Shadow of the Stadium: August 2015

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Taxpayers on Hook for Tigers Spring Training Overruns

Remember the $37 million Lakeland spring training renovations that were getting funded 100% by taxpayers? Well, they still are. It's just going to cost a lot more.

The Lakeland Ledger reports soil problems will add indefinite costs - and delays - to the project:

Under the terms of the contract, unexpected costs do not relieve either side of their obligations, though it expressly calls for mediation or renegotiation if the terms cannot be fulfilled.
Mayor Howard Wiggs said the project will hit its (2016 & 2017) deadlines.

The additional costs appear to be on the shoulders of the city and county....so for those of you counting at home, the Tigers' share of Tigertown upgrades has now climbed all the way up to zero.

At least they're not the Orioles, who are already seeking more public money to upgrade the "next-generation" Camden Yards....

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Gators Having to Groupon

The Gators are turning to...well, not Groupon, but the deal-site's competitor, Living Social, to help fill seats at The Swamp. Two $25 tickets to the New Mexico State or FAU games for $39.

While it's not a firesale, it's another sign the University of Florida (and other universities) are experiencing the same issue a lot of NFL and MLB teams are facing: competition from the living room.

I wrote about it at UF in 2013, and USA TODAY is among the national outlets doing some good work on the topic more recently.

But I'm hoping the silver lining in the bursting of the attendance bubble is a more affordable ticket for the sports fan.

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Tuesday, August 25, 2015

What Tonight's St. Pete Election Results Mean to the Rays

No big surprises in St. Petersburg tonight, as the two frontrunners to replace city councilman Wengay Newton both advanced to a November run-off. Newton's brother, Will, garnered 35% of the vote, second only to Lisa Wheeler-Brown's 37%. There were five total candidates listed in the primary.

Depending how you view the Stadium Saga, Wengay Newton has been the top Rays obstructionist or St. Pete protectionist in his eight years on council, refusing to consider any of the deals that would have allowed the team to look at stadium sites in Tampa.

His brother, Will, has more or less echoed Wengay's stance, saying the city at least needs better compensation before it considers amending its deal with the Rays, which locks the team into Tropicana Field until 2027.

But Wheeler-Brown won the endorsements of both papers, in part to her early support for Mayor Kriseman's negotiated deal that would let the Rays leave the Trop early for payments to the city likely totaling less than $2 million per year.

ALSO READ: In Trying to Advance Interests, Newspapers May Do Opposite on Rays Stadium

The Wheeler-Brown/Newton showdown gets more interesting now, however, as the whole city will be able to vote in the run-off...not just South St. Pete, which decided the D7 primary.

Less than two months until we see where the rest of St. Petersburg stands on the issue(s)...and whether the Rays will continue to stick to their promise of not getting involved!

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Thursday, August 20, 2015

Franchise Owners Still Rich; Taxpayers Still Supporting Them

I've enjoyed reading Joe Brown's occasional stadium columns in the Tampa Tribune, like today's "Taxpayers being held for no gain":

The NFL is awash in money from its television contracts, and with a salary cap it’s nearly impossible for a team to lose money, even if no one shows up at home games. Still, some owners want to fleece taxpayers for newer stadiums to host games that most never will go to see.

In football terms, owners are prolific scorers while taxpayers are being held for no gain. On second thought, being sacked for a loss might be more appropriate.

It's not a new topic, but it's one worth printing in Tampa Bay newspapers every single day.

That's because the Tampa Sports Authority is still negotiating with the Buccaneers on how many of your tax dollars they'll get for Raymond James Stadium improvements.

Hopefully you've already read "The Glazers' Sweetheart Deal Keeps Getting Sweeter."

Here's another story you should bookmark and read too: "Why Taxpayers Are Getting Shut Out Of Stadium Debates." It's about the way leagues and politicians work together to avoid putting half-billion-dollar expenditures before the voters.

It's a real possibility, Tampa Bay - Commissioner Ken Hagan has already pointed to the Braves' super-fast, secret, not-so-great, potentially illegal stadium deal with Cobb County as a model deal Hillsborough County could follow.

And in case you had sympathy for those baseball owners whose franchises are worth half of what their NFL counterparts' franchises are worth....they're about to top $10 billion in revenue too.

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Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Rays Attendance Watch: August 11 Edition

The Tampa Tribuine's Chris O'Donnell wrote this morning, "maybe Tropicana Field isn’t so hard to get to after all."

His front-page story about the Rays' recent attendance surge, attributes the team's recent uptick to a number of factors, but primarily the free "honor pass" given to active and veteran servicemembers:

Other factors are also likely bumping up crowds at the Trop such as cabin fever following the 11-day deluge of Tampa Bay that eased up a little for last weekend’s series against the Mets.
...
Attendance also has risen since the end of the Lightning’s playoff run to the Stanley Cup, and the team typically sees bigger crowds during July and August when school is out, said Michael Lortz, a freelance market analyst and author of the Tampa Bay Baseball Market blog.

