Sports Illustrated’s Norman Chad has a new column up about New York’s new ballparks:
New York, the most sophisticated sports town in Sports Nation, brings us two spectacularly expensive new stadiums this month — rent-free and property tax-free for the Mets and the Yankees — largely subsidized by public money on city-owned land.
The Mets’ new Citi Field, a.k.a. Belly-Up Ballpark, cost $850 million.
The new Yankee Stadium — boy, that old Yankee Stadium was a real stinker, eh? — cost $1.5 billion.
Amazingly, in a city faced with myriad budget problems, the Mets and the Yankees not only successfully solicited public financing, both clubs came back with their hand out a second time — and got more money.
Schools? No money.
Subway? No money.
Stadiums? How much do you need? Thank you sir, may I have another.
Sports fans have been faced with a lot of stadium changes in recent years. I for one never got a chance to see a game in Tigers Stadium, but rather enjoyed the spacious Comerica Park (I even rode the carousel once!). It’s great to be able to go into some of the nation’s new sports arenas and let yourself be distracted by all the glitzy new opportunities to forget that the reason you came there was to watch sports.
The onus of blame too, is not even on the owners of teams like the Yankees, Mets, and anybody else looking to cash in on public money. They’re greedy. Surprise, surprise. Why wouldn’t they be? They’re running a business. The politicians with the power to stop or confound their attempts to exploit the public are the people that it is necessary to get angry at.
There’s another problem within this too, and that is the corporate sponsorship that has become part and parcel with the games we love. Even the names of the venues reflect the loss of our ability to give something a name that tells us even a little about what happens within the building. Who knows what incredible chairs, pens, and whiteboards we can see inside the Staples Center? I’ve just never been able to accept the white-washing that has been happening. Even as a kid in Tennessee, I couldn’t understand what was wrong with Fulton County Stadium, and how anyone would let Ted Turner name the new field after himself.
OK, Yankee Stadium was old, it didn’t work well as a modern baseball field and didn’t lend itself to the needs of modern baseball. So what? It’s f-ing Yankee Stadium! The house that Ruth built and where numerous other important baseball and even important historical events occurred. We are in danger of taking all traces of character out of our ball games. I still can’t call Comiskey Park U.S. Cellular Field, and I doubt I ever will. There’s even been talk about tearing down Wrigley (admittedly a brand name too) Field and Dodgers Stadium. Next time I visit New York maybe I can go see the Citibank Statue of Liberty brought to you by Citibank.
It’s important not to flip out over change I suppose. Corporate sponsorship and manipulation of public funds aren’t exactly new things to baseball. The sponsorship brings revenue to the team, thereby allowing them to spend money on players, and hopefully win championships. A successful team also brings in revenue from ticket and merchandise sales, and the public interest itself creates profits for related businesses within the city and the surrounding area. In a matter of looking at it, it helps everyone involved. But I can’t realistically believe that it’s better.
Again maybe I’m seeing a domino effect where there isn’t one, but I worry about all the brand names my kids will have to remember just to talk about sports.