Baseball and the Economy

[Irrelevant Dude]

This has been discussed on a couple radio talk shows, and hopefully doesn't become a serious issue, but it could be a very interesting offseason ahead if the economy continues to worsen. What will happen if a significant number of Americans start losing their jobs and people become less and less willing to spend their disposable income on entertainment? With teams fearing decreased ticket sales, will they still make large multi-year contract offers that put them in danger of going deep into the red? The Cubs are almost certain to raise their ticket prices to keep up with backloaded contracts and an increasing payroll, but what if the condition of the economy prevents them from doing so? That could possibly prevent them, and other teams, from making any significant additions to their payroll. I envision that we would see a lot of 1-year deals somewhat under market value, with players hoping for an economic turnaround so that they could still cash in on their big payday the following year. Like I said, hopefully this becomes nothing more than a hypothetical situation, but the economy could really have a huge impact in baseball and all sports for that matter.

[MADD_DOG_31]

Maybe in some stadiums....Wrigley will be full almost every day

[Outshined_One]

Wave goodbye to the public financing of new stadiums. If people like Jeff Loria want to take their teams elsewhere, pretty much State is heavily in debt. Raising taxes/allocating money to support the public financing of stadiums will be met with outright hostility and anger from a heck of a lot more people than two or three years ago.

[SouthSideRyan]

Wave goodbye to the public financing of new stadiums. If people like Jeff Loria want to take their teams elsewhere, pretty much State is heavily in debt. Raising taxes/allocating money to support the public financing of stadiums will be met with outright hostility and anger from a heck of a lot more people than two or three years ago.

 

I'm still in shock those New York stadiums were signed off on.

[Guest]

Will Carroll (5:45:38 PM PT): Brian ask: "What effect will what is going on in the world economy have on baseball free agency this winter? Baseball's future in general? I know this question does not lend itself to easy answers, but the amount of wealth being lost currently will have to effect the marketplace and the league significantly, no?"

 

My guess is the immediate effect will be almost none. It might hold down some of the upper level (read: Manny and Teixeira) deals to make it not seem as outrageous. $99 million or a lot of vesting options, anything to keep it more palatable. The biggest effect is going to be on the Cubs sale. The leader in the clubhouse is an investor backed by his family's brokerage.

[illiniguy]

The Royals are raising ticket prices. What the hell are they thinking?

[anabiono]

Will Carroll (5:45:38 PM PT): Brian ask: "What effect will what is going on in the world economy have on baseball free agency this winter? Baseball's future in general? I know this question does not lend itself to easy answers, but the amount of wealth being lost currently will have to effect the marketplace and the league significantly, no?"

 

My guess is the immediate effect will be almost none. It might hold down some of the upper level (read: Manny and Teixeira) deals to make it not seem as outrageous. $99 million or a lot of vesting options, anything to keep it more palatable. The biggest effect is going to be on the Cubs sale. The leader in the clubhouse is an investor backed by his family's brokerage.

 

who is he talking about?

[SouthSideRyan]

Will Carroll (5:45:38 PM PT): Brian ask: "What effect will what is going on in the world economy have on baseball free agency this winter? Baseball's future in general? I know this question does not lend itself to easy answers, but the amount of wealth being lost currently will have to effect the marketplace and the league significantly, no?"

 

My guess is the immediate effect will be almost none. It might hold down some of the upper level (read: Manny and Teixeira) deals to make it not seem as outrageous. $99 million or a lot of vesting options, anything to keep it more palatable. The biggest effect is going to be on the Cubs sale. The leader in the clubhouse is an investor backed by his family's brokerage.

 

who is he talking about?

 

Ricketts.

[laurens]

So, Tampa's gonna have an empty stadium in a few years?