The Hidden Toll of Game Days on American Roadways: Assessing the Effects of Sporting Events on Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes

Research Summary: This study examines whether hosting sporting events imposes a hidden toll on traffic safety by drawing on incident-level crash data covering 30 cities in the U.S. from 2015 to 2025. These data are linked to regular season sporting events across 24 National Football League (NFL) and 22 Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. Drawing from environmental criminology and using natural variation in venues hosting home or away games within a season, this study compares changes in total crashes, injury crashes, and fatal crashes during home games to host cities during away games. Home NFL games generate a substantially higher number of traffic crashes up to 4 kilometers from a venue, compared to away games. This occurs immediately preceding and following games. MLB games have no discernible impact on traffic crashes. Injury and fatal crashes are largely unrelated to the hosting of sporting events. Exploratory analyses demonstrate that the observed increases in crashes near venues are partially attributable to game attendance and the prevalence of driver intoxication.Policy Implications: A growing body of evidence indicates there are public safety costs associated with hosting professional sporting events in addition to limited economic impacts associated with building sports venues. Our findings add to this literature by indicating that these events generate concentrated increases in traffic crashes near venues. That is, the public pays twice, once, to build the venue and again to account for the crashes associated with the events they host. Local transportation planning must consider not only how to manage traffic congestion, but also how to manage traffic crash risk on gamedays. Given the prevalence and influence of alcohol consumption on gamedays, strategies to reduce the risks associated with alcohol consumption should be considered and evaluated.