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Send Money Or We'll Shoot This Team: Major League Baseball added an unprecedented arrow to the quiver of stadium demands on November 6, when owners voted 28-2 to approve the "contraction" of two franchises. Under the plan, two teams would be bought out by the other owners, for prices ranging from $150 million to $250 million, and their players distributed among the other major-league franchises. Commissioner Bud Selig declined to reveal the names of the two teams that would be eliminated, but speculation centered on the Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, and Florida Marlins. While the owners cited "competitive balance" as a reason to fold teams, the targeted franchises have experienced considerable success in recent years: the Twins are the only team other than the New York Yankees to win two World Series in the last 15 years, the Marlins were world champs as recently as 1997, and the Expos had the best record in baseball when the 1994 season was terminated by a labor dispute. Instead, most sports business experts consider the contraction threat to be a loaded gun pointed at the head of two parties: State legislatures facing stadium demands, and the players union. "I think the real straightforward strategy is they're putting the screws to the Twin Cities and Miami," says Washington State economist Rodney Fort. "Then they will stick this contraction notion in their pocket and take it to the [bargaining] table," with the threat of eliminating teams if the players don't agree to a salary cap. If so, the gambit could backfire. In Minnesota, where both the public and the state legislature have been overwhelmingly opposed to spending public money on a new stadium, House Majority Leader Tim Pawlenty said, "I don't think that the threat of contraction at our doorstep is going to fundamentally change the [stadium] dynamics." Gov. Jesse Ventura, a staunch stadium subsidy opponent, replied with his own threat: "If they eliminate the Twins, I say we eliminate their antitrust status." If MLB moves ahead with contraction, lawsuits and Congressional hearings are a near certainty. Florida attorney general Bob Butterworth has threatened lawsuits if the Marlins or Tampa Bay Devil Rays are eliminated; Minnesota attorney general Mike Hatch has said his office is exploring the state's legal options. Within hours, a Minnesota county judge issued a temporary restraining order against baseball eliminating the Twins after the state's Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission argued that it would violate the team's Metrodome lease, and that contraction "is motivated by Major League Baseball's desire to extort public financing of a new stadium." As for the players union, president Don Fehr responded with a strongly worded statement condemning the contraction plan as "most imprudent and unfortunate" and "inconsistent with the law, our contract, and perhaps most important, the long-term welfare of the sport." But if the owners plan to use the threat to eliminate 50 major-league jobs as a bargaining chip in upcoming labor negotiations, they could be in for a surprise. "I don't see how it can be a believable threat to the union," says Fort. "I think what'll happen is Fehr will look them in the eye and say, 'Fine. You can't.'" (For a more in-depth analysis of why the union isn't afraid of contraction, see John Brattain's TOTK.com column.) Meanwhile, players and team employees are left in limbo, not knowing if they'll have an employer come the spring. Twins catcher A.J. Pierzynski bitterly told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: "It's incomprehensible that they would just fold up the team after what we did this season. I heard [Twins owner Carl Pohlad] sold his bank for $1 billion and is worth, what, $2 billion? If he feels like he needs to be paid another $150 million, you just have to tip your hat to him and say good job." . . . The contraction threat comes at a time that stadium fever is at its lowest ebb in more than a decade. The events of September 11, and the economic collapse that have followed, have wreaked havoc on the sports industry, with many stadium and arena projects now on hold or up in the air:
The sale of the Boston Red Sox drags on, with several prospective ownership groups still in the running, one of which (former Padres owner Tom Werner and business partner Les Otten) has proposed its own renovation plan for Fenway Park in place of the current owners' plans for a $665 million replacement. After the Sox' late-season plunge out of the pennant race, coupled with the weakening economy, the club's sale price is expected to be reduced considerably from early projections. . . . On October 24, the Boston City Council reiterated its opposition to the Sox' all-but-dead Fenway stadium plan, voting 7-6 to oppose any city land takings for the project. . . . A New Orleans Times-Picayune investigation into economic impact projections of development subsidies found that the numbers they provide are seldom reliable, especially when the beneficiaries of the development deals are the ones conducting the studies. In one case, when organizers of a festival in Texas were unhappy with an economist's projection of $16.1 million in economic impact, they sent him back to the drawing board. His new calculation: $321.6 million. "I've had people tell me that: 'I want the biggest number I can get,'" University of New Orleans economist Timothy Ryan told the newspaper. . . . Louisiana Governor Mike Foster agreed on September 26 to provide the New Orleans Saints with direct cash subsidies over the next ten years, to keep the team from moving out of town. The state legislature would still need to find financing for the plan, which would provide a subsidy of $12.5 million this year, rising to $23.5 million by 2010. . . . The city of Detroit, having found no takers for its request for