Soccer Denying Impoverished City Shows Stadium Risk: Muni Credit

Chester, Pennsylvania, the state’s oldest city and where 35 percent of residents live in poverty, has found that hosting an 18,500-seat Major League Soccer stadium doesn’t guarantee economic success.

Four years ago, former social-sciences professor John Linder questioned why promoters wanted to “bring soccer to a basketball town.” As mayor since January, he’s been trying to make the $122 million PPL Park, financed mostly with county and state funds, generate enough money to meet the city’s costs.