LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication to Host Summit Focused on Public Funding in Sports

March 6, 2018
Baton Rouge, LA – The debate is hot: how much money should local communities offer to entice (and keep) professional sports teams? The Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication is slated to host an in-depth conversation on public funding in sports March 21. “More than a Game: A Look at Public Funding in Sports” will explore how athletic and community stakeholders debate public policy around sports.

Recently, cities around the country have faced dilemmas regarding how many incentives they offer to lure or maintain professional athletic teams, leaving stakeholders and citizens divided. Although these teams provide tangibles such as revenue, along with intangibles that help elevate regional culture and bolster morale after natural disasters—such as the Houston Astros’ World Series Championship just weeks after historic flooding—they can often bring with them enormous price tags that leave people divided.

Charles Steinberg, Pawtucket Pawsox president and former head of communications for the Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, and the Boston Red Sox, will keynote the event. Sports radio host Matt Moscona of ESPN’s 104.5 The Zone will moderate the event. Panelists will discuss how much money local communities should offer to entice and keep professional sports teams.

“We’ve assembled well-known leaders from around the country who have in-depth experience in negotiating sporting contracts with communities, along with sports journalists who have covered these hot-button issues for years,” Jenee Slocum, director of the Reilly Center, said. “It’s lively and dynamic discussions like these that bring forth new and innovative ideas that better our communities by advancing good government policies, and we look forward to welcoming our community to this important conversation.”

Panelists will include:

  • Matt Moscona, Moderator, Host, After Further Review on 104.5 The Zone, Manship Alum
  • Ron Watermon, St. Louis Cardinals Vice President of Communication
  • David Hunn, Houston Chronicle enterprise reporter
  • Jim Renne, Rossetti principle, facility design expert
  • Chad Seifried, LSU School of Kinesiology professor, sports facilities management expert
  • Denise Michaels, Sanderson Strategies Group Senior Vice President of Sports Strategy
  • Eric Engemann, SportsBR President & CEO
     

Click here for more information about this free event and how to register.

For more information, contact smalin@lsu.edu. 

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The Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs aims to generate thoughtful programs, dialogue and research about mass communication and its many faceted relationships with social, economic and political issues. Evident in everything the center does is its commitment to strengthen and advance the Manship School’s national leadership in media and politics.

 

The Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication
Louisiana State University
Journalism Building
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803
(225) 578-1899
jenee@lsu.edu          

 

LSU