developers to convert Tiger Stadium into luxury housing and a mall, is now taking bids to demolish the historic structure. (Though the Tigers levied a ticket surcharge in their latter years in Tiger Stadium that was supposed to go toward demolition costs, the city has apparently never collected that money.) At least two different groups this summer had proposed revitalizing Tiger Stadium as a sports venue; a Detroit News online poll on tearing down the ballpark found readers opposed, 52-47%. &emdash;November 7, 2001 Tennessee Court Blocks Arena Funds: A Tennessee Chancery Court judge stunned the NBA July 12 when he ruled that a proposed Memphis arena for the relocated Vancouver Grizzlies would violate the state constitution. Chancellor Walter Evans ruled that because the arena would serve primarily a private purpose, any expenditure of public funds would require approval of 75% of voters in a referendum. The Grizzlies, which in June received NBA permission to relocate to Memphis, have insisted a new arena is vital to their move, calling the 10-year-old Pyramid inadequate. The team, city, and county have appealed the judge's decision. . . . Work on the $334 million stadium being built for the Arizona Cardinals in Tempe has been put on hold while the Federal Aviation Administration investigates whether the building's 198-foot-high roof would create a flight hazard for planes landing at nearby Sky Harbor International Airport. If the FAA finds a risk to aviation, the stadium could be forced to relocate, something Tempe is refusing the consider; the city of Phoenix has said it may sue to force the relocation if necessary. . . . The Denver Post has announced that it will officially refer to the Denver Broncos' new home as "Mile High Stadium," eschewing the corporate moniker of "Invesco Field at Mile High." Invesco, the mutual-funds company that is paying $120 million over 20 years for the naming rights to the building, expressed outrage at the Post's decision, saying, "We would expect and hope as journalists The Post would be accurate and use the full and proper name. It doesn't seem to be a balanced or fair way to portray the facility." Invesco officials had previously expressed outrage at Post columnist Woody Paige when he reported a conversation with an Invesco executive in which it was revealed that around the office, the new stadium is commonly referred to as "The Diaphragm." . . . The sale of the Boston Red Sox drags on, with the fate of Fenway Park inextricably tied up in who ends up purchasing the club, and for how much. While the media continue to talk up the possibility of developer Frank McCourt buying the team and building a new stadium on land he owns in South Boston, several other bidders have at least expressed interest in renovating the current ballpark. . . . A sudden downpour flooded Fenway Park August 4, knocking loose several ceiling tiles, and leading ace pitcher to snap "Save Fenway Park, my ass!" while local sports columnists declared that this was a sign that the ballpark needs replacement. Noted Save Fenway Park!'s Erika Tarlin in response: "Amazing, of course, is that this brink of crumbling, edge of condemnation disaster zone could host yet another full house just the next day (for a doubleheader) and the OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) wasn't there to chain the gates shut to protect the populace." . . . Talks between the New Orleans Saints and the state of Louisiana on a new football stadium broke off June 26, after team owner Tom Benson accused Gov. Mike Foster of offering a "Mickey Mouse deal." The state proposal had included a new stadium, paid for entirely by the state, to open by 2009, and $100 million in subsidies in the interim, including free rent at a renovated Superdome, more advertising and concession revenue, proceeds from sale of the Superdome naming rights, and a 4 percent tax on tickets for events at both the Superdome and the New Orleans Arena, all of which would go to the team. Benson has threatened to move to nearby Mississippi if a new stadium is not built in New Orleans by 2006. . . . The Great Rudy Stadium Announcement Watch continues, nearly four months after the New York mayor declared that "we will tell you everything in about two weeks, maybe three." The Daily News reported on June 28 that the New York Mets were extremely close to announcing a deal with the city for a stadium to be built in the Shea Stadium parking lot, citing unnamed team officials that an agreement could be announced "as soon as next week." Asked about the report, Giuliani asserted mysteriously, "We're very close, which could also mean that we're very far apart." On August 7, Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon told the Hartford Courant there was "nothing new" regarding stadium talks, saying only that he hoped something could be resolved by the end of 2001. The proposed stadiums for the Mets and Yankees, which could cost as much as $800 million apiece, would require budget approval by both the city and state in 2002, and Giuliani's term as mayor expires at the end of this year. . . . The Miami city commission voted August 10 to shelve a public vote on a $480 million stadium for the Marlins until at least next March. Mayor Joe Carollo, a backer of the project, accused the commission of doing something that would "kill the Marlins"; commissioners said they were afraid an earlier referendum would be defeated. . . . Philadelphia City Councilmember David Cohen filed a lawsuit June 28 seeking an injunction against the city's stadium deal for the Phillies and Eagles, asking the court to cap city spending at $394 million, the amount the city promised taxpayers it would spend. Cohen fears land costs could send city expenses well higher than that mark. . . . The Chicago group Friends of the Parks has filed a second lawsuit against the proposed reconstruction of Soldier Field for the Bears, this