Continuing with the lecture from Chapter 14 in the Rader textbook, ethical decisions arose as a main theme in Post-1950s sport. Population shifts were taking place in America, as cities and there surrounding neighborhoods were becoming larger and larger. Some sport franchises relocated in an effort to capitalize on the new metropolises.
Dr. Spencer formulated a topic for discussion, asking if it is ethical for cities to offer “perks” to uproot a franchise from one city to another?
My response is simple, yes. While I do believe that it is illegal to entice a franchise to breach an existing contract between a team – city – and stadium, it is permissible to “sweeten up” a bid to a free agent franchise in order to land a city/county/state revenue producing monster that is a professional sports team. As a part of the “franchise free agency” movement, the Dodgers were one of the first teams to relocate, moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles (Rader, 2009).
Team owners are commonly seen as heartless or cold-blooded when a decision to make such a move takes place. To me, it is business as usual. In the current sports environment, a team typically begins to explore all of its options when a stadium or arena deal nears its end. Depending upon the antiquated (vocabulary word meaning ‘out of date’) nature of their current venue and decreasing fan support, a team has the right to pursue funding for a new facility within the same city or to take the franchise to a town that is willing to erect a state-of-the-art structure to call home. Of course, in each North American sports league there are rules and regulations in place and certain criteria – often attendance related – have to be met in order to facilitate such a move. An owner cannot simply move a franchise in the middle of the night because he/she feels the urge to do so. (Although, this may have been the case when the Colts moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis, but not really. It’s quite a long story and the words “eminent domain” are important to the plot. A link is provided here.)
Sure, anger runs high when a sports franchise decides to leave town because of the emotional investment made by fans and players alike. And it is true that a team can take on the identity of its town, embodying what that region is all about. I’m sure some of my classmates lived through this when Art Model chose to move the Browns of the NFL from Cleveland to Baltimore, subsequently renaming them the Ravens. Which returned football to the same place that lost its NFL franchise over a decade earlier, and when the DeLorean reached 88 miles per hour, the flux capacitor was activated, sending us back in time, thus causing a gap in the space-time continuum. (Anyone? … Anyone??)
But, I digress.
I nearly went through a similar situation when the Pittsburgh Penguins were in serious discussions with cities like Las Vegas, Houston, and Kansas City as their arena deal neared its expiration date in June of 2007. Playing in one of the oldest venues in all of professional sports, Mellon Arena, and without a new arena deal in place, my hometown was in jeopardy of losing its NHL franchise. I can honestly say that I would have been beyond repair if this happened. At the time, I was telling everyone I knew that I would never spend another cent in Pittsburgh if the city let the Penguins go so easily. I did not fault team Owner, and NHL great, Mario Lemieux for wanting to protect his investment by searching for the best business deal possible. He was lobbying for at least 8 years to have a new building built in this region, not only for the Penguins, but for concerts, and other events that draw revenue for the city of Pittsburgh. Fortunately for myself and other Penguins fans, a deal was struck between the state of Pennsylvania, city of Pittsburgh and the Penguins to build a new facility in March of 2007 (ESPN.COM). Lemieux later revealed that it never was his intent to leave the city of Pittsburgh, and that his meetings with officials from other cities amounted to nothing more than “a few good dinners.” In the end, Lemieux was able to parlay those meetings into a respectable pact for a new arena that is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010. It will be named the Consol Energy Center, and she will be a beauty.
(Taking a quick break to exhale.)
So, while other towns may try to lure a franchise away from another city, a savvy business owner can also use another town as leverage when renegotiating the lease on its current venue or when discussing the terms of agreement for a new stadium. I consider both to be acceptable strategies for operating a business. Decisions that are similar in nature, but not magnitude, are made everyday in the non-sporting business world.
A thought-provoking example to further illustrate my point:
Does a restaurant owner continue to buy napkins from company A at $.08 each, or begin to purchase napkins from rival company B at $.05 each? Should the restaurant owner bargain with company A or accept the terms offered to him by company B?
