IN ANCIENT ROME SPORTS STADIUMS WERE BUILT BY TAX DOLLARS TO HQUSE BREAD & CIRCUS EVENTS DESIGNED TO DISTRACT THE, MASSES FROM THE PROBLEMS OF THE DECAYING EMPIRE : GLAD WE'VE EVOLVED PAST THAT NOW
They were also places where slaves and POWs came to put on a show and earn their freedom(yes a lot of gladiators were POWs and slaves). And those gladiators would have fans and even sponsors.
Actually, Roman sports stadiums were built for many reasons, such as they were places people could gather around and bring up issues of the empire(or repunlic when it was one), it was where a lot of disputes were settled, it was where people came to see exotic animals from far away places
punished 
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