{"306021":{"#nid":"306021","#data":{"type":"news","title":"FIFA: The Effect of Mega-Events on Economic Development","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJust 45 days before the start of the World Cup, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.hts.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/mcdonald\u0022\u003EMary McDonald\u003C\/a\u003E, Homer Rice Chair in Sports and Society in the \u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of History, Technology, and Society\u003C\/strong\u003E, attended a conference in Brazil on international mega-events. In contrast to banners posted around Atlanta leading up to the Peachtree Road Race, McDonald saw minimal promotion of Brazil\u2019s impending international sporting event.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen I talked to conference organizers, they told me the Brazilian people love soccer but don\u2019t really love FIFA,\u201d McDonald said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a common characteristic with mega events that people are usually displaced to build facilities, and some issues of democracy are suspended in order to get things done on time.\u201d In Brazil, for example, a law was signed \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-18348012\u0022\u003Etwo years ago\u003C\/a\u003E to allow the sale of alcohol at World Cup events, although it had been prohibited in soccer stadiums for nearly 10 years as a safety precaution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMcDonald is studying how some aspects of mega-events compare to sport at a more localized level. Specifically, she\u2019s looking at the \u201chalo effect\u201d of sports in local communities, challenging the theory that sport can be used as a platform for solving grand social issues.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe underlying assumption of the halo effect is that somehow the positive effects of sport will translate into a broader good,\u201d she said. McDonald has studied groups trying to apply the halo effect, a North American concept, to \u201csocial ills\u201d around the world. \u201cSport can be enjoyable and fun, but in terms of trying to solve social issues like poverty, you probably need a lot of other tools in your kit,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the conference in Brazil, McDonald presented a paper on the idea of using sport for economic development.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cPart of the justification for hosting mega-events is that they can be drivers of economic development or decrease social disparities, but most of the data show that, if anything, in terms of what you get out of public investment, it\u2019s a wash,\u201d she said. \u201cIncreasingly in the post 9\/11 world, we see rising facility and security costs, as well as vacant sporting facilities, after the mega events conclude, suggesting that large-scale international sporting events do not provide a very good return on public investment. People argue that resources could be used for more important things, such as public infrastructure, education, health, job creation.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAll is not lost for the 2014 World Cup, though. McDonald believes it has given Brazilians a sort of megaphone for some of its nation\u2019s problems as well as issues with FIFA, letting these ideas be more widely known.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd, of course, many people get enjoyment out of sports\u2014\u0026nbsp;players, coaches, and fans alike. The World Cup may bring Americans together, creating what McDonald says is a temporary sense of sharing called \u201ccommunitas.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere is a ritualistic element of sport, especially in a relationship to fandom where fans can express a variety of emotions and come together temporarily with others around the common goal of rooting for a given team during a game.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJust 45 days before the start of the World Cup, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.hts.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/mcdonald\u0022\u003EMary McDonald\u003C\/a\u003E, Homer Rice Chair in Sports and Society in the \u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of History, Technology, and Society\u003C\/strong\u003E, attended a conference in Brazil on international mega-events.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Just 45 days before the start of the World Cup, Mary McDonald, Homer Rice Chair in Sports and Society in the School of History, Technology, and Society, attended a conference in Brazil on international mega-events."}],"uid":"27889","created_gmt":"2014-06-30 12:59:17","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:41","author":"Beth Godfrey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"306011":{"id":"306011","type":"image","title":"2014 FIFA World Cup","body":null,"created":"1449244668","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:57:48","changed":"1475895015","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:15","alt":"2014 FIFA World Cup","file":{"fid":"199729","name":"12549224.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/12549224_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/12549224_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":47104,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/12549224_0.jpg?itok=SBwTcgd8"}}},"media_ids":["306011"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"602","name":"economics"},{"id":"96611","name":"FIFA"},{"id":"96621","name":"Homer Rice Chair"},{"id":"86791","name":"Mary McDonald"},{"id":"167014","name":"Sports"},{"id":"9851","name":"world cup"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}