Keeping Public Use Relevant in Stadium Eminent Domain Takings.pdf

Boston College Environmental Affairs Law R eview olume 40 | Issue 2 Article 7 5-28-2013 Keeping Public Use Relevant in Stadium Eminent Domain Takings: The Massachusetts Wa Steven Chen Boston College L aw School, steven.chen@ Follow this and additional works at : /ealr Part of the Entertainment and Sports Law Commons, Property Law and Real Estate Commons, and the State and Local Government Law Commons Recommended Citation Steven Chen, Keeping P blic Use Relevant in Stadi m Eminent Domain Takings: The Massachusetts Way, 40 B.C. Envtl. Aff. L. Rev. 453 (2013), /ealr/vol40/iss2/7 This Notes is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston College Environmental Affairs Law R eview by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please contact nick.szydlowski@. KEEPING PUBLIC USE RELEVANT IN STADIUM EMINENT DOMAIN TAKINGS: THE MASSACHUSETTS WAY Steven Chen* Abstract: As the sports industry has grown into a multi-billion dollar en- terprise, cities have increasingly faced the decision of whether to fund ex- pensive stadium projects to attract or keep franchises. These projects commonly include using public funds and the government’s eminent domain power under the Public-Use Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Un- like traditional public uses such as infrastructure and utilities, multi- purpose stadiums present a unique challenge for courts. The Second Cir- cuit in Goldstein v. Pataki handled the public-use analysis by allowing any amount of traditional public-use justification to shield a stadium project from pretext challenges. This Note argues that b