one charging it illegally evades competitive bidding rules and uses public money to fund a private project. About $300 million of the $582 million project would be paid for with public funds. . . . John Bondon, chairman of the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority chair John Bondon, asked about the possibility of a new downtown stadium for the Kansas City Royals, replied, "I don't think it's feasible, and I don't think there's enough money." Kansas City Star sports columnist Jason Whitlock (who ESPN's Rob Neyer ranked fifth on a recent list of the four most sensible K.C. sportswriters, calling him "off in his own galaxy") snapped in response, "It's not feasible for Kansas City to keep its second-class status to cities unafraid to challenge conventional wisdom." . . . The parcel of government-owned downtown land once targeted for a new Montreal Expos stadium was sold to a private developer on July 3, almost a year after the team chose not to renew its option on the site. Team VP David Samson remarked following the sale: "I think this announcement does nothing to either increase or decrease the cloud of uncertainty over the franchise." . . . Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell has told the Nashville Sounds ownership that the city will not build a replacement for Greer Stadium, but may consider renegotiating the minor-league baseball team's lease. . . . The Baltimore Orioles have won their case against the Maryland Stadium Authority over their Camden Yards lease &emdash; sort of. While the team won the right to sell naming rights to the facility and to $10 million in state aid for stadium improvements, an arbitrator rejected their demands for additional luxury boxes and rent and concessions rebates. The Orioles' lease promises the club a deal equal to any football team that plays in the stadium complex; the Baltimore Ravens moved in in 1996, under slightly different lease terms. . . . The Chicago White Sox are planning $6.5 million in renovations to ten-year-old Comiskey Park in preparation for the 2003 All-Star Game, including redesign of the "batter's eye" in centerfield and improvements to the concession concourses. The team is reportedly also considering renovating the upper deck to add 450 club seats and a bar, at a cost of $19.6 million. . . . The Vancouver Canucks' hopes of receiving money from a provincial sports lottery received a splash of cold water when British Columbia's new solicitor general, Rich Coleman, issued a brief statement reading: "We're not prepared to subsidize professional sports operations in the province." . . . The city of Sacramento is exploring the possibility of building a new downtown arena for the Kings. "We need to go into this with eyes open, look at the real benefits and costs, and not get swept away by the glamour of it all," said Councilman Dave Jones. . . . Opposition continues to rise against an Oakland A's stadium in Santa Clara, with city manager Jennifer Sparacino calling the team's proposed financing plan &emdash; in which more than half of the $274.5 million stadium cost would be fronted by taxpayers &emdash; "unrealistic" and saying it "poses a risk to our general fund." &emdash;August 16, 2001 Too Much News To Fit In One Headline: It was a busy spring for stadium and arena battles, with votes in several cities, a basketball team on the move, and renovation in the air in Boston, Chicago, and Albuquerque. The first NBA franchise relocation in 16 years (since the Kansas City Kings moved to Sacramento) moved a step closer to reality on June 5 when the Memphis city council voted 10-3 to approve the first phase of spending on a $250 million basketball arena, which would become the new home of the Vancouver Grizzlies. Under a lease agreement finalized shortly earlier, the team owners will keep all revenues from the new arena for 25 years while paying just $3 million a year in operating costs, and will be allowed to move starting in 2014 if attendance falls below 14,000 a game. The team won't be named the "Memphis Express," however: the NBA has announced a ban on corporate names for its franchises, putting the kibosh on the team's planned $100 million naming rights deal with Memphis-based FedEx. . . . The same day and one state to the east, voters in Charlotte shot down a plan to replace the 16-year-old Charlotte Coliseum with a new publicly funded building - the arena package going down to defeat 57% to 43% despite a 30-to-1 spending advantage for proponents - leading to immediate rumors that the Hornets would be headed to Louisville in 2002. "We really want to stay in Charlotte," Hornets owner Ray Wooldridge told the Charlotte Observer. "The process is still up to Charlotte and its leadership." . . . Albuquerque residents, in a complicated two-way vote, approved $15 million in public funding to renovate the 32-year-old Albuquerque Sports Stadium May 30, approving stadium bonds 56% to 43% while choosing renovation over a new facility by a two to one margin. The renovated facility will be the new home of the Pacific Coast League Calgary Cannons, which are expected to relocate by the 2003 season. "I think it says that we're ready to be as much as we can be," said Mayor Jim Baca following the vote. . . . Residents of cash-strapped Pittsfield, Massachusetts, voted 7,745 to 6,547 on June 5 not to establish a stadium authority to replace historic Waconah Park. The city, which is facing an $8 million budget deficit and has its finances being run by a state oversight board, had hoped to build a new $18.5 million stadium to lure a new minor-league baseball team to town, to replace the Astros farm club that is relocating at the end of 2001. The stadium authority was voted down despite stadium proponents outspending opponents by more than 30 to 1. "They are turning out the streetlights. The state is taking over control of the city's books," Pittsfield resident told the Associated