Countless economic analyses have shown that sports stadiums do not generate the money for cities that politicians, developers and chambers of commerce would have you believe. The money goes to owners, sponsors, players, the lucky few local businesses—anywhere but the public.

If you drive about an hour and a half outside of St. Louis, west on I-70 and North on Route 51 for nearly 50 miles, you’ll eventually start seeing signs for Pike County scattered between cornfields and dense patches of trees.