In closing, I would not categorize offering perks to a sports franchise in an effort to bring the organization to a new city as unethical because sport is a business.
If you’ve made it this far, I invite you to make appropriate use of the comments section by submitting your thoughts and opinions.
Good day.
Monday, November 16, 2009
League Commissioner Debate
Based upon a few of the main themes from Chapter 14 of the Rader text on “The Setting of Organized Sports since 1950”, the following question was posed to the class by Dr. Spencer: Which commissioner do you consider to be the most effective in pro sports today?
In answering this question, I will present a list counting down from least to most effective and the reasons behind my choices.
A unanimous decision as the worst commissioner in sports among those who offered their input during class, not to mention most of the sport-viewing society. Selig has a poor reputation with a large segment of the baseball fan-base because his inability to correct problems with the league’s salary cap structure (or lack thereof) and the dark cloud that still looms over the sport in the wake of the steroid-era, as challenges still lie ahead in dealing with the use of similar performance enhancing drugs.
The man gets far too much credit for helping the popularity of the game on both a national and international level. I would give praise in that regard to the 80s duo of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, the phenomenal Michael Jordan, and 1992 Dream Team. (In case you were wondering, it was a rule change by the International Basketball Federation – or FIBA – that lead to the use of professional basketball players in Olympic competition). To his credit, Stern is an ace in terms of creating revenue through advertising. However, the NBA, like Major League Baseball, is faced with a great disparity between the “have” and “have-not” franchises of its league. Additionally, an officiating scandal helped to enforce the notion that the NBA has fixed the outcome of games and the annual draft lottery.
Often vilified for being a key figure in labor negotiations between the players and owners that led to the cancellation of the 2004-2005 season, Bettman has brought tremendous growth his league by adding six new franchises and increasing revenues from $400 million to over $2.2 billion since being named League Commissioner in 1993 (SportsBusiness Journal). A disciple of David Stern in the NBA offices, Commissioner Bettman administered the new NHL image by attracting new corporate sponsorships, increasing league attendance figures, establishing a sound internet presence, and approved slight adjustments to the rulebook to enhance the style of play following the 2005 Lockout. Despite his successes, one glaring omission remains, lack of a viable television deal. The current broadcast partner of the league is the Versus network. The NHL desperately needs to return to mainstream television (i.e. ESPN) in order to capture a greater audience in the U.S. market.
Following in the footsteps of Paul Tagliabue before him, Commissioner Goodell has done a good job of maintaining the status of the most popular sport in the United States. The NFL rose to prominence under the guidance of Commissioner Pete Rozelle thanks to his efforts to combine the AFL and NFL, and the progress made in televising sporting events – which lead to the creation of the Super Bowl and Monday Night Football. Next, Commissioner Tagliabue strengthened the NFL brand by establishing league revenue sharing and instituting a salary cap structure, thus making the NFL the ultimate parity league. From the outside looking in, Commissioner Goodell has basically only needed to keep this thing afloat. He has performed his job well, and is known for his no-nonsense attitude towards the players. The true test of his ability will be front and center next season, as the current NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement nears its end.
By default, he has landed at number one on my list ….. or has he?
Continue reading.
It can be argued that no sport has undergone a greater surge in popularity than NASCAR has over the last 15 years. NASCAR Chairman/CEO Brian France has been at the forefront of this movement working as the Director of Marketing for NASCAR prior to being named to his current position in 2003. In a sport where sponsorships and advertisement dollars mean everything (Exhibit A and Exhibit B, the driving billboard/commercial), France turned the auto-racing sport into a marketing machine. He was able to successfully sell his sport to major national companies and a wide & captive audience. Growing up I did not see the excitement in watching cars circle a track for 200+ laps or 500 miles, but I can honestly say that I now have a mild interest in the sport and even watch NASCAR events on TV from time to time. When discussing the “major” sport leagues in our country, NASCAR can definitely be included to the group – which formerly consisted of only four members: MLB, NBA, NHL and the NFL.
