The Atlanta braves announced in November that, in 2017, they will open a new stadium in Cobb County. Turner field will only be 21 years old, when their team will vacate it and have it demolished in 2017. This announcement stunned many of fans due to the lack of warning that they received and the seemingly young age of the current stadium. Recently, many sports teams have built new stadiums for their teams to decrease headaches, put money into their pockets, and put money back into the team. Not all of these moves are welcomed into their future communities.
Mike Plant, one of the Atlanta Braves executive, claims traffic “is the No.1 reason why our fans don’t come to more games” (Brown, 2013). This claim goes unchecked with the proposed location of the new stadium. Also the executives are saying that a 250 million dollar renovation to the structure of Turner Field is required to keep the stadium open. With “Turner Field being owned by the City of Atlanta and the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority” (Tucker, 2013), there is no reason for the Braves to foot the bill especially since their 20 year lease is over in 2016. These excuses play into the reasons that stadiums life expectancy is getting shorter and shorter.
With the average age of all Major League Baseball (MLB) stadiums only at 24 years the national pastime landmarks are becoming extinct. This number includes two stadiums that are more than a century old, 100 years old (Wrigley Field), and 102 years old (Fenway Park). With these two landmarks removed, the average age of MLB stadiums dip to only 18 years. From 1953 to 1973 twenty-five new stadiums came into existence, twenty one of these were for a newly created team or a relocated team. Since 1994, twenty new basebal...
... middle of paper ...
...D. (2013, August 27). Greater Greater Washington. Retrieved from Greater Greater Washington: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/19849/was-nationals-park-worth-it-for-dc/
Diedrich, C. (n.d.). Policy Matters. Homefield Economics: The Public Financing of Stadiums, 4(2), pp. 22-27. Retrieved from http://www.faegrebd.com/webfiles/Homefield%20Economics.pdf
Oz, M. (2013, December 18). NBC Sports Network. Retrieved from Yahoo Sports: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/atlanta-tea-party-plans-sue-block-construction-braves-181717773--mlb.html
Tucker, T. (2013, November 12). Cox Media Group. Retrieved from Atlanta Journel Constitution: http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/baseball/braves-plan-to-build-new-stadium-in-cobb/nbpNQ/
USA Today Sports Media Group. (n.d.). Spotrac. Retrieved from Spotrac.com: http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/atlanta-braves/team-payroll/
The Dallas Cowboys, America’s football team, one of the most well known professional football franchises in the sport’s history. The Cowboys own five super bowl titles, which were won in ’71, ’77, ’92, ’93 and ’95. They are also home to 19 renowned individuals who have been inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame including standout football stars Tony Dorsett, Emmit Smith, and Troy Aikman. Established in 1960, the Cowboys have been a dominating force on the field and still continue to produce to this day. Forbes wrote, “The Cowboys franchise value reaches over 1.85 billion and are listed as the third most valued sports team in the world”, (Page 1). With all of this hype and world wide recognition the powerhouse from Dallas needs a venue just as prominent as the team itself as well as having the capability to hold all the weight the Cowboys name carries.
Ultimately, there are three exceptionally important criteria for deciding on good candidate for an expansion team. The first criterion is that the stadium must be controlled or owned by the baseball team. The stadium is a crucial aspect because most of the team’s revenue is generated in relation to the stadium. This stadium revenue comprises of ticket sales, parking, merchandise and concessions. Thus, without a stadium, the team will not be able to generate a stable source of revenue. The second criterion is that local ownership must have strong roots within the community. Without ties to the community, fan attendance could decrease. This is because fans could eventually perceive that the owner(s)’s only goal for the MLB franchise was to be profitable. The third criterion is the city must have long-term political support in the community. It is vital to have political support in order to gain financial support throughout the team’s years of existence, especially in tax payer monies. Particularly, this is significant when the team experiences issues or fights that involve the stadium and the land around the stadium. If there is a lack of political support, the expansion teams will not be able to obtain enough for money for stadium renovations, repairs, or to build new stadiums for the same team within the same city. This circumstance was apparent when the New York Yankees used tax revenue generated by New York City to fund the building of their brand new stadium for the 2009 season. Therefore, expansion committees believe it is necessary to confirm that the prospective cities will have enough political support because this political factor will help stabilize and financially support the prosp...
...clusion the “Sports Construction Era” ballparks are a radical change in the way we experience a major league baseball game. The radical changes benefit both the baseball club and the fans. Finally the new style of construction employed by these three “pioneer” cities has been such a success that they have become the standard for the future of major league ballpark construction throughout the country.
Other marketing strategies used in during this farewell season are commemorating former players, coaches, and hall of famers as well as a count down display in left field. The display is being used to count down the number of home games left this season. The count down will reach zero during the 5th inning of the final home game against The Detroit Tigers which has almost been sold out, nearly six months in advance. These marketing strategies have proven to be beneficial and should be continued considering the attendance is up from last year. However, there is always room for improvements. The Atlanta Braves should consider new marketing strategies to improve fan experiences which will improve overall fan satisfaction as discussed earlier. Strategies to improve fan experience involve anything that will create a “valued experience” for a consumer (Sarstedt, 2014). Bringing old traditions from Turner Field to SunTrust Park is one way to create a valued experience for fans who are disgruntled over the move to Cobb County. Being that the Atlanta Braves are a team of tradition, it would be wise to implement old traditions in the new stadium to not only satisfy the concerns of disgruntled fans, but to bring a sense of community to the new stadium for the entire fan base.
