Public Assistance in Spectator Sport: A Comparison between Europe and the United States

As regards its legality and legitimacy, direct but also indirect public financing for professional sport is currently subject to hostile scrutiny. This observation applies both to the American and (as yet nascent) European models of profes-sional sports management. Our empirical study shows that public financing occupies a non-negligible place in both models. The difficulty of defining the status of professional sports (a social activity or one that is purely economic?) explains the current uncertainty as regards the legitimacy and legality of public financing for spectator sport enterprises. If in the United States judges justify attributing public funds to spectator sports enterprises on the grounds that it is good for the local economy, the recent recognition in Europe of the legitimacy of subsidizing projects specifically identified as of public interest is testimony of the realization on the part of the European Commission of the specificity of this sector. This article invites its readers, beyond this, to reflect upon what would permit the founding of a true European model of professional team sports management preserving thereby the organization, the coherence, and the final-ity of European sport.