National Football League franchise departures and nearby home prices

Abstract Research shows that US professional sports facilities positively impact nearby house prices. New facilities typically have existing teams, complicating the separate assessment of the impact of teams and facilities. Existing research analyzed departures of the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams, but arenas host many nonsporting events. These results may not generalize. We exploit the relocation of two National Football League (NFL) teams to investigate the impact of team departures on home sales. Difference‐in‐differences and repeat‐sales models indicate that proximity to one team is consistent with it being housing amenity while proximity to the other is not. Differences in urban form may be a key explanation for this heterogeneity.