever begun. www.expressnews.com/opinion/edit...
November 7, 2025 at 3:03 PM
jcbradbury.com
Oh
The Braves reported an adjusted OIBDA {operating income before depreciation and amortization) of $67 million, an increase of more than 113% from the third quarter of 2024. Baseball adjusted OIBDA was $50 million, up 105%. The profitability was driven by increased revenue and, in part, decreased baseball operating costs. Braves CFO Jill Robinson said that was "primarily due to lower-thanexpected major league player salaries." The payroll certainly was lower than the team's fans expected after president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said it would increase from 2024 to 2025.
November 6, 2025 at 4:19 PM
jcbradbury.com
McGuirk said the same thing three years ago, as the Atlanta Braves were being outbid for Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson, and Max Fried.

2022/ 2025
Locking up the core As the Braves raked in more money from Truist Park and The Battery, they began to flex their muscles. From 2012-21, McGuirk always said the organization’s goal was to have a top-10 payroll in baseball. This season, the Braves achieved that: They rank eighth with a $188 million payroll, according to FanGraphs. Their next goal? Have a top-five payroll, McGuirk said, all but assuring that the team will get there. "I think I've stated in the past that our goals are to be a top-five salary team," McGuirk said. "We are currently top-10 (and) haven't been out of that in quite some time, out of that range. I think aiming for the top five is a place that I want to get to. I think we are capable of doing that. "This is a very fluid decision-making concept .... I think you will see us quite active in the free-agent market and the trade market. We are a win-now team. We want to fill in the places where we might have a player that needs replacing."
November 6, 2025 at 4:08 PM
jcbradbury.com
Cover just dropped. Coming in 2026 from Oxford University Press.
November 6, 2025 at 12:27 AM
jcbradbury.com
You know what might be infinitely more effective at fighting poverty than spending $800million building a basketball arena?
November 3, 2025 at 7:45 PM
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It's worth remembering that Cleveland was promoted as an example of a sports-focused urban development strategy that wouldn't suffer the fate of venues in other cities. Its project leader Tom Chema even chastised economists for suggesting otherwise. www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
November 3, 2025 at 1:20 PM
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This must be the first lesson in the Bizarro-world public finance class that elected officials apparently complete before taking office.
November 3, 2025 at 12:42 PM
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October 31, 2025 at 8:49 PM
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ZERO TAXPAYER DOLLARS IS A BETTER DEAL
October 31, 2025 at 2:16 PM
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October 31, 2025 at 1:24 PM
jcbradbury.com
They are literally doing the Tobias meme. A serious publisher would fire the editor who wrote this sophomoric trash. It's that embarrassing.
October 31, 2025 at 11:56 AM
jcbradbury.com
And what does the mayor think? Shut up and enjoy the new ballpark!
www.masslive.com/worcesterred...
Mayor Joe Petty said he remained in support of the ballpark project. “People keep on criticizing the ballpark on a regular basis without knowing what they’re talking about,” he said. “It hurts the city of Worcester when we talk about this. It hurts the people who volunteer over at the ballpark, the people who work at the ballpark, the people that play over at the ballpark and the people who use the ballpark outside the Red Sox organization. We could’ve ended up just having brownfields and just left it like that. I think it was a good investment.”
October 30, 2025 at 4:50 PM
jcbradbury.com
Dave Roberts going to the bullpen.
October 29, 2025 at 2:21 AM
jcbradbury.com
Much of the funding for the San Antonio arena comes from property taxes, and hotel and car rental taxes are not fully paid by visitors (this is Econ 101 stuff). If this is such an obviously good deal, then why do they have to lie about it? THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A FREE STADIUM.
buff.ly/9G9dTmK
October 28, 2025 at 12:26 PM
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October 27, 2025 at 12:37 PM
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Good grief, both of these "truths" are false. *At best*, the move will be neutral for Northeast Ohio (how could it be anything but?), and I think it's more likely that losing the stadium will make way for more downtown development.
October 27, 2025 at 12:33 PM
jcbradbury.com
Stitch it on a pillow.
October 24, 2025 at 11:07 PM
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When you say the quiet part loud. Pretty sure the parenthetical "(elected leaders)" was originally "us".
October 24, 2025 at 12:22 PM
jcbradbury.com
I've got to hand it to the San Antonio Express-News editorial board for its maximum platforming of pro-arena sycophants. None of their local in-crowd booster buddies can accuse them of not trying.
October 23, 2025 at 4:39 PM
jcbradbury.com
Oh joy. A university president says he wants to "encourage everyone to become informed" before spouting pseudo-economic drivel in order to advocate on behalf of the Spurs arena deal. I wish I could say I am surprised. www.expressnews.com/opinion/comm...
October 23, 2025 at 4:31 PM