Teams Leave Before the Debt Does

Is the NFL Ready for the New Season?

Coaches were recently allowed back inside their training facilities and offices but there are still limits on how many employees may be allowed inside a facility at one time due to social distancing guidelines.

Cowboys Stadium Financing

This story from the Dallas Morning News has some good details on the public/private contributions to paying off the bonds which support the $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium.  Both public and private revenues are exceeding projections. Judging from the article, the city of Arlington contributed $325 million in financing.  Their share of the bonds is paid "with proceeds from a half-cent sales tax increase, 2 percent hotel-motel tax hike and 5 percent increase in car rental tax."  Arlington owes $20.4 million this year, and is on track to recoup over $27 million from these taxes, according to the paper.  Leaving aside […]

Just How Good is Cristiano Ronaldo at Poker?

Not everyone knows that Ronaldo is a highly skilled poker player who has competed against some of the best professional poker stars in the world.

Organizational Architecture of College Sports Behind the Scandals

Another college coach engages in reprehensible activities and the supervising athletic directors and university presidents do nothing until external investigations and public awareness force their hand.    While not involving incidents nearly as disturbing, the bumbling of the Rutgers situation echoes of many of the same issues as the Penn State scandal.  Some writers have pondered how Rutgers’ Athletic Director and President could have fallen down the same hole with the PSU scandal so fresh.  The head scratching takes a very narrow view.  The problem is, fundamentally, not one of university officials who are unaware or without ethical standards (although one […]

Oriole Park - success story for whom?

There are two stories related to Oriole Park at Camden Yards in the Baltimore press. A common thread in the stories is the lease the Orioles signed with the Maryland Stadium Authority for the use of Camden Yards. In the first story, the subject is whether Camden Yards is or is not a success. What it means for the stadium to be a success is a point of contention. One supporter who was actively involved in the dealings with the Orioles suggests building the stadium "was not a fiscal project". Instead, "it was to benefit the citizens". I think the […]

The Sports Business in the Recession

Interesting piece here, based on a discussion with economist Dan Rascher.  It starts with the Texas Rangers' trip to bankruptcy court: “The Rangers are like a microcosm of how so many companies have fared in this credit crisis,” said Daniel Rascher, president of Sports Economics, a sports consulting firm. “Once the economy turned bad, their revenues flattened or declined and they realized they didn't have enough equity in their business.” You may recall earlier posts at TSE that noted the valuation and leverage skills in the world of private equity of Rangers owner Tom Hicks .  Perhaps his luck ran […]