Has Commissioner of MLB Selig ever admitted that his plan to eliminate the winner of 5 of the last 8 AL Central titles (and the loser of a one game playoff in another season) was based entirely upon his desire to expand the territory of the Brewers? I’m not even going to bring up the switch of the Brewers to the NL. Really, I’m not.
Didn’t it have more to do with the difficulty of getting a new ballpark for the Twins. The Metrodome was not a long term solution and there was no support for a new stadium?
That was his business? No, it was solely due to his desire to expand the TV and (to a lesser degree) the fan territory of the team his daughter took over from Selig after he became commissioner.
Obviously the Metrodome was not a long term solution. (Especially as demonstrated by the fact that the final regular season game was today rather then yesterday.)
Neither was the Astrodome, Candlestick Park, Mile High Stadium, and so on and so on.
All that, and Selig’s buddy Carl Pohlad thought he could get more money by being paid to shut down the team he never cared about than by continuing to operate it on a shoestring.
Of course it is sport owner policy to keep building new fancy ballparks on the backs of taxpayers. Every iteration of a sports stadium results in higher prices for fans who help build the park . It is disgusting how they blackmail the residents, over and over.The Twins ballpark does suck though. Yet in Minnesota a dome is needed.
Would that have even worked? That seems to be an out there dream that if the Twins disappeared that everyone in Minnesota would become a Brewer supporter.
Highly unlikely.
It’s more likely that MN baseball fans would hitch up to a team like the Cubs. Most cable and satellite packages come with WGN.
Does that mean the RedSox and Cubs have the lowest ticket prices?
A cursory search would indicate otherwise.
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/101722
“Contraction” needed volunteers and the ol’ miser Pohlad was more than happy to put up his hand. That it might help out the Brewers fanbase was a convenient potential side effect. Minnesota, like Miami, was one of the markets where a new stadium was desperately needed for the long-term health of the franchise and the political chances for such a stadium was considered unlikely to impossible. But as it turned out, Minny opens its new park next year and Miami will have one by 2012.
I like the Twins new stadium - it’s nice. (Tho’ I’m still consistently surprised that they could get a major league ballpark to fit in that little space. Even when I drive past it.) I’m still just not certain that an open air ballpark will fly in MN - this week, their entire last series against the Royals and the tiebreaker game would’ve been rained out. What would’ve the league done? Cancelled these games (not likely)? Postponed them (and postponed everyone’s post season)? Huh. April’s going to be no picnic either.
I know they did it to keep costs down and I appreciate that, but I’m still scratching my head over the decision to not put a retractable roof on the thing.
Contracting the Twins was never a serious consideration no matter what Selig said. It was purely the creation of a phony bargaining chip for the subsequent collective bargaining battle royale. Nothing more, nothing less.
If they built popular new ballparks they’d raise prices even more. Ticket prices depend on the local market conditions, but there’s no doubt new ballparks almost invariably result in **that team **jacking its prices up.
No, but MLB has designated “territory” for its teams. Comes up a lot when the latest Oakland A’s rumor is that they’re moving to San Jose or Santa Clara, which are Giants territory. (What that actually entails, I don’t know, as we certainly get A’s games and see their billboards here in SF.)
Here’s a map… not the exact map we’re talking about but it illustrates the point.
I don’t know how it works over larger areas, but I imagine that if the Twins left/contracted, the neighboring territories would expand into Minnesota and the Dakotas. Existing Twins fans wouldn’t necessarily become Brewers (or Cubs) fans, but their kids probably would, if that’s who’s on local TV 162 times a year (Step 3: Profit!).
Does anyone know if Montreal now gets NESN?
They do not have large capacities. They can fill the stadium any time. That allows them to gouge. If the teams were doing badly, they would have to cut prices eventually.