Economy Effecting Sports Teams Too

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2009-05-11T05:35:00-04:00

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576 3018 Bad news concerning the countries economy seems to be an everyday occurrence these days. You shake you head and wonder what you can do to escape the pressure of it all.    You would love to do something or go somewhere where you can just forget about the countries problems, recessions, the economy and not have to agonize about a mystic Wall Street market that you might have never really paid attention to in times past.   There is no problem in that. We all know exactly how you feel and the overall economy is affecting us all. However, if you are thinking of going to a ballgame to forget, just do not expect to find comfort or relief from it all at the old ballpark.    The sports recession is upon us and we embrace you into it. If the recession has not affected you favorite teams finances as of yet, you can bet your booty that it will be very soon.   The situation as it stands now could lead to many changes affecting both the fan and the owners. For the fans, it could eventually lead to lower ticket prices as well as lower concession prices, but that is stretching it.  Because lets face it, there are not as many people these days who can afford to spend hundreds of dollars just to witness a ballgame.   As far as the team owners, it will most likely decrease their sponsorship revenue, and the financing costs for stadiums already in use are anticipated to rise as well because of the current credit crisis.   This could also start to effect professional teams overall budgets and what they may be willing to dish out on their players in the future. These issues might even postpone the building of some new stadiums around the country with financing costs continually rising in this country.   It is already affecting the sale of the Chicago Cubs to Billionaire Tom Ricketts and his family because of the recession; they have had difficulty getting the financing in order to complete the $900 million transaction.   The Cubs had been hoping to complete the sale by Opening Day, but that did not come to fruition, as the Ricketts family needed more time to secure the financing needed to complete the purchase. Now the Tribune Co., who currently owns the Cubs were hoping to have the sale finalized by the end of May, before the annual owners meetings on May 20-21. That time frame is no longer realistic.   Not even the teams with the deepest pockets and recent championship trophies in their display cases think they will be invulnerable from the recession. "It's certainly an issue we deal with and discuss every day," said Steve Tisch, chairman of the New York Giants.   Tisch has reasons to be worried and concerned. He has been working with the New York Jets on a project to build a new stadium that both the Giants and Jets would share in basically the same arrangement they currently have with the Meadowlands in New Jersey.   Therefore, the teams will be looking at the audacious task of selling luxury suites while financial firms are dealing with billion dollar losses and numerous job layoffs.   Because of the recession, it is no surprise that the Giants and the Jets have not secured a corporate naming rights deal as of yet. If you think about it, New York is the countries largest media market and the stadium will be the only football venue in the NFL that has two teams playing in it. Usually, big corporations would be lining up and banging on the door to get the rights to name a stadium with this advantage.   Nevertheless, the New York football teams are not alone in this quandary. Major League baseballs Washington Nationals just opened “Nationals Park” without a corporate sponsors name on it.   Look at the Yankees and the Mets, both in brand new stadiums this year and attendance is down, ticket prices and concessions are extremely high, and people cannot afford to go to the games.   The Yankees are charging $500-$2,625 for tickets in 25 sections at the new Yankee Stadium. The seats were filled for the season home opener, but were less than half-full for the rest of the home stand.   The Mets have less premium seats around home plate, are charging an average of $175-$495 for seats in the 20 rows between the two dugouts.   Nevertheless, because of these rising costs and credit issues, if fans do keep going to the games, concession stand profits may be way down. Fans are going to spend less and bring their own peanuts, sandwiches, and popcorn with them to the games.    As far as the wealthy owners and the over-paid players are concerned, I highly doubt that anyone is going to cry about them losing any money. However, owners and players will not be the only ones hurt by higher loan costs or a decrease in sales. This is also a big issue for the stadium owners, which is the local government in most instances. Therefore, it will eventually affect the local taxpayers as well.   In addition, the rising costs and lower profits might cause your favorite team, especially small market teams that are hit hard by the economies doldrums, to spend less money on players that may in turn affect the performance of the team without the ability to pay superstar players.    On the bright side, some relief is coming for cash-strapped sports fans struggling with high-ticket prices in the economic recession.   The four commissioners of the four major sports leagues, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, NBA Commissioner David Stern, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig the got together at "The Future of Sports" panel discussion hosted by The Wall Street Journal,. to discuss the situation.     NFL commissioner Goodell said he expects 24 of 32 NFL clubs to freeze tickets prices for this season. The other eight will increase prices in some ticket categories, he said.   "All 32 clubs were very sensitive about the economic conditions. I think they have to be," Goodell said. "Our fans are going through a very difficult period of time. There's a lot of fear, a lot of uncertainty."   NBA Commissioner Stern said that 27 of 30 NBA teams plan to freeze or reduce ticket prices for the 2009-2010 season. Three are increasing prices, he added.   "There are going to be adjustments based upon the economy. NBA clubs will do fine, but they'll do less,” Stern said. “They'll either maintain prices or cut them. As we come through the economy, I think there will be some repricing mechanism built in. The good ones will continue to be good."   MLB Commissioner said that more than half of the 30 major league clubs cut or froze ticket prices for the 2009 season.   “MLB teams have "held our ticket prices down" during the worst economic troubles since the Great Depression” Selig said. “More than half of the 30 major league clubs cut or froze ticket prices for the 2009 season”.   NHL Commissioner Bettman said that two-thirds of the NHL's 30 teams will keep prices flat for the 2009-2010 season.   I would have to say that it is a start, but personally, I will just stay home and watch the games on TV.   0.0.0.0

2009-05-11T05:35:00-04:00

economy-effecting-sports-teams-too

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Economy Effecting Sports Teams Too

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Economy Effecting Sports Teams Too

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