03-29-2017, 12:18 PM
(03-29-2017, 11:43 AM)Wyche Wrote: The NFL had better watch alienating longtime, loyal fans, and placing themselves on that ivory pedestal.....it's precisely the reason most NASCAR events are half (or more in some cases) empty these days. The core fans and historic venues were forsaken to pursue the almighty dollar in bigger markets. The fad wore off, and they came crashing down when the fairweather fans quit going, and once die hard fans had long since spoken with their wallets. I used to attend 3 to 4 races a year. Now, I go to Darlington to support the historically significant track and its great hospitality, and rarely even watch on tv anymore. It can happen to the mighty NFL too.
It's not just greed, but also ego taken to an extreme level. I am all for capitalism, but there is this mindset in this country that nothing is ever "enough". And incremental increases are no longer acceptable like they were in the past. Everything has to grow by leaps and bounds. The television contracts, the stadium deals, the corporate sponsorship... everything has to be substantially bigger than it was even last year or the year before. The problem is that it does leave the average person feeling left out.
Because of my great grandfather who introduced me to baseball, I am a lifelong Yankee fan. The Yankees has the most revered home in all of sport, but decided to tear it down and build a monument dedicated to whatever corporate ticketholders could shell out the most money. Entire sections of the stadium were marketed to corporate interests at $250-300k per seat for the year. On top of this, those fans don't even sit in the seats because the "place to be" is their private club so the stadium looks half empty most nights. An average fan used to be able to take his family to multiple games per year, now a terrible seat in the outfield goes for $200 each.
As long as owners are going to expect public financing, than they have an obligation to that public. You own the team, you own the stadium, walk away whenever you want... on the other hand if you took public financing, there is no way you should be able to leave and stick the city with debt. The Raiders or the NFL should have to write a check to cover whatever is still owed for the previous renovations.
