by Jeremiah Tittle

This story can not be more disturbing, but it is a reality. The food served in stadiums is reliably toxic. As if paying the exorbitant costs for the tickets, the parking, and the concessions wasn’t bad enough. Insult has been added to injury with the e coli to prove it.

While Sports Fans Coalition continues to bring to light the overwhelming number of abuses sports franchise owners, leagues, and organizations wreak upon their fanbases, it’s often about money. SFC follows the money to discover that those in power all too often pull a bait-and-switch with our tax dollars to fatten their pockets, build luxurious new stadiums crying ‘victim’ all the way to the bank.

Last night at the book release party for BAD SPORTS: How Owners Are Ruining The Games We Love, the author SFC board member Dave Zirin mentioned that the inspiration for the book came from Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder. Amongst the many abuses to DC sports fans, Snyder is guilty of being so money-hungry that his idea to begin selling beer INSIDE FedEx stadium restrooms is a clearly disgusting violation of health codes.

Kudos to our friends at Outside the Lines on ESPN for investing the time and energy to investigate this new abuse of sports fans. Sports fans deserve better.

Still feel like you owe your franchise owner something? Read the latest article from Dave Zirin at www.EdgeofSports.com.

Jeremiah Tittle is the Managing Editor of SportsFansCoalition.org. Reach him at Jeremiah@SportsFansCoalition.org.

By Scott Kornberg

Even with the country in its worst recession since the Great Depression, 18 NFL teams have increased ticket prices for the upcoming season. While USA Today proposes that the main motivation of ticket price increases is for teams to stay competitive, it shows that teams continue to overlook the needs of their blue-collar fans.  The economy may be slightly better than it was last year, but its still not enough for sports fans to rationalize spending such a large portion of their income on football tickets.

A perfect example of a team misunderstanding their blue-collar fans is the Minnesota Vikings. While they continue to sell the league’s cheapest nosebleeds at $15, the Vikings raised prices on 85% of their tickets, and are raising ticket prices for the second time in three seasons.

The Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers are also raising prices heavily on tickets, with an average increase of 6.67% and 7%, respectively. Both teams, with rabid fan bases that routinely sell out games, are banking on the fact that fans will pony up extra money in the recession to watch football. Both teams do not understand that to raise prices in this unstable economic climate, they are pricing out some of their blue-collar fans.

The only way for teams in the NFL to stay competitive is to create as much revenue for themselves as they can. However, when teams attempt to increase revenue at the expense of fans, it shows that teams do not understand the economic issues that many of their fans face. As teams continue to raise prices every two to three years, they continue to price out more and more of their working class fans. As a non-profit entity with anti-trust exempt status, the NFL should own up to its responsibility to the public and provide affordable seats for their blue-collar, low-income tax-paying fans.

Scott Kornberg is a sportscaster for WMUC Sports (www.wmucsports.com). He hosts his own sports talk show, and announces baseball and softball games for the University of Maryland. He covers Maryland’s football and basketball writing for www.turtlesportsreport.com part of the scout.com network.

by Scott Weiss

Chris Mannix of SI.Com reported on David Stern’s press conference in Las Vegas on Monday regarding his thoughts about the upcoming NBA labor wars.  “Basically where we are at is that we would like fundamental changes,” said Stern, “and the players would very much like the present system to continue.”  I could express my opinion on which side is right and which side is wrong regarding the looming collective bargaining negotiations, but that is not what is important to the fans.  The big problem here is that when Stern uses the word “we,” he is referring to the NBA owners.  The NBA Commissioner should be representing the best interests of the NBA, inclusive of not only the owners, but also the players and fans.

There is nothing wrong with the owners having a representative to trumpet their cause.  The players association has a leader, so the owners should have one as well.  So, let’s call David Stern what he is: the NBA owners rep.  Let me throw this radical idea out there for you to chew on: The NBA Commissioner should be jointly selected by the owners, players and fans (SFC).  This person should act solely in the game’s best interest, not just the interests of one party.  Do you think that work stoppages would occur if there was a neutral Commissioner?  My answer? No way.

Scott Weiss is the Local Chapter Chair for SFC-New York/New Jersey.  He has been involved in the sports fans advocacy movement since 2000.  He is a life long fan of the Mets, Jets, Knicks, and Rangers.

Become a fan of SFC-NY-NY on Facebook.

Follow SFC-NY-NY on Twitter.

In February, SFC board member Brad Blakeman testified before the Oregon General Assembly against Comcast’s decision to withhold games from fans in Oregon more than 3 years after promising to provide them access.  Now, the Portland Trailblazers have taken the next step in requesting that the FCC force Comcast’s hand in providing broadcasts to the multitudes of Oregon-based fans who are unable to subscribe to Comcast.

Let’s keep the pressure on Comcast to do right by Blazers fans and keep their promise to the people of Oregon.

Sign the petition to the Oregon General Assembly to give us our Blazers games.

Tell us your story.

Become a fan of SFC-Portland on Facebook.

Follow the Local Chapter on Twitter.

by Scott Weiss

Amidst all the hoopla surrounding the Giants moving into their new stadium and New York/New Jersey securing the 2014 Super Bowl are stories like this that the Giants don’t want you to hear.  Several months back, I had the opportunity to speak to a life long Giants season ticket holder who represented the many disgruntled diehards of Big Blue. 

