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November 3, 2008
Sports riches could be latest U.S. casualty
MetroNY
Neil deMause reports on the state of the NY sports industry:
In recent weeks, the portents that many sports-watchers have been keeping an eye out for are predictions of how one of our other national obsessions — the spectator sport that is the roller-coaster economy — will affect teams’ bottom lines. So far, the signs are mixed.
When the Jets last week put up for action2,000 personal seat licenses for their new stadium — not tickets, mind you, only the right to buy tickets for the best seats — the top bid was $82,000, four times what the Giants, who didn’t use an auction, are charging; yet more than two-thirds of the licenses went unsold. The Mets’ online auction of Shea Stadium memorabilia was still going strong (a game-day-used onion-and-relish holder drew a $155 bid). The New Jersey Nets began offering no-money-down season ticket plans. The Newark Bears minor-league baseball team folded after 10 seasons.
Put it all together, and you have a picture of a sports industry where some high-rollers are still willing to splurge, but the well-heeled are fewer in number. If the trend holds, it could have huge implications for local sports teams and their fans. The Mets, Yankees, Giants and Jets are all opening new stadiums in the next two years; they may find they have to start offering discounts to put fannies in those schmancy new seats. It also could put the final nail in the coffin of the Nets’ move to Brooklyn, as a $950 million arena will look less like a good investment if fewer people will pay premium prices to sit there.
NoLandGrab: Though deMause concludes that the signs are mixed, Bruce Ratner's NJ Nets are settling to nearly the bottom of the barrel.
Posted by lumi at November 3, 2008 5:33 AM