Monday, March 21, 2016

Sports Business Angles to Rays Cuba Trip You May Not Have Thought Of

Pretty cool opportunity this week for the Rays to show off the MLB and USA brands in Havana, Cuba.  But diplomacy isn't the only thing going on with the Rays:
  1. Team officials met again with Hillsborough and Tampa officials Friday...and apparently decided selling more tickets to corporations would be a good idea.
  2. The Braves continue to meet with officials & developers in Sarasota County regarding a new spring training home, but conveniently - they got all sides to sign confidentiality agreements to control the dissemination of information, thus we don't know how Sarasota will pay for the stadium.  The Blue Jays have a similar confidentiality agreement with the city of Dunedin; the trend isn't very good for taxpayers.
  3. The Rays' Chris Archer didn't hear back from President Obama regarding his Havana dinner offer, so he reached out to First Lady Michelle Obama.  All fun and games, right?  Except for the fact that Archer's marketing value stands to gain a few million dollars from the international exposure a photo op with the Obamas would bring.
  4. Tomorrow's Rays exhibition in Cuba will likely draw a crowd upwards of 55,000...so just go ahead and make your Rays-to-Havana stadium jokes now.
  5. Actually, an exhibition crowd of 55,000 qualifies you for a new MLB franchise now...right Montreal fans???





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21 comments:

  1. Noah, 55 000 x average price per ticket (APPT) = qualifies you for a new MLB franchise now is right:

    if and only if APPT > 19$ USD for 81 games.

    With an average monthly salary of 20$ in Cuba, that's a tough call.

    And we don't even talking about TV rights deal which is probably more lucrative than the gates revenues.

    So Noah, I'll recommend that you eat more poutine, it may help you to figure out the complexity of the "qualifies you for a new MLB franchise now" formula!

    Hope to see you at the Big O April 1 or 2. Do you have your Press accreditation? If not, I know some journalists at "La Presse" (you know the newspaper founded in 1884) that can probably help you get one even if it's sold out.

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    1. Ha, unfortunately my schedule won't accommodate the travel this year!

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    2. And that includes "travel" to the Trop too, right, Know-it-all Noah

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    3. That's a shame Noah. That is going to be a huge weekend in Montreal.

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  2. Montreal will get a team when a snowman uses a urinal in hell.

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    1. From the bank to the toilet!

      Just hope your not in charge of convincing corporations (with a marketing campaign) to buy more tickets in Tampa Bay. Because if it's the case, Rays fans don't need to look elsewhere to understand the whole problem and lack of success.

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    2. FYI, your prediction is probably going to happen! Snowman slowly but surely is on his way to hell without melting!

      Manfred regarding internationalization of Baseball: Another team outside USA (Mexico or Cuba) and 2nd team in Canada.

      http://www.rds.ca/videos/baseball/mlb/j-aimerais-une-autre-equipe-au-canada-3.1177746

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  3. "In other news", Tampa resident Jeter states again on ESPN's Rays & Cuba game about his want to "part own" a team, though he said he doesn't have the kind of money for full ownership, but "part owner" would work, as I (parapharse), as he sat next to ole' Stu at the game... Meaning the Rays, as I stated before, could use an extra 100 mill toward a new ballpark only 2-3 miles from his home...
    Now we're talking, (http://www.tbo.com/news/politics/rays-talk-corporate-support-in-meeting-with-tampa-business-political-leaders-20160318/), PLUS, like I said many times before, they can reuse much of things at the Trop like the scoreboard, seats, etc., include the profits from a massive Trop "yard sale", and you have a solid financial foundation...

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    1. Or you can continue to follow Noah's ideology & just say "no", lol...

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    2. Before Sternberg or any other shareholders and additional investors invest into a new stadium, there are some basic "Due Diligence" steps that need to happen.

      1. Corporate support to buy tickets. If corporations don't buy tickets with a guarantee that a new stadium will be built, investors will not invest.

      2. Mass public transportation. Without a plan and commitment to improve significantly this public transportation, increasing attendances will be a challenge. And investors like Jeter will not take the risks.

      Let's see what the Rays will announce by January 2018.

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    3. Pat, "investors" are plentiful in Channelside, just ask any of the 100 or so investing in all the condos, hotels, and biz there...

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    4. No, they're not. There are countless unbuilt sites...and there's nobody in town who actually thinks there's enough investment interest to complete the Port's lofty goals:
      http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/proposed-75-story-towers-would-vault-tampa-into-top-tier-of-skyscraper/2241634

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    5. I have an old leg lamp that I could chip in as part of the Trop liquidation sale. Between the existing reusable Trop stuff and my leg lamp we might have 7 or 8 bucks toward a new $700M stadium in Hillsborough. We would be well on our way.

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    6. Maybe (Noah) you haven't ventured out of South Tampa to Channelside or kept up w/ the news (lol), but there is dozens of apartment complexes there including many that is in the process of getting built. Which would lead most to believe that they know something that you don't, and some to believe that they know something that most don't know, like a new ballpark being built next door in the next few years. So chant "no(ah)" all you want, but reality doesn't hold true to your beliefs...
      And, your "maybe there isn't enough people to fill the (port's) proposal", is the ONLY project that's slated for 5-10+ years out, all the others are already there or is about to break ground...
      Wakeup Noah, things are & have been happening here...

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    7. Plus, if Tampa didn't pay for the "Ice Palace" to be built, would Channelside & Harbor Island 20 years later be what it is & will be in the next few years?

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    8. and for someone that's against the use of tax $ for stadiums, you sure show your colors not offering solutions like those proposed, like a bad politician that says "Obama's bad" w/ no offered solutions like Trump... lol

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    9. Really? Solutions are easy!

      Profitable pro leagues pay for stadiums themselves with a mortgage, like you or I pay for a home.

      Or, if governments help pay for the cost of the facility, they get an equal share of the profits.

      Problems solved!

      PS, Harbour Island was hardly a dump before the Ice Palace - that's crazy talk. You do a lot to discredit yourself, Dufala.
      More crazytalk: saying there are hundreds of millions of dollars in rentals/condos going in, therefore there are hundreds of investors looking to sink money into new downtown projects.
      Trust me, the investors who want "in" on downtown Tampa development are "in" on it already.

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  4. Finkle and Einhorn. Einhorn and Finkle. Finkle and Einhorn... Hagan IS Schuerholz. Schuerholz IS Hagan!

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  5. Harbor island was 1/2 swamp & Channelside was mostly vacant when Amalie was built.
    I don't think most would "trust" a digressive when he thinks the "countless unbuilt sites" in Channelside aren't factually slated for development.
    Plus, embraces financial solutions by just saying "no", when progressive cities w/ MLB teams are growing together by feeding off each other, ie the Giants, Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals, etc. (http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2016/03/23/baseballs-most-valuable-teams/#3aa4efd81ddd)!

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    1. Thank god your not 1 of our mayors, you would have us on pace with Brooksville or Bartow in progress...

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    2. And, how many "investors" is there between Amalie, the Lightning, Strategic Property Partners LLC, Publix, Cascade Investment, Phillips Development, the Related Group, Altman Development Corp., Oxford Exchange, Mercury Advisors, Port Tampa Bay, Phillips Development & Realty, Patel Group, Hybridge Commercial Real Estate, Novare Group, Tailwinds Development, and so many more, NOT including ALL the small investors like those behind the bars, restaurants, law offices, car lots, exercise places, stores, gas stations, and on...
      Oh, and the RAYS...

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