| BOSTON
- June 13 - Today, Ralph Nader and
Save Fenway Park! released an economic report concluding that: 1)
the Red Sox at existing Fenway Park are already financially
competitive with the rest of Major League Baseball; 2) it is
unlikely that a new stadium would enhance the Red Sox revenues to
a point that allows them to be more financially competitive than
they are now; 3) the proposed new stadium is such an economically
risky endeavor that a worsening financial condition of the Red Sox
is a distinct possibility.
The study was done by nationally known sports economist Robert
Baade, a professor at Lake Forest College in Illinois who is an
expert with extensive experience in examining new stadium deals.
"We've known from the beginning that this was a draining deal
for taxpayers, but Prof. Baade has exposed this debacle to be a bad
deal or Red Sox fans and even the team itself," said Nader.
Baade predicts in the report that the Red Sox new stadium debt
service will be so steep that, "Rather than spending increased
revenues on players, the Red Sox will be retiring debt. The
long-term implications are worrisome. If the Red Sox are
increasingly less competitive on the field, the revenues the team
projects a new stadium will generate will be far less likely to
materialize. If the new stadium lacks the distinctive character of
the old, what will bring fans to the ballpark?"
Fans are being told that Fenway Park has to be replaced because
it is economically obsolete. But the report released today
demonstrates that Fenway Park is competitive with the most
successful new retro-parks built in other cities. It has, overall,
allowed the Red Sox to field a team with possibly the highest
payroll in Major League Baseball this year, and maintain the second
highest winning percentage in MLB since the advent of free agency
in 1975.
"Attendance and revenues are declining at Camden Yards and the
other retro-parks," notes Paul Shannon of Save Fenway Park! "The
Tigers replaced their historic stadium just last year and already
their average attendance has fallen below 20,000. Meanwhile,
Fenway Park is bringing in record crowds and revenues for the Red
Sox. Fenway is not only at the core of the Red Sox' unique
mystique and team tradition, it is a proven, consistent revenue
producer -- the team's greatest asset."
"Abandoning Fenway Park would needlessly deprive fans of the
opportunity to experience baseball in one of its greatest fields of
historic memories," said Nader. "The stadium deal would destroy the
magnificent Fenway neighborhood while giving hundreds of millions
of taxpayer dollars to wealthy owners, bankers and developers in a
city with many unmet public needs."
Baade also noted the importance of Fenway Park in his report,
insisting that "even if the team should flounder, a Fenway Park
that is growing in historical significance will continue to be a
magnet for fans from within and beyond Boston's borders. Wrigley
Field in Chicago continues to attract fans despite the team's below
average performance. Given growing fan alienation inspired by the
commercial excesses characteristic of professional sport, this is
a significant tribute to the appeal of the old ballparks that
Boston would be unwise to ignore."
"It's time for baseball to value what makes the sport worth
caring about -- its fans and its heritage -- by respecting and
honoring its oldest remaining historic ballpark," said Shannon.
---
Professor Baade's analysis can be viewed, printed and downloaded
from the Web site: http://www.savefenwaypark.org
Copies may also be obtained by fax or mail by calling Shawn
McCarthy at 202-387-8030, or e-mail at shawn@essential.org.
Robert A. Baade is Vail Professor of Economics at Lake Forest
College. He has published more than twenty scholarly articles, book
chapters, and monographs about the economic impact professional and
amateur sports exert on their host communities.
Ralph Nader is a consumer advocate, author and 2000 Green Party
presidential candidate. He has founded a new national sports fans
project. It is an effort designed as a sports industry watchdog to
assure accountability to fans and less harm to the cities that host
sports franchises.
Shawn McCarthy is director of Nader's sports fans project under
the Center for Study of Responsive Law. He is currently working to
stop the flood of taxpayer subsidized stadiums and arenas across
the country.
Paul Shannon is director of Research for Save Fenway Park!, a
fans organization dedicated to preserving one of Boston's uniquely
enriching experiences -- major league baseball at storied Fenway
Park.
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