Press before the vote. "This is no time to be building a baseball stadium," said Edward Lembo. Baseball in Pittsfield may not be dead, however: reports are that former pitcher (and "Ball Four" author) Jim Bouton is looking into renovating Waconah and placing an independent Northern League team there. . . . The St. Louis Cardinals, Missouri Gov. Bob Holden, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County Executive George R. "Buzz" Westfall announced June 20 that they had signed a "memorandum of understanding" on building a $346 million stadium to replace Busch Stadium, with $200 million to be paid by the state, city, and county, largely funded by funneling sales taxes in the stadium district to the project. (No word on how much rent, if any, the team would pay, though the public stadium district would retain any naming rights fees.) The citizen group Coalition Against Public Funding for Stadiums immediately decried the plan as a "foul ball for Missourians," and pledged to press ahead with its petition drive for a public referendum on public stadium funding. . . . After rescinding an offer by former New Jersey Gov. (and now EPA chief) Christine Todd Whitman to help build a basketball/hockey arena in downtown Newark, acting governor Donald DiFrancesco announced his own plan June 6 -- one that would provide even more public financing than Whitman's plan. The new plan, which requires the approval of both the state legislature and the city of Newark, would raise sales taxes in Newark from 3% to 6%, and use the proceeds to provide $190 million in state funds toward a $355 million arena for the Nets and Devils. The city and county would also be expected to contribute $50 million, from revenue sources yet to be determined. . . . The Boston Red Sox would be financially better off remaining in Fenway Park than moving to a new stadium, according to a new study by sports economist Robert Baade commissioned by Save Fenway Park! and Ralph Nader. Thanks to Fenway's popularity, The Sox have remained among the highest-renevue teams in the league even as new ballparks have opened in recent years, reports Baade, and a new stadium would be unlikely to generate enough new cash flow to do more than pay off the team's own construction debts. . . . A recent WBZ-TV poll found 77% of Boston area residents now want Fenway renovated or left alone, compared to 22% for a new stadium. And 57% of those polled said no government money should be used in any stadium project. Renovation took a step forward recently when at least one of the reported eight bidders to purchase the Sox was said to be interested in rebuilding Fenway rather than moving to a new park. Developer Frank McCourt is also reportedly considering building a baseball stadium in South Boston, though no one's saying how much such a project would cost or who would pay for it. . . . The New England Patriots will leap from one of the cheapest tickets in the league to by far the most expensive once their CMGI Stadium opens in 2002. Average ticket price at the new facility will be a record $73, with the least expensive seats, at $49, more pricey than the average ticket ($47) at their current home, Foxboro Stadium. "It's an increase of, whatever, 25-30 percent," said numerically challenged team VP Andy Wasynczuk, "but I think people will probably feel that the product (the new stadium) is a 300 percent improvement. It's going to be an infinitely better experience." . . . Not to be left out, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says he wants a new $500 million stadium, possibly in Arlington, and wants public money to help finance it. The Cowboys, according to official NFL figures, earned a $25 million profit last year, fifth in the league. . . . With Pittsburgh's new PNC Park not packing in the fans (a modest 30,000 per game through June 4), the Pirates seem to have found a new way to boost revenues: restrict fans from bringing in outside food and drink. Starting in May, the team banned all drink containers larger than cardboard juice packs, as well as large sandwiches or bags of snacks. Pirates VP Dennis DaPra insisted that the new policy was designed to stop fans from smuggling in alcohol in water bottles, but was mum on the perceived threat from rum-soaked ham sandwiches. . . . The Detroit Tigers are facing even more discouraging crowds at one-year-old Comerica Park, where the team is averaging barely 20,000 fans a game, fewer than in its final season at Tiger Stadium. Sky-high ticket prices at the new stadium and a bottom-of-the-standings ballclub are among the reasons theorized for the drop-off in attendance. It's worth noting, though, that the last team to replace a classic early-20th-century ballpark with a modern stadium, the Chicago White Sox, have drawn poorly in their new home as well. . . . The Chicago Cubs have proposed adding 2,100 bleacher seats and 200 to 250 box seats to Wrigley Field in time for the 2002 season, while increasing the number of night games at the park from 18 to 30. The plan must be approved by both the mayor's office and the city landmarks commission, which is considering landmark status for the stadium. Cubs management, which made its announcement the day the first-place team's home winning streak reached 13 games, said the expansion was necessary for the team to remain competitive with the rest of the league. . . . Even as Cleveland opened three new sports facilities in the 1990s, it was losing young adult population at a record pace, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Between 1990 and 2000, Greater Cleveland lost 19 percent of its population aged 25 to 34, compared to an 8 percent drop nationally. A lack of high-paying jobs is one possible culprit, though stadium critics were quick to point out that the region's struggling school system, which has already lost $30 million to tax breaks given to the stadium projects, can't be helping to retain young people starting families. . . . "Sources close to the commissioner" continue to spread rumors that two to four baseball teams will be "contracted" soon. The list of reported targets has now grown to include the Expos, Marlins, Devil Rays, Twins, A's, and Royals, with Baseball Weekly even suggesting that Disney's failure to sell the Anaheim Angels would lead MLB to fold that team, then move the A's to Anaheim. . . . One reason contraction is considered a longshot is the certainty of lawsuits if Selig moves to eliminate franchises. Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth has already put MLB on notice that he will sue to stop any attempted liquidation of the Marlins or Devil Rays. "That is the strongest tool we have," said Butterworth. "It'd be glad to use that quiver in my arrow or any other tool I can find." . . . NYC2012, the group bidding to bring the 2012 Summer Olympics to New York City, has asked the state legislature for a $250 million contingency fund to cover any losses racked up by the Games. While the International Olympic Committee requires that prospective host cities promise to pay back any Olympic deficits, the quarter-billion-dollar slush fund would be the largest approved by any U.S. Olympic bidder -- one wonders if this means the IOC expects the Olympics could lose more money in New York than in other cities. . . . On April 25, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said of new stadiums for the Yankees and Mets, "We will tell you everything in about two weeks, maybe three." Unless he meant his May announcement that prostate cancer treatments have left him impotent, we're still waiting. --June 24, 2001 Coyotes Roam Phoenix Area: With the city of Scottsdale slow to finalize the $200 million hockey arena it approved for the Phoenix Coyotes last year, what's a sports owner to do? Why, strike another, even more lucrative deal next door, of course. Coyotes owner Steve Ellman stunned Arizona with his April 11 announcement that his franchise would be moving to suburban Glendale, in exchange for a new arena (under the deal, Ellman will actually build the arena, then sell it to the city for $180 million) and exemption from both rent and property taxes for the first ten years of his tenancy. With the Coyotes off to greener pastures, Ellman and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio have proposed turning the Scottsdale site, which Ellman had already purchased, into a minimum-security "tent city" jail. "It will probably build up tourism," Arpaio told the Arizona Republic. "If we build it, they will come...We would make it look nice." New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has resumed saber-rattling about new city-funded stadiums for the Mets and Yankees, two of baseball's richest franchises. Giuliani, who is required by term limits to leave office next January, said during his city budget announcement April 25, "We are negotiating with both the Yankees and the Mets and we are very, very close and we will tell you everything in about two weeks, maybe three." But Giuliani's staff immediately downplayed that timetable, an unnamed city official telling the New York Times, "It could be two or three weeks, it could be a month; it could be four months away. There is no deal." Estimates of the cost of two new baseball stadiums have ranged from $1.5 billion to $2.2 billion; neither the mayor nor the teams has said how the construction would be financed. . . . Baseball commissioner Bud Selig rattled his own saber April 25, sending a letter to the Florida state legislature warning that "this current plan provides a final opportunity for the Marlins to remain in South Florida." Without a new stadium, Selig wrote, the Marlins would be a "very likely candidate" for either relocation or elimination. Florida State Senator Alex Villalobos, the prime sponsor of a bill to help publicly finance a new $385 million Marlins stadium, said he'd requested the blackmail note from Selig, saying: "A lot of people have said it's a threat. I wanted it in writing. I didn't want it to be subject to interpretation." . . . Earlier in the month, the Florida legislature's economic analysts estimated the proposal for a stadium sales-tax rebate would cost the state $5.3 million a year in tax revenue. The Boston Red Sox continue to come up empty in their search for a bank willing to finance their $352 million share of a planned $665 million ballpark to replace Fenway Park. "It's not going anywhere," an unnamed local politician confirmed to the Boston Globe April 24. And while developer Frank McCourt has reportedly offered land in South Boston for a Sox stadium, the Boston Herald has reported that team CEO John Harrington has no interest in moving to Southie. Even if Harrington relents, local opposition from that tight-knit neighborhood would likely be intense: "It would be opposed rigorously," promised State Senator Stephen Lynch, who represents the district. Toronto Blue Jays CEO Paul Godfrey, the former Toronto Sun publisher who was instrumental in getting the province of Ontario to build the $600 million SkyDome built in 1989, says his team and other Canadian sports franchises need subsidies to survive. "For the past several years, the Blue Jays lost millions of dollars, due mostly to the foreign exchange differential," Godfrey told a Canadian Club luncheon April 23. "The Vancouver Grizzlies have recently announced that they are leaving Vancouver for possibly Memphis and everyone is predicting that the Montreal Expos won't be far behind in looking for a new American home. It's no secret that NHL franchises in Ottawa, Edmonton and Calgary are holding on by their thumbs near the edge of the cliff. It may be too late to save the Grizzlies...but it's not too late to help the Expos and the NHL teams." Godfrey suggested subsidizing teams with provincial sports lottery revenue, as well as conducting a "high level review" of