(MONEY Magazine) – When Connecticut officials dangled $375 million to lure the New England Patriots from Massachusetts to downtown Hartford last year, it seemed that this kind of corporate welfare had at last peaked.

Not for long. Worried about losing one or more of their pro football and Major League Baseball teams (total: four) to another state, Pennsylvania legislators in February signed off on a deal giving Pittsburgh's Steelers and Pirates, and Philadelphia's Eagles and Phillies, each a new stadium. Total cost: $1 billion (not counting overruns), with the state and the cities putting up two-thirds of the money.

But what is the state getting for its investment? All four teams posted lousy records last year, with a combined .433 winning percentage. At least Connecticut got a contender.

--BRIAN L. CLARK