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Publicly Financing Baseball Teams

I do not support publicly financing sports teams. While jobs are created, taxes realized, etc., my understanding is that sports teams have a far lesser impact than is generally believed. Whereas, had those tax breaks gone to other businesses, the tax base would have been expanded. It is amazing, but when owners put out winning ball clubs, fans attend.

It is a novel approach to the business, but it works. When the Phillies were in first place in 1993, they were among the league leaders in attendance (Colorado, LA). Then MLB stopped play, ticked off the customers, the owners took a beating, cut payroll, and the fans stopped coming in droves because there was a poor team on the field.

It got so bad they said they couldn’t compete with the rest of the league unless they had a new stadium. The Phillies claimed they needed public assistance to build that stadium. After much wrestling, Pennsylvania put up a third and Philadelphia put up a third. The Phillies are basically alone in reaping benefits from the stadium.

Personally, and I am nearly alone out here, I believe MLB needs to contract. If teams cannot compete in the league, fold them rather than hold communities hostage. Of course, it won’t. There is no money to be made in doing so, even if the product is improved.

I love baseball, but the folks in charge have little appreciation for the game. It is all business. Which is fine. What they lose, however, is loyalty when it becomes just a business. Going to a game anymore is bordering on too expensive for our household. What were once $20 tickets are now $35 tickets. Parking is now $ 10.We have to shell out $80 to get in, not to mention the gas and toll to get there. Forget the hot dogs and the beers. The cheap seats are $20, but they are nose bleeds. One of the perks to getting older is sitting closer. So far, I will only be going to one game this year, and that is without the family.

MLB has begun charging for everything. One cannot listen to the games on the ‘Net for free any longer. I suspect in the coming years, all radio broadcasts will reside online or on digital radio which is fee-based.

We used to get the Yankees and Mets games on free television. No longer. Every once in a blue moon there is a Mets game, but if it is once a week, that would surprise me. The Yankees are strictly on cable. The Phillies have few games on free television. Fortunately, the cable stations they broadcast on are on my plan. For many, that is not the case. MLB is really pushing its MLB.TV package. I suspect in coming years it will be impossible to view baseball from home without paying someone for that privilege.

I do not begrudge the organizations to run their teams like this. Just because this passionate fan is finding it more difficult to support his hometown team, does not mean that MLB is not doing what is in its best interests. Profits now over a long-term fanbase may be the right call. I do not know.

And to think the owners are doing this without incentive from the players would be wrong. Player salaries are ever increasing. Free markets drive those salaries and as long as players can realize these astronomical prices, I do not fault them for asking for them. Collusion concerns prevent the owners from artificially holding salaries steady. So, unless there are reasons for owners and players to agree to control/cap costs, it will not happen.

Should MLB benefit from my tax dollars to run its industry? Why should MLB be able to leverage my tax dollars for their gain and price me out of the market? To support such a scenario is ludicrous.