THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9512030259
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
In Baltimore, where prices at Camden Yards run higher than expectations for the Orioles, the baseball team has gone into partnership with a bank to help fans finance season tickets.
At a 16.25 percent rate, the ``Birdwatching Loan'' provides an opportunity to pay for tickets on the installment plan.
The promotion is believed to be the first of its kind for an American sports franchise. Orioles fans seeking loans can even call a special number and ask about the variety of credit alternatives.
This is where big-time sports have taken us in the dying light of the 20th century. They have taken us to a shadowy place where fans can venture into debt over season tickets.
It was bound to come to this. It is bound to get worse.
In the last couple years we have seen the introduction in the NFL of something called the seat license fee. Under this ingenious plan, an eager fan pays a few thousand dollars simply to secure the right to shell out even more for a season ticket.
When an outrageous rip-off like this becomes a perfectly acceptable business practice, it makes you wonder about the power of sports.
The rising cost of tickets is tied to escalating player salaries and compounded by inflationary greed on the part of owners. What drug abuse among athletes was to sports in the '80s, out-of-whack ticket prices will be to the late '90s. It will be the big story.
Right now, the hot story in sports is the movement of NFL franchises. When Cleveland mayor Michael White was in Washington last week, he implored Congress to ``stop this insanity.''
But the testimony of White, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and other politicians only goes to show how out of touch the establishment can be.
Apparently, it is a terrible crime to move franchises from city to city - thus robbing Joe Q. Fan of his team - but perfectly all right, completely sane, just good business, to price the average working stiff and his family out of most stadiums and arenas.
Larceny is in the eye of the beholder. Wherever teams eventually play, be it Cleveland or Baltimore, Charlotte or Nashville, the biggest unresolved issue in sports today is which communities will get gouged.
And here's the worst of it. Fans are begging to be gouged. Cities are lining up to be plundered.
One wonders if the Baltimore burghers, out of the NFL loop for more than a decade, are aware of the sticker shock that comes with an NFL team. Will the stoop sitters be able to stomach the prices?
Probably not. But then, it probably doesn't matter. Not as long as NFL teams make most of their money on the sale of luxury suites and corporate ticket packages.
That's how it works in the big markets.
Now that Hampton Roads is beginning to wear its big-league aspirations on its sleeve, it is worth wondering if this area would be up to the task of supporting any kind of major league franchise.
What's your pleasure? The NHL? Average ticket prices for big-league hockey are the highest in all of sports. The Washington Capitals charge $41 for a seat in the corner, behind the goal.
What about the NBA? The Charlotte Hornets, by no means the priciest attraction in the league, get $50 for a courtside seat. And for a seat behind the basket? Only $45.
Sticker shock, indeed.
Take into account the price of tickets - prices that can only go up. Now factor in the economic realities of Hampton Roads, where the per capita income is below the U.S. average. And where our private-sector workers earn just 80 percent of the national average.
But let's not be overly pessimistic. Maybe a dearth of disposable income won't matter if everything else is in place. In the future, perhaps people will routinely mortgage their homes for season tickets the way communities mortgage their futures for stadiums and franchises.
You can never tell. You get the feeling, though, that before most of these transactions can take place, the first thing that must be hocked is common sense. by CNB