I was over at FOXBusiness.com today, simply because I stumbled upon the website as I was doing some searches (I’m a student getting paid a stipend, come on now). The site featured some interesting reports regarding Major League Baseball and it’s always intimate relationship with consumerism and money (what else is new?).
The usual suspects were dug up and reworked. The first text focused primarily on ballpark concessions and the entire food-service side of the economic game. It’s a pretty interesting read, as it outlines the general themes and concepts that cause prices for hot dogs and other items (let’s not forget the beer) to jettison in price. We also get a better sense of the financial structure of the food industry in baseball and the role it plays for teams when collecting revenue.
Being Yankee fans, this is stuff we’ve grown up knowing. Prices get higher and higher ever year and there doesn’t look like there’s an end to it all. An important and interesting note in the text states this explicitly, saying that, although one would expect a point of no return when constantly raising prices (fan rebellion), that point has not yet been met, and doesn’t look like it will be met in the near future. Instead, stadiums and teams will likely look to increase food quality, knowing that people will pay more for decent food as long as the A-Rod’s in baseball keep hitting homers.
The following excerpt rings true for us all:
And stadium planners are now making concession concourses the focal point. Old stadiums had narrow concourses and limited points of sale, while new facilities allow for concessions to play a much bigger role in customer experience, said Bigelow.
With stadium renovations and players’ salaries not getting any cheaper, there’s reason to believe sports venue prices will only continue their rise. A recent report on the Yankees’ new stadium revealed that parking will jump to $29 in 2010–double the current $14 rate. But, according to the expert, as long as the game is good, the fans will keep on paying.
“We haven’t reached the limit yet,” Bigelow said. “We all think one’s there, but nobody’s found it.”
With a new stadium comes an old philosophy which focuses on rampant consumerism and paying customers, paying customers that have the money to spend on not only a game ticket, but the food and drink provided at the game (as well as the other bells and whistles thrown in). While you’re at it, why not throw in for a souvenier before you leave? (As if the receipt from your day of spending wasn’t enough to appease you).
The second article on the FOX Business website, focuses on the traditional and rather repetitive ”there are tremendous economic disparities amongst baseball teams” (while comparing the MLB and the NFL). Granted, that is true, and there are disparities, and these disparities definitely do hinder team performance. There’s no denying that, but there have been steps taken to “level the playing field.” These steps have also been implemented despite the innate greed demonstrated by various owners who are more comfortable with pocketing extra figures gained from these measures (e.g. revenue sharing, etc.) than providing their fans with a potent lineup.
However, that does not mean that “small market” teams cannot compete. Look at the Devil Rays, or should I say, The Rays. Although they’ve been in a baseball purgatory for years due to their financial hardships, The Rays are finally poised to breakout over the next few years. This year, they have a legitimate chance in the AL East (at third place), and will only get better next year as their stocked farm system churns out future superstars and HOF’ers.
When I think of Tampa Bay, I simply cannot help but to wonder what would happen if they did have the money needed to make leaps and bounds in the AL East (supplementing their great minor league system). Of course, if they had the money they probably wouldn’t be last year in and year out and, therefore, wouldn’t have all of those talented young players (draft picks) awaiting their turn to shine.
But, imagine if the The Rays could trade for Johan Santana? They have the talent that Minnesota salivates for, and if Santana was a reasonable price (or if they had NY/Boston money) they could easily gain his services and stack their rotation accordingly. If they had a starting line with Santana, Kazmir, Shields, Garza, you can certainly make a case for them as an AL WC team…or better.
Wouldn’t that be something?