Filling more empty seats makes economic sense for the Rays even if that means giving away tickets, said John Vrooman, a Vanderbilt University sports economist.

More fans coming through the turnstiles results in only marginal cost increases for the Rays such as extra turnstile operators or security staff. But the extra fans will significantly boost sales of concessions and parking revenue as well as improving the atmosphere inside the stadium.

Vrooman told O'Donnell the Rays can still clear $17.50 per fan from concessions, parking, and other revenues, even if the ticket was given away for free.

Right now, the team's attendance sits at 15,902 fans per game - an 11% drop from the same time last year. But it's an 11% increase from the end of the Stanley Cup Playoffs two months ago:

Good news - you were all wrong. #Rays not in contention, but avg crowd still up 11% to 15,902. https://t.co/zxmuAm78On
— Shadow of Stadium (@StadiumShadow) August 10, 2015

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Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Rays Flirtations with Hillsborough Continue

Rays President Brian Auld, who said two weeks ago said the Rays wouldn't get involved in political races, dropped by Hillsborough County's regular commission meeting today to talk about the team's successful new "Honor Pass" program for military servicemembers and veterans.

But the Times' Steve Contorno reports the discussions didn't stop there, of course:

“The team’s performance and efforts for a new stadium are well documented but I want to thank you for your commitment to improving the quality of life for our community,” (Commissioner Ken) Hagan said. “The Rays organization is certainly a model corporate citizen, and I close by saying: Look forward to seeing you here in the not too distant future.”

(Auld later said) he has met with “all the candidates who have asked to meet with me” in the race to replace St. Petersburg City Councilman Wengay Newton, an opponent of a deal that would allow the Rays to search for a new stadium in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties and a key swing vote. Those candidates are Lisa Wheeler-Brown and Aaron Sharpe, he said.

“We've had pleasant conversations but as I've said before the Rays don't elect city councilmembers, the citizens of St. Petersburg do and we don't want to exert an undue influence on that process," Auld said.

ALSO READ: Hillsborough Stadium Deal for Rays Could Mirror Cobb Co's Secret, Not-So-Great, Potentially-Illegal Deal for Braves
ALSO READ: Hagan: "Hillsborough County isn't going to build it and taxpayer won't be asked to pay for it."

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The Rich (MLB Owners) Keep Getting Richer

Maury Brown, now writing for Field of Green (not to be confused with Field of Schemes), writes today that MLB owners are getting richer and richer thanks to massive new revenue streams:

Revenues from television and digital media rights are flowing into Major League Baseball at a rate that is far outpacing how much is getting spent on players. Sure, there’s the occasional mega-contract (stand up and take a bow, you 13-year, $325 million contact that the Miami Marlins and Giancarlo Stanton reached late last year), but in the overall, the amount of revenues going to player salaries has dropped dramatically over the years, from 56 percent of revenues in 2002 down to just 38 percent last year.

And this downward trend will certainly be seen again this year as new revenue sources are coming into MLB. Yesterday, a media rights deal that sees MLB Advanced Media purchasing content from the NHL will cost MLBAM $100 million annually for six years, but in the end that deal will be the start of something that will involve billions more flowing back to MLB when they spin-off a new media company called BAM Tech.

Continue reading here.

ALSO READ: Forbes estimates Rays worth $625 million

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Sunday, August 2, 2015

Times: We Want Rays to Look in Tampa, but Pinellas Should Raise Taxes Now Anyway Just in Case

Never missing an opportunity to push for a new taxpayer-funded Rays stadium, the Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board opined this weekend that Pinellas County should increase its tax on hotel and resort guests...but not spend it on anything in particular.

"The emphasis should be on remaining flexible rather than on locking in specific allocations of the revenue for tourism advertising and construction projects," the board wrote, all in an effort to remain in position to help fund a new Rays stadium in Pinellas County.

Of course, the paper has also advocated moving the Rays to Hillsborough County....but heck, if Pinellas County is newly-eligible to raise taxes on tourists, what other option would there be? Besides not raising taxes, of course...

ALSO READ: In Trying to Advance Interests, Newspapers May Do Opposite on Rays Stadium

While the Times may be advocating county leaders keep their options open, it is also continuing to push the region into a potential bidding war over the Rays' services, which would only serve to provide the team more leverage over taxpayers. But by now, we all know that's the end game here anyway, right?

To the editorial board's credit, the Times has maintained its position that Pinellas County should save up its pennies for a possible Rays stadium. But on the other hand, it has all-but-ceased its one-time push for the Rays to open their books and actually show a financial need for public help.

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But fear not - even if Pinellas doesn't fund a new Rays stadium, the newspaper suggests plenty of other private businesses would be eager for taxpayer handouts, "including a new spring training home for the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin and a soccer stadium for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in St. Petersburg."

Maybe they missed what happened in Orlando? Or Boston?

UPDATE 8/4: Pinellas Commissioners voted 5-2 to increase the bed tax {link to Times' site}, but without any limits or direction on what it can be spent on.

A brief history of Times editorials on the Stadium Saga: