Public Spaces and Third Bases: Publicly Funded Stadiums as Modern Third Places in Public Administration

The role of publicly funded stadiums is one that is evolving over time. Primarily used for sports and entertainment, they have emerged as public value epicenters where different populations within a community explore and find meaning, resembling Ray Oldenburg’s “third” place concept along with public parks, where people can gather informally in spaces to do the same. Through the lens of public administration theory, specifically public value theory, the authors argue that decisions to explore, fund and build stadiums with taxpayer dollars all represent public priorities and the moral choices that must be made along the way. Once built, these venues function as stages not only for athletes to perform, but also to serve as facilitators for the negotiation of public heritage, social injustices and political identities. In considering the roles of stadiums and athletes as agents that produce public value, this Vantage Point extends conversations on ethics, transparency, and the extent to which public administrators are serving constituent needs.