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Sports In A Day Of Rich Fan, Poor Fan

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JOSEPH H. BROWN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 21, 2008

Last Sunday, while sitting at the bar in The Press Box, a popular sports bar in south Tampa, I was reminded why I wouldn't be attending the Bucs game that afternoon against the Atlanta Falcons.

On the bar, under a coat of rosin, lie hundreds of ticket stubs from baseball, football, basketball and hockey games from the 1970s and '80s. The prices for those tickets are a reminder of how professional sports have gotten out of hand, and in some cases out of the reach, of the Joe Six-Pack fan.

Right in front of me is a stub from a 1978 Chargers-Giants game at Giants Stadium. The price: $11.50. There's another from the Atlanta Braves 1969 National League Championship Series for $7. And a 1977 game between the Chiefs and Browns at Cleveland's old Municipal Stadium went for $10.

That's why when my Bucs season tickets went up - again - a few years ago, I decided I had enough and didn't renew. Judging by the slow ticket sales this season, I'm not alone.

The Ticket-Price Breaking Point

I'm a football fan and had been a season-ticket holder since Raymond James Stadium opened in 1998. My seats were a few rows from the top, among the cheapest seats in the place. They weren't club seats; they were the kind where you would get clubbed.

Still, I thought my tickets were a bargain - until they kept going up every year, even after the Bucs had a losing season. Today the same seat that went for about $29 10 years ago is $65 today. Team officials always give the reason for these increases as a need to stay competitive. But doesn't the NFL have a salary cap to level the playing field? And why are the Bucs $27 million under it?

Then there's the seat-deposit thing. Apparently many longtime season-ticketholders decided it was too much to sign up for another 10-year contract that forfeits their money if they decide to opt out, especially in this time of economic crisis.

Seat deposits were originally conceived as a way for fans, not taxpayers, to pay for new stadiums, the idea being the people who actually go to games would help pay for them.

But the Bucs have a stadium financed 100 percent by taxpayers. Why do they need seat deposits except to create another "revenue stream?" Columnist and author Mitch Albom compared this practice to going into a restaurant and paying to see the menu.

No Relief For The Fans

Then again, I don't think the Bucs miss me or the other folks in my section. Today's sports stadiums and arenas are not about more fans; they're about fans who pay more. It's all about skyboxes and luxury suites. That's why functional edifices are torn down to make way for new ones with fewer seats but more revenue-producing amenities.

Albom once joked someone would built a stadium with nothing but skyboxes - no seats, just suites. We're getting there.

A friend of mine, who also declined to renew his season tickets, said he hopes to live long enough to see professional sports implode from its own greed. I just want a return to normalcy.

Regardless of what happens, the message is clear: Don't take your fan base for granted.

Joseph H. Brown is a Tribune editorial writer.

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