Design
As Colleges Cut Sports, Will Cities Lose?
Budget cuts have college teams across the U.S. on the chopping block. Could losing sports tourism preserve other city infrastructure in the long run?
The host city of the 2021 World Games—essentially the Olympics for alternative sports—will be officially announced Thursday morning. And Birmingham, Alabama, will be anxiously awaiting the decision. Birmingham, population 220,000, is a long shot to be the first American city to host the World Games since 1981. Lima, Peru, and Ufa, Russia—each home to more than a million people—are also vying to host the event. *(Update: Birmingham has been named the host city of the 2021 World Games.)
But win or lose, the fact that Birmingham is on the list is symbolic: The city earnestly wants to be seen as an attractive sports hub.