Canadian taxation. . . . The Minnesota state legislature has once again killed a Twins stadium bill, this time one that would have financed half the project's cost via a $140 million interest-free loan. Reacting to the bill's demise during Easter week, Twins president Jerry Bell responded by telling the story of Jesus' crucifixion, adding, "One of the quotes is, 'Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.'" While the Vancouver Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets await an NBA decision on which team will be allowed to move to Memphis, the Tennessee city itself is still debating whether to build the $250 million arena the teams say is necessary for them to make the move. Current financing plans would fund most of the arena cost by projected increases in sales tax and other revenues, projections that local economists have warned are grossly overoptimistic. Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton has asked lawmakers to refrain from publicly criticizing the arena deal, saying that would "send the wrong message" to the NBA officials deciding whether to allow a team to relocate. . . . Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos, who had proposed that all but $10.5 million of the proposed $250 million basketball arena be paid for by the state and city, may be reconsidering devoting more of his own Amway riches to the project after the initial plan was met with public disdain. "We feel we need to be better listeners," Magic President Bob Vander Weide told the Orlando Sentinel. "The reaction suggested sticker shock." --April 30, 2001 Tennessee, Tennessee, Ain't No Place I'd Rather Be: In a move that baffled NBA fans worldwide, both the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Charlotte Hornets announced March 26 that they were applying to relocate to Memphis for the 2001-2002 season. The NBA has promised to review the applications and rule on them by the end of July. (Our suggestions: Either a jump ball at center court, or an XFL-style race for the basketball from the baselines.) One possible scenario that's been raised has the Hornets and Grizzlies owners swapping franchises, with the Hornets remaining in Charlotte under the ownership of current Vancouver owner Michael Heisley, and Charlotte owners Ray Wooldridge and George Shinn hightailing it for Memphis. Another possibility is that the Hornets move threat is a bluff geared toward Charlotte's upcoming June referendum on building a new $215 million arena for the team. Before settling on Memphis, Heisley had conducted a months-long auction of his decision on where to take the Grizzlies, with Anaheim, New Orleans, and Louisville the other finalists. Memphis, which would be the smallest metropolitan area in the NBA, sweetened its offer with a promise by FedEx to pay a reported $100 million over 20 years for the right to name a new arena, call the team the Memphis Express, and dress players in FedEx-colored uniforms. (Under a similar deal in Louisville, Kentucky Fried Chicken had reportedly offered a similar figure if the team agreed to call a new arena the KFC Bucket and name the team the Kentucky Colonels.) As Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley met with Louisville business leaders in a local restaurant March 14, about 20 demonstrators protested outside, saying the team should pay for its proposed new arena. If either team does relocate, it will likely be contingent on Memphis building a publicly financed $250 million basketball arena. The city's current arena, The Pyramid, was built in 1991 but is already considered unacceptable by the teams. Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist has promised to provide state money toward a new arena to house whichever team relocates to Memphis. . . .
Preservationists are up in arms over the city's plan to renovate Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, after preliminary plans show the new seating bowl towering five stories above the stadium's classical colonnaded facade. "It's like putting a gargantuan addition onto the White House that towers over it and completely obscures its lines," David Bahlman, executive director of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, told the Washington Post. "You're not going to see Soldier Field anymore." Veterans groups have also protested the upcoming sale of the stadium's naming rights (proceeds will go to the team, not the city). And the National Park Service, citing the obtrusive new seating bowl, is threatening to withdraw the stadium's national landmark status if the renovation goes through as currently planned. . . . Massachusetts State House Speaker Thomas Finneran has indicated to the Boston Red Sox that no additional state aid will be forthcoming, regardless of their ongoing difficulties in raising private funds for a proposed new stadium in the Fenway. "To the extent that the Red Sox are having difficulty with their bankers, welcome to the club," Finneran told the State House News Service. "Don't we all have difficulty when we go to the bank for a loan?" . . . A March 4 poll of WBZ-TV viewers found that 56% were opposed to using state or city funds for a new Red Sox stadium, and a whopping 74% would like to see Fenway Park renovated instead of a new facility. . . .The Miami-Dade County Commissioners have approved providing $118 million in hotel tax revenue over the next 40 years to help pay off the cost of a new Florida Marlins baseball stadium. (Bowing to opposition from Miami commissoners, the team had previously abandoned requests for a stadium in downtown's bayfront Bicentennial Park and is instead focusing on a site alongside the Miami River.) Next stop for Marlins owner John Henry: the state legislature, which will be asked to approve $148 million in sales tax rebates and parking surcharges. . . . As part of the stadium push, Henry released figures claiming to show that the Marlins lost $9 million last year. Included in the expense figures: $4 million in lobbying and advertising fees for the stadium campaign, which the Miami Herald drily noted "were not mandatory for a major-league team." . . . Minnesota State Senators Dean Johnson and Harry Mares have introduced a bill that would have the state cover half the cost of a $300 million baseball stadium for the Twins. The bill would provide and a $100 million 20-year interest-free loan (a current value, according to painstaking arithmatic contortions conducted by the Field of Schemes staff, of about $42 million), a $40 million bond issue backed by revenue from the Minnesota Wild hockey team, and $10 million in sales tax breaks. No word yet from either the legislature or Gov. Ventura on how likely they would be to back the plan, or from Twins owner Carl Pohlad on whether he'd be willing to front the other $150 million that would be necessary for the project. . . . MLB commissioner Bud Selig has been stepping up the drumbeat on "contraction" -- folding two to four baseball franchises -- as a possible solution to revenue disparities. "I will tell you today that the economic situation is so significant, and as I would call it pervasive, that I wouldn't take contraction off the table," Selig said earlier this month. "It's one of the options out there that we are considering. No question about it, I have had a change of heart." Though most sports business experts feel contraction would be economic suicide, it does serve as a threat to hang over the heads of both the players union and small-market cities: both Minnesota and Montreal, the two alleged contraction targets, are debating building new stadiums for their baseball teams. . . . After a year and a half of bickering, the Seattle Mariners have finally agreed to pay for $100 million in cost overruns on Safeco Field. The ballclub had initially refused to pay for the overruns as promised, saying they were not in fact cost overruns but rather "unanticipated capital expenditures." . . . The Orlando Magic have become the third of four late-'80s NBA expansion siblings to demand a new arena barely one decade after their birth. (The Charlotte Hornets have been agitating for a new arena for two years, while the Miami Heat moved into their new America Airlines Arena in 1999) Magic executives claim the club has lost $40 million over the past four seasons at 12-year-old TS Waterhouse Centre (previously the Orlando Arena), though they have provided no financial details. Team owner Rich DeVos, the billionaire Amway baron, is seeking a 1% hotel surcharge to pay for construction of a new arena. The Orlando Sentinel sports section recently ran a front-page box touting St. Louis, Louisville, and New Orleans as possible relocation sites for the Magic if a new arena is not approved. . . . The Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants continue to head for a showdown over a proposal to move the A's to the city of Santa Clara, which the Giants claim they have territorial rights to. A second battle may be looming at Santa Clara city hall: while there is support on the city council for luring the A's with a new stadium, Mayor Judy Nadler is opposed, and City Manager Jennifer Sparacino has argued that the city should receive "fair market value" for the municipally owned land on which the stadium would be built. . . . While Busch Stadium remains one of the most popular locales in baseball, drawing 3.3 million fans in 2000, St. Louis Cardinals management has begun laying the groundwork for a stadium push, with team manager Tony La Russa reportedly telling radio reporters that the 35-year-old stadium is unsafe. A recent poll found 74 percent of St. Louis residents are opposed to using tax dollars for a new stadium. . . . Team Marketing Report's 2001 Fan Cost Index for baseball was released March 29, and the results were familiar: the largest ticket hikes belonged to the Pittsburgh Pirates (82%) and Milwaukee Brewers (55%), each of which are moving into new stadiums this season. (Last year the four teams with new buildings raised prices an average 63%, as against just a 2% hike for teams staying put.) The most expensive ducats in the majors, however, belonged to the Boston Red Sox, who continue to want to replace Fenway Park despite brisk ticket sales at a record average ticket price of $36.08, more than seven dollars higher than the runner-up New York Yankees. . . . The Yankees' Opening Day radio broadcast featured an unlikely component: an attack on noted sports economist Andrew Zimbalist. While awaiting New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's visit to the radio booth, Yankee broadcaster John Sterling promised he had a "very tough" question for the mayor. This hardball question turned out to be: "Is New York dragging its feet [on building new stadiums]?" (Rudy's reply: "We're negotiating.") A moment later, Sterling's broadcast partner, Michael Kay, chimed in to ask: "Economists say that it doesn't help a city. What's your take?" Giuliani: An economist. Kay: Andrew Zimbalist. Giuliani: He's an academic economist. Which means he's never run a business, never run anything, never raised any money, never collected any taxes. So what he does is he just takes a look at the immediate economic impact of the team. He doesn't look at all the restaurants, all the hotels, all the new jobs. I consider it a very faulty economic analysis. Kay: And he is the one who is always quoted. Sterling: He's part of the column. Giuliani: I don't know any major American business that would employ him as an economist. Zimbalist, who was listening to the game at his Smith College office, laughed at Giuliani's assertions, noting that he in fact has worked as a paid consultant for dozens of sports businesses. "That's just absurd," said Zimbalist of the mayor's assertion that he ignored restaurants and other indirect impacts. "The economic impact precisely