Andrew Jensen might be the biggest fan of bringing baseball to downtown Augusta, eager to partake in the tradition of Thirsty Thursday and see baseballs flying out of the park and into the Savannah River.

But the Augusta State University junior argued Wednesday, in a paper presented at the school's annual research day, that replacing the stadium at Lake Olmstead with a downtown facility likely would not be a boost to the economy.

"The new proposal involves putting it where the current Augusta Golf and Gardens is located, which is just a super idea," said Mr. Jensen, who is majoring in political science and secondary education. "In purely economic terms, it just doesn't do much for the community."

He based most of his research on a 1994 work by sports economist Robert A. Baade, the chairman of Chicago's Lake Forest College Department of Economics and Business. In his study, Dr. Baade looked at 30 stadiums that moved from one location in a city to another. He found that 27 of them had no significant impact on the city's economy.

"The reality is that sports very likely do not expand spending, but serve only to realign it," Dr. Badde wrote in his study. "The public should view promises about the economic impact of professional sports with a healthy skepticism."

Asked about the research, Mayor Deke Copenhaver and Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Margaret Woodard dismissed it.

"I would say that's not the most current or most updated information," the mayor said, contending that stadiums recently built in Greenville, S.C.; Greensboro, N.C.; and Durham, N.C., offer better comparisons. "They're not as much stadiums as they are multiuse facilities."

As such, they are used year-round for activities and incorporate restaurants and retail, Mr. Copenhaver said.

Ms. Woodard said a new stadium would serve as a catalyst for downtown. Once built, support services, jobs and other businesses would follow, she said.