From Buster Olney (ESPN):
There is a growing feeling within the industry that the nation’s economic struggles are going to have a major impact on the decisions of some teams. Some executives and agents believe a lot of teams might shy away from long-term obligations knowing that the disposable income of many of their fans might disappear — and disposable income is what the baseball industry relies upon. More clubs may be apt to cut payroll or hold their budgets in place, rather than spend, because of the fiscal uncertainty. Some executives and agents talk about the upcoming offseason and increasingly sound as if they are coastal residents preparing to batten down for an economic hurricane.
When thinking about baseball, we often place it outside of reality, as if it is a separate and distinct entity. We tend to forget that issues pertaining to our economy stretch across America and touch all corners of the country, including baseball which is a billion dollar industry.
While it will be interesting to see how the current economic landscape effects offseason acquisitions, I wonder if it will adversely effect the new Yankee Stadium in terms of fan attendance. With prices for everything (food, tickets, etc.) skyrocketing and with unemployment on the rise, only a certain group of people will truly be able to attend multiple games throughout the year. Of course, I still think that mostly all of the games will be sold out next season, however, that’s still contingent upon how the economy looks over the next few months. If every dollar counts come 2009, then baseball may hit the back burner for a bit.