looks at all of those things." As for the legions of sports economists snubbed by the mayor, Washington State economist Rodney Fort replied, "Who teaches these business geniuses in the first place? Nearly all of them have at least an undergrad business degree and most some graduate work in business. And they are trained to think by guys just like Andy (and me). So, if actually running a business were the criteria that mattered, then the critics never would have been hired in the first place." And Allen Sanderson of the University of Chicago echoed Zimbalist's observation that economists do indeed look at indirect economic effects, adding: "I too wonder why Andy is the only sports economist the New York Times talks to; Rod and I may file suit under the Americans with Geographical Disability Act." --April 3, 2001 Sox Stadium Plans Going Nowhere Fast: The Boston Red Sox, still spinning their wheels in attempts to line up financing for their new $665 million stadium, are reportedly planning to go back to the state legislature for more money, including agreements for the city to pick up any cost overruns on land acquisition and cleanup, and for any increases in parking revenues to go to pay off the team's stadium debts. Meanwhile, support continues to grow for alternative plans: one state legislator suggested the unlikely scenario of the Sox sharing the new Patriots stadium in Foxboro, while the Boston Business Journal called for the Sox to look at staying put, writing in an editorial, "Keeping the old Fenway Park would be strictly a business proposition. No burdensome debt for the new owners, one hopes. Moreover, it would preserve the intangible value of the franchise. Old Fenway Park is what keeps the team's brand intact." . . . As if ticket price hikes and a $335 million stadium subsidy demand weren't enough, Boston residents got one more surprise courtesy of the Red Sox this month: New England Sports Network is shifting from a premium service to standard cable in the city, a move that will create more revenue for the team, while adding an estimated $1 to $1.50 to each cable customer's bill, whether they watch sports on the channel or not. NESN is co-owned by the Sox and the Boston Bruins. . . . Stadium plans are also uncertain in Philadelphia, where the City Council last month approved a $1 billion stadium deal for the Phillies and Eagles. About half the money would come from the teams ($310 million from the Eagles, $172 million from the Phillies), with the rest being financed by rental car taxes and sales and property taxes in the stadium district. Philadelphia's Consumers Education and Protective Association is suing to block the project, charging the city with illegally issuing stadium bonds without a public referendum, and with entering into a lease agreement without publicly disclosing its full financial terms. "The right way to do it is put everything out on the table," said Tina Nelsen, the executive director of CEPA. "If you want taxpayers' money, show me the numbers." . . . The Phoenix New Times has reported that Bank One Ballpark, the three-year-old home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, may have a few screws loose. Last May, the paper discovered, an engineering consultant notified the Diamondbacks that 1,500 anchor bolts holding the stadium together had been improperly installed and were "in danger of twisting loose," at which point the building could fall down. Team and public officials denied there was any danger, with some stadium district officials theorizing that the consultant's report was commissioned by the cash-strapped team to use as ammunition in its legal battles with contractors over cost overruns. . . . In other Arizona news, Ted Ferris, the new CEO of the state's Tourism and Sports Authority, has announced that he plans on making the new Cardinals football stadium turn a profit, so that budget shortfalls don't endanger the youth sports programs that are supposed to be funded with the project's leftovers. By "profit," though, Ferris apparently meant only "stay within budget" -- the stadium project will be relying on more than $1.8 billion in tax subsidies over the next 30 years to balance its books. . . . Minnesotans For Major League Baseball, a group funded by the Minnesota Twins, issued its final report on January 24. Unsurprisingly, it declared that "the Twins cannot survive in Minnesota without a new ballpark" and that baseball "provides substantial economic benefits" to a community. Noting the "troubling fact" that most Minnesotans are opposed to sports subsidies, it recommended that the public foot the bill for 50% of the cost of a new stadium, and that municipal ownership or profit-sharing be considered. . . . The Pittsburgh Pirates are denying reports that PNC Park, the 38,000-seat stadium being built primarily with city and state money, is behind schedule and will not be ready for the 2001 season opener. Fox Sports Net had reported that the Pirates were contacting teams scheduled to play in Pittsburgh in April to see if the games could be shifted to those teams' home parks. . . . Two possible signs that the boom times are over for sports team revenues: the Detroit Tigers lowered ticket prices slightly after disappointing attendance in their first year at Comerica Park, where prices were more than doubled from their last year at Tiger Stadium; and Miami's Pro Player Stadium has been unable to find a new naming-rights sponsor since the apparel company whose name it bears filed Chapter 11 last March. "If they're not hitting the ceiling, they're certainly hitting the light fixtures," sports consultant Dean Bonham told Neil deMause's Bottom Line column. "We're seeing a lot of resistance from fans, a lot of negative comments about the cost of going to games. A lot of fans in the marketplace have gone from attendees to viewers." --January 25, 2001 |
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