THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 10, 1995 TAG: 9504080012
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
The New York Times recently studied the 55 metropolitan areas in the United States with populations of a million or more to see which ones could support major-league baseball teams.
Hampton Roads' 1,540,000 residents struck out.
Of the 23 metropolitan areas smaller than Hampton Roads on the list, The Times said, seven could support a major-league baseball team and five ``possibly'' could.
But not Hampton Roads.
To add insult to injury, The Times said Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, population 1,254,000, could support a team, and Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, population a mere 1,130,000, ``possibly'' could.
Economists say a metropolitan area with a population over 1 million can support a major-league team if there are, as The Times put it: ``(1) a high percentage of men between 18 and 54, baseball's core audience; (2) per-capita income above the national average; (3) high population growth; and (4) a high proportion of businesses with more than 500 employees - businesses most likely to buy stadium luxury seats.''
The Charlotte area could support a team because it was average in all four categories. The Greensboro area ranked only a possible, because, though it was above average in companies employing more than 500 and average in men ages 18 to 54 and in growth, it was below average in per-capita income.
As you'd expect for a Navy town, Hampton Roads ranked above average in men ages 18 to 54, and it was average in growth. But in the two money categories - per-capita income and businesses with more than 500 employees - Hampton Roads ranked below average.
So what does Hampton Roads need to get a team? The answer is elementary: economic development. We need large companies that pay high wages. We need what every city in the country is trying to attract.
If we had a major-league baseball team, we would be better known to large companies because our name would flash on TV screens, and appear in sports pages, nationwide, whenever baseball scores were given. But we might have to get the large employers first.
Is there hope for Hampton Roads baseball fans, even if few large employers can be drawn here? Of course. Baseball owners are not always bright enough to award franchises to the cities that economists say are most likely to support teams. Of the four cities most recently awarded franchises, two - Miami and Tampa Bay - cannot support a team, according to the four basic measures.
Miami, population 1,985,000, is below average in every category except growth, and it's only average at that. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, population 2,141,000, is below average in men of prime baseball-watching age and per-capita income, though it is average in large companies and above average in growth.
Incidentally, Hampton Roads is identified in The Times list by a different name. We are called Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, though to get to 1.5 million folks, we'd have to throw in Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Hampton, and sundry counties. Imagine reading this score: The Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News-Chesapeake-Portsmouth-Suffolk-Hampton Whales 1, New York Yankees 0.
But before worrying about what to call the team, we need to attract large employers paying prime wages. Either that, or rely on the denseness of baseball-team owners who brought us a 232-day strike. by CNB