What is the Financial Impact of Moving a Baseball Team?
The Oakland Athletics recently stated that they would begin examining a potential move and entertain the prospect of relocating. With the approval and blessing from Major League Baseball, they will find a new place to call home. This statement could build pressure on the local government authorities to give the go-ahead on a new stadium that the Oakland Athletics had put forward and had been archiving for years.
The A’s have called Oakland home since 1968 and had the idea of setting up a new waterfront stadium on the Howard Terminal site, downtown Oakland. With years passing by, the ideas have been futile and saw the hopes of the prospective stadium dim. The team had the city council vote on their $12 billion complex proposals, but it was not enough to woo the authorities. The idea of the A’s relocating then dawned.
Why The Relocation?
The A’s have called the Oakland Coliseum home since their relocation in 1968. Of the oldest parks in Major League Baseball, The Coliseum is fifth and boasts being the only multi-purpose stadium that houses both MLB and NFL teams. The A’s were left out after other teams were involved in the recent stadium boom. The boom saw 17 Major League Baseball clubs own new stadiums over 20 years.
The newer version of stadiums is built for various reasons. Still, the main ones being having more contemporary social amenities, improved players and fans experience in the field, accommodate future expansion plans and relocation where necessary. The stadiums are privately owned but are also open to serve the public.
The stadiums to the locals and fans are a source of civic pride, attracting newer individuals into the city, potential investors and businesses and advocates for a neighborhood makeover. Since the baseball franchise is also a business, the stadiums have a significant economic impact. Sales generated from tickets allow employment of individuals and team staff, money spent on operating both the team and maintenance of the stadium.
Impact Of The New Stadium
The economic impact the Athletics have on the City of Oakland can be quantified. The focus is the socio-economic impact the stadium will have over the next coming years. The effect is based on the experience of other MLB teams that already own new stadiums and ballparks.
The economic impact within the City of Oakland can also be viewed as the total economic output that is present within Oakland. For example, staff working in the stadium are most likely to spend on expenses within Oakland such as healthcare, transport and food. Moreso, the authorities in charge will use a part of the staff’s wages to pay other employees, counting tax that will go to the Oakland local government. Thus initially, the amount circulates within and can be directed to the same economy through various ways.
The following are some of the benefits quantified to the Oakland Athletics and their new stadium:
- Stadium Construction: The stadium construction will call for labor which will be readily available. There will be direct spending on the costs of construction. Indirect spendings will also occur on the Oakland economy through local sourcing of commodities and salaries.
- Game Days: Locally speaking, baseball betting is likely to skyrocket on game days over the placing of odds from gamblers and fans around. There will also be spending on games by the Athletics fans, including refreshments, ticket sales, purchase of merchandise and parking tickets just within the stadium. The Athletics utilise the proceeds to pay their employees and players, resulting in secondary gains as the salaries will most likely be spent in the local economy.
- Running Operations: The A’s will use contractors to handle parking, beef up security, and merchandising tasks on game days. The club will also have to consider marketing, media and ticketing budgets. They will have to outsource professional individuals or companies to handle that. The A’s expenditure affects the local economy directly and indirectly as much spending is consumed locally.
Why The Controversy Over The New Stadium?
You might ask, why is there a push and pull when the A’s or other clubs intend to construct a new stadium? The ballparks are costly. They will siphon over billions of dollars to be completely set up. Mostly, host cities where the ballparks stand nowadays, having grown wiser from experience, tend to channel tax dollars into private investment in the new stadiums. The costs are still high, and club owners aim to build more sophisticated ballpark villages to offset the costs with time.
The A’s relocation is almost imminent and, at the same time, not likely to go through. A lot has to come into play, and the stars have to align for the relocation whose odds are already high.
Where Next For The A’s Team?
Cities have expressed interest in welcoming the Athletics franchise. Las Vegas is the most preferred destination, which has housed the Raiders and NHL’s Golden Knights. The two have found success in Las Vegas. However, Athletics still has options from Portland, Oregon, Nashville and North Carolina as potential homes for the club.
The club has stated it will continue paying in Oakland until something happens that will affect the outcome. Major League Baseball has claimed the Oakland Coliseum doesn’t seem like an option to reconsider expansion. The board seeks to pursue other markets in Oakland while accepting the market might be somewhere new and not Oakland.