The opening pitch of the 1999 marks the start of the Toronto Blue Jays twenty third seasons in the American League. In 1998, the Jays brought in their first winning season since 1993. The Jays plays in the worlds most advanced retractable-roof stadium. It is luxuriously called the Sky Dome. With a winning record like this and a state of the art stadium, the Jays feel their tickets are a great value because of the satisfaction fans can expect to receive from the ball game.
Siegfried, J., & Zimbalist, A. (2000). The economics of sports facilities and their communities. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, , 95-114.
Some of the most prolific franchises in sports, like the Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Colts of the National Football League, have moved to other cities breaking off their loyalty to the hometown fans. More important than the actual moves are the more frequent threatened moves. When teams “play the field” and explore the option of playing in other cities they are able to lure interested cities into giving them just about any royalty they want. New stadiums are only the beginning. The willingness to threaten departure has secured for teams a variety of land deals, lower taxes, more revenues from parking and concessions, control of stadium operations, guaranteed ticket sales, renovation of stadiums with luxury seating, control over neighborhoods and transportation systems, and that’s only the beginning of the list.
In the heart of downtown Los Angeles nestled within the valley of Chavez Ravine lies Dodger Stadium. Overlooking green valleys and rolling hills with the skyscrapers of the city behind it, Dodger Stadium appears as the epitome of peace in bustling Los Angeles. Few would fathom that beneath this sanctum of the Los Angeles Dodgers resides a village of Mexican Americans. Critics ranging from muralist Judy Baca, to academic writers Tara Yosso and David García, to the people displaced themselves argue that the creation of Dodger Stadium can never be justified because it destroyed a village. The construction of Dodger Stadium served the common good according to the definition given in the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. The demolition of Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop was the fault of the City Housing Authority (CHA), not owner Walter O’Malley who capitalized on Chavez Ravine at the right moment. O’Malley was primarily a businessman who was in charge of the team to make money in order to satisfy thousands of customers while supporting the club’s workers. Finally, the majority of people living in Los Angeles supported the addition of a baseball team which would in turn benefit the city itself.
Noll, Roger, and Zimbalist, Andrew. Sports, Jobs, and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums. Brooking institutions press, Summer 1997. Vol. 15 No. 3.
Unfortunately, baseball has become more concerned about profit and less about winning percentage pennants won. It's good there is still fans in the country that ignore all the economics about baseball and just love to watch the game being played. Media has played the biggest part in exposing baseball and making it more of a business then it should be. Baseball is a growing business in the 21st century and it can only expand. The economics of baseball is not that noticeable, if it is ignored and there is more focus on winning and losing. Hopefully, people realize this and won't help Major League Baseball go down the tubes.
Powell, Douglas S. "Is Big League Baseball Good Municipal Business?." American City & County 114.6 (1999): 78. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Nemee, David. “100 Years of Major League Baseball.” Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications Infernational, Ltd, 200. Print.
Baseball remains today one of America’s most popular sports, and furthermore, baseball is one of America’s most successful forms of entertainment. As a result, Baseball is an economic being of its own. However, the sustainability of any professional sport organization depends directly on its economic capabilities. For example, in Baseball, all revenue is a product of the fans reaction to ticket prices, advertisements, television contracts, etc. During the devastating Great Depression in 1929, the fans of baseball experienced fiscal suffering. The appeal of baseball declined as more and more people were trying to make enough money to live. There was a significant drop in attention, attendance, and enjoyment. Although baseball’s vitality might have seemed threatened by the overwhelming Great Depression, the baseball community modernized their sport by implementing new changes that resulted in the game’s survival.
Financial aspects and profitability of college athletic programs is one of the most important arguments involved in this controversy. A group of people expresses that college athletic programs are over emphasized. The point they show on the first hand, is that athletic programs are too expensive for community colleges and small universities. Besides, statistics prove that financial aspects of college athletic programs are extremely questionable. It is true that maintenance, and facility costs for athletic programs are significantly high in comparison to academic programs. Therefore, Denhart, Villwock, and Vedder argue that athletic programs drag money away from important academics programs and degrade their quality. According to them, median expenditures per athlete in Football Bowl Subdivision were $65,800 in 2006. And it has shown a 15.6 percent median expenditure increase fro...
Baseball is one of the world's greatest sports and is played almost everywhere in the world. It is also one of the most historic games. The main historic part of baseball deals with the ballparks, the cities, and the teams that have been around for such a long time. Then you have the one and only Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. Fenway Park is the longest standing and is still being used of all the Major League ballparks in the United States. Throughout the 100 years of Fenway Park's existence it has been built, named, burned down, rebuilt, and a whole lot of adding on to the ballpark.