Judith Grant Long, PhD

Judith Grant Long is an associate professor of Sport Management and an associate professor of Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on the intersection of sports, economics, and infrastructure, including the finance and delivery of sports venues via public-private partnerships; urban planning for global sports mega-projects including the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup Soccer, and the Super Bowl; as well as assessing and improving host city experiences and outcomes.

Dr. Long is an internationally recognized expert on venues used in professional sports and major sporting events. Her first book, Public-Private Partnerships for Major League Sports Facilities, considers the financial arrangements for over 120 major league venues and is currently being prepared for a second edition. Her second book (forthcoming Winter 2025), Developing NFL Stadiums, takes readers inside the high-stakes and high-profile game of building new NFL stadiums, combining current research with comprehensive venue data to provide insights into the development process. Dr. Long is also the author of many journal articles and other publications on topics including major league sports in the US and Canada, the Olympic Games and Winter Olympics, the Tour de France, and more. Dr. Long speaks at universities and conferences around the world, and her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic Monthly, NPR, BBC Radio, and other media outlets. Dr. Long is also active in the sports industry, having served on several boards, including current appointments to Juego de Pelota, Coliseum, and as an academic advisor to the National Executive Forum on Public-Private Partnerships in Canada

Dr. Long is a certified city planner with extensive experience working as an urban planner in her native Canada. Prior to the University of Michigan, she was on the faculty of Harvard University, where she also served as director of the Urban Planning program. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, among other awards and career honors. Dr. Long holds a PhD in urban planning, with a minor in economics, from Harvard University; a MDes in real estate development from Harvard Graduate School of Design; in addition to undergraduate degrees in economics and urban planning.