What is your opinion? Feel free to make use of the comments section.
Good day.
In answering this question, I will present a list counting down from least to most effective and the reasons behind my choices.
Bud Selig – MLB
A unanimous decision as the worst commissioner in sports among those who offered their input during class, not to mention most of the sport-viewing society. Selig has a poor reputation with a large segment of the baseball fan-base because his inability to correct problems with the league’s salary cap structure (or lack thereof) and the dark cloud that still looms over the sport in the wake of the steroid-era, as challenges still lie ahead in dealing with the use of similar performance enhancing drugs.
David Stern – NBA
The man gets far too much credit for helping the popularity of the game on both a national and international level. I would give praise in that regard to the 80s duo of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, the phenomenal Michael Jordan, and 1992 Dream Team. (In case you were wondering, it was a rule change by the International Basketball Federation – or FIBA – that lead to the use of professional basketball players in Olympic competition). To his credit, Stern is an ace in terms of creating revenue through advertising. However, the NBA, like Major League Baseball, is faced with a great disparity between the “have” and “have-not” franchises of its league. Additionally, an officiating scandal helped to enforce the notion that the NBA has fixed the outcome of games and the annual draft lottery.
Gary Bettman – NHL
Often vilified for being a key figure in labor negotiations between the players and owners that led to the cancellation of the 2004-2005 season, Bettman has brought tremendous growth his league by adding six new franchises and increasing revenues from $400 million to over $2.2 billion since being named League Commissioner in 1993 (SportsBusiness Journal). A disciple of David Stern in the NBA offices, Commissioner Bettman administered the new NHL image by attracting new corporate sponsorships, increasing league attendance figures, establishing a sound internet presence, and approved slight adjustments to the rulebook to enhance the style of play following the 2005 Lockout. Despite his successes, one glaring omission remains, lack of a viable television deal. The current broadcast partner of the league is the Versus network. The NHL desperately needs to return to mainstream television (i.e. ESPN) in order to capture a greater audience in the U.S. market.
Roger Goodell – NFL
Following in the footsteps of Paul Tagliabue before him, Commissioner Goodell has done a good job of maintaining the status of the most popular sport in the United States. The NFL rose to prominence under the guidance of Commissioner Pete Rozelle thanks to his efforts to combine the AFL and NFL, and the progress made in televising sporting events – which lead to the creation of the Super Bowl and Monday Night Football. Next, Commissioner Tagliabue strengthened the NFL brand by establishing league revenue sharing and instituting a salary cap structure, thus making the NFL the ultimate parity league. From the outside looking in, Commissioner Goodell has basically only needed to keep this thing afloat. He has performed his job well, and is known for his no-nonsense attitude towards the players. The true test of his ability will be front and center next season, as the current NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement nears its end.
By default, he has landed at number one on my list ….. or has he?
Continue reading.
#1 - Brian France – NASCAR
It can be argued that no sport has undergone a greater surge in popularity than NASCAR has over the last 15 years. NASCAR Chairman/CEO Brian France has been at the forefront of this movement working as the Director of Marketing for NASCAR prior to being named to his current position in 2003. In a sport where sponsorships and advertisement dollars mean everything (Exhibit A and Exhibit B, the driving billboard/commercial), France turned the auto-racing sport into a marketing machine. He was able to successfully sell his sport to major national companies and a wide & captive audience. Growing up I did not see the excitement in watching cars circle a track for 200+ laps or 500 miles, but I can honestly say that I now have a mild interest in the sport and even watch NASCAR events on TV from time to time. When discussing the “major” sport leagues in our country, NASCAR can definitely be included to the group – which formerly consisted of only four members: MLB, NBA, NHL and the NFL.
What is your opinion? Feel free to make use of the comments section.
Good day.
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