And any city that wants to really call itself a city now doesn't build a skyscraper and doesn't build a place of worship, they build stadiums. In that sense we're more connected with the Romans than I think in any other.
European soccer clubs spend whatever they wish on salaries, buildstadiums from private funds and have leagues that use a meritocratic promotion and relegation scheme.
Investors in infrastructure also want long-lasting projects with stable cash flows, which means they will probably leave it to the government to buildstadiums that may barely be used after the 2016 Olympics.