With the New York Yankees signing 3 highly paid pitchers in the off season, one would think that the franchise or major league baseball was in a boom financial era. Basketball contracts are at an all time high. There are even two players, Stephen Marbury of the New York Knicks and Jamaal Tinsley of the Indiana Pacers, who are being paid millions just to sit on the bench or stay away from their respective teams. Punished for their bad influence on the team, but rewarded financially for being a pro sports star. You would think that pro sports has money to burn, but that is not the case.
The Seattle Supersonics (a long time NBA fixture) refused to be strong armed by the league and build a new mega million dollar basketball arena using tax dollars. Their reward? They lose their franchise. before that, Vancouver languished in fan apathy and the whole franchise was moved to Memphis. Of course, the Vancouver Grizzlies never once fielded a competitive team and the fans had nothing to watch but cellar dwelling play, the powers that be in the NBA head office wanted seats filled.
The Indianapolis Colts played in a dome in downtown Indianapolis. They were strong armed by the NFL and the NCAA, with help from the city's convention center's call to expand, to build a 800 million dollar stadium. It came with a $200 million dollar retractable roof which may or may not be opened for 2 or 3 games a season. The Colts receive revenue from luxury boxes and concession contracts, as well as ticket sales. But had the pressing need for such a new stadium come about with our current economy during its planning stages, the Colts would probably have moved and be playing in Los Angeles.
TV contracts are the bread and butter for every major league sport. No matter the wave of fans that fill the stands, financial gaps are filled by TV revenue. That is until the product is tarnished. During the hey day of basketball at the tail end of the 20th century, the NBA boasted such popular stars as Michal Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The sport was visible and viable for network television attention. These days, with the exception of the Finals and some playoff games, NBA ratings are lower than UFC fighting matches and even the WWE.
The NBA still claims that it is a growing world product! Of course you pitch your product and brand name overseas when you have seen interest in your product go over the hump and start a downward spiral. There will be a time when more people in China will care about Kobe Bryant than any of big markets around the NBA combined.
So where does that leave sports fan Mr & Mrs Smith and their family of four? Home usually. The growing costs to keep these franchises afloat have all but squeezed every penny out of the entertainment budget. Four people going to a football and not sitting in the nosebleed sections will cost over $300 for one game. Pro Basketball tickets have been primarily viewed as corporate seats below and the real fans higher up in the stands. Baseball has always seemed the best value, but even their seats are creeping up in price, not to mention concessions. So you want to follow your teams, but you don't have the money to see them in person? How about TV? The same TV that boosted revenues and allowed the league to expand so it could build bigger stadiums and charge more.
Well now most professional sports are on pay TV. You must have cable or satellite to follow your league. And in the coming years, the NBA playoffs, the NCAA Basketball tournament (face it, it is a pro sport in its marketing and revenue), and the Super Bowl going pay per view, too! But these sport franchises need only look over their shoulder to see a wary time ahead. Arena football has dropped its current season.
Minor league baseball, and even minor league basketball, can be more affordable and fan friendly (some teams are even in big league markets). Players and owners who whine about revenue, salaries and unappreciative fans need only to read the financial pages. Out of work fans may not clamor to see so many games in person when they are tightening their home budgets.
But there is a history lesson to all of this. When Rome was losing its financial stranglehold as an empire, Caesar made sure that people could get into the Coliseum. The adage was to keep the people entertained so they could keep their mind off the fact that they were starving. Pro sports may prove more popular during an economic downturn as a way to divert our attention from financial woes. But with the costs and revenue demanded by these teams, will the home town fans have a team to cheer for in the future?