Abstract In the United States, the decision to commit extensive public resources to sport
facilities is a contentious topic of debate. Elected officials often commit substantial public
resources to sport facility projects amidst contrary empirical evidence and mixed residential
approval. This behavior not only implicates the presence of political activity to advance a
course of action, but also suggests an escalation of commitment (EoC), the subject of this
study. The authors implemented a collective case study approach to examine three …