SHARE
httpswww.popsci.comsitespopsci.comfilesimport2013importPopSciArticlesoriginal.gif

Getting that fancy new sports stadium isn’t always cheap, and sometimes the taxpayers are used to fill the gap. This .gif from Deadspin illustrates how that’s been happening, well, pretty much forever. The animation runs from 1909-2012 and charts 186 stadiums. Sports fan or not, it’s tough to watch.

The size of each icon illustrates the amount of money it took to build. The color illustrates where the money came from: red for private funds, blue for public, and hues of purple in between for a mix of both. The ghostly, faded-out icons are for stadiums that lost their team.

You might’ve figured, the public has been chipping in more dough than private investors. How much more? About $32.2 billion compared to $20.8 billion.

Deadspin