The effect of relocation on the externality fields of football stadia: The case of St Johnstone FC

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Abstract
Football grounds generate negative externalities on their surrounding areas. This is largely a function of their location on cramped inner‐city sites which are surrounded by high‐density residential areas. It has been suggested that one of the advantages of the relocation of football clubs to edge‐of‐town locations will be the elimination of such negative externalities. This hypothesis is examined by means of a case study of St Johnstone FC based in Perth, Scotland, which relocated to a new edge‐of‐town stadium in 1989. The study concludes that relocation has not eliminated football‐generated nuisance effects. However, because about three‐quarters of the new stadium's externality field comprises non‐residential areas, the number of people who experience football‐generated nuisances is less than was the case at the club's former inner‐city stadium.