Quote:
Originally Posted by spitfire
It seems pretty unlikely that baseball won't be heavily impacted by the economic situation. Looking at other pro sports, some NHL teams, including the champion Detroit Red Wings, are discounting tix by huge amounts to try and draw people into the building. I hear Nashville is offering tickets for nine bucks. Stock car racing teams have conducted large layoffs of personnel as corporate sponsorships disappear. Baseball would have to be more than lucky not to suffer to some degree the same way. Corporate advertising and season ticket sales were already in the bank by the time the economy really went south, as they were for hockey teams. As many have pointed out, it won't be until next year that the crunch will really be felt. I can't predict that MLB will be hit as hard as the NHL (where the tv money is far less) as the profile of the ball teams is generally hgher and advertising dollars in many markets are more likely to be directed to football and baseball franchises than to hockey clubs. Still, it would be difficult to envision baseball sailing through with no problems.
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Baseball may benefit from a severe case of Cabin Fever in the North and North East due to a long cold winter. Most people who are affected by economics have probably cut back already. How many have a spring break vacation planned?
Baseball still benefits from a low per game price and many more games to choose from. In tough times people will look for bargains. This could be a banner year for minor league baseball.