Jim shared with me that his family has had 6 season tickets (originally purchased by his father) since 1956. He remembers going to see the Giants play the Jaycee Classic at Palmer Stadium in Princeton, New Jersey when he was 7 years old. In the old stadium, their 6 seats were on the 30 yard line, 16 rows up behind the Giants bench. In the year 2000, the seats cost $45 a piece, last year they cost $100 a piece, and hold on to your hat, in the new stadium the Giants are asking $700 a piece. Not only that, but they are also asking for $20,000 per seat for the seat license fee. Needless to say, Jim and his family have been forced to give up all 6 seats because of the exorbitant cost. Instead, the family has decided to go for 6 seats in the upper deck ($1000 seat license fee and $95 per ticket each). The family was required to put 20% down in August 2008, another 40% down in August 2009, and the remaining 40% balance in March 2010 toward the seat license fee. He said that the Giants were not even releasing the seat location until early in 2010. Jim said that he was unsure if the family would even accept the tickets at the end of the day. Meanwhile, the Giants got to hold onto to their money for a year and a half.

So, when Giants fans should be celebrating their team’s move to a new stadium, most are nursing their wounds from being fleeced by their greedy ownership.  Maybe I missed something, but when did attending a professional sporting event become the privilege of a select few?  It’s time for fans to gain some respect from the sports establishment, and SFC can take us there.

Scott Weiss is the Local Chapter Chair for SFC-New York/New Jersey.  He has been involved in the sports fans advocacy movement since 2000.  He is a life long fan of the Mets, Jets, Knicks, and Rangers.

Become a fan of SFC-NY-NY on Facebook.

Follow SFC-NY-NY on Twitter.

by Jeremiah Tittle

While PSL’s (personal seat licenses) in football are a big money maker and predictably frustrate fans to no end, MLB hasn’t caught on to this practice yet has implimented a mutation of the sports fan cash grab which has raised a few eyebrows since its announcement yesterday.

This hideous new policy infects how baseball fans purchase postseason tickets.  You’re now allowed to purchase “reservations” to buy tickets for your teams home games.  The problem is, the reservation is 1) non-refundable, even if your team misses the playoffs or doesn’t need to play that game 2) doesn’t count against the face value cost of the ticket and 3) Automatically charges you for the tickets that you’ve reserved, for that game if and when your team makes the playoffs.  (Plus there’s a service fee, for the reservation.)
 
Personally I find this practice galling, and can only imagine the slippery slope this leads us down (i.e. Cubs did a Pre-Sale this year where you could buy tickets for a 20% markup before they went on sale to the public). 

Read the full article here or continue reading below.  Then, feel free to take a shower to wash off the greed-laden slime encountered along the way. There’s nothing like quoting racists and post-season performers alike to inspire fans of losing clubs to pay just in case their teams punch their ticket to October baseball.

Much like the marketing philosophy behind PSL’s, MLB asked itself, ‘How do we get fans to pay, and then, pay again?  Furthermore, how do we get them to pay for absolutely nothing?’  Much like the house sets the rules in a casino, MLB is guaranteeing many sports fans will lose their shirts on this new policy while Selig & co. stuff their coffers. 

It would be funny if it wasn’t so hypocritical that gambling is the number one taboo with signs posted in every Major League locker room around the country. For sports fans who can’t resist this temptation, it’s time to double down. 

Jeremiah Tittle is the Managing Editor of SportsFansCoalition.org. Reach him at Jeremiah@SportsFansCoalition.org.

By Mark Newman / MLB.com
06/30/10 7:00 PM ET

Eight Major League Baseball clubs will celebrate hard-fought, much-deserved trips to the postseason this fall. Then amid all that civic pride, fans will compete with the masses as demand exceeds supply and tickets become hot commodities.

You probably know that feeling. This time there is a way to handle it proactively.

MLB.com is offering you the opportunity now to buy tickets at the face value price for your favorite team. Postseason Ticket Reservations is a new feature intended to broaden potential access to these valuable seats, ensuring you that if your team plays in a game you reserve, you get to buy a face-value ticket and go to the game.

Let’s take the defending National League champs as an example. If you purchase a National League Division Series Home Game 1 reservation for the Phillies and they qualify for the postseason, your selected game will occur and a reservation would allow you to purchase a ticket for the first home Division Series game at Citizens Bank Park (either Game 1 or Game 3 of the Division Series, depending on whether the Phillies have home field advantage in the series).

The cost for each transaction is $10 for the Division Series, $15 for the League Championship Series and $20 for the World Series. The maximum purchase for each game is two reservations per household per team per series. So it would cost $90 now if you wanted to reserve two tickets for one game of all three possible postseason rounds, for example.

Just select the team for which you would like to purchase a reservation. Then select the series and home game, and purchase the reservation. If your selected team plays in the postseason game for which you’ve purchased a reservation, you will be guaranteed the opportunity to buy tickets for that game at the face value price.

Think of it as investing in futures. Sure, there is some degree of chance involved. Competitive balance is great in 2010, and there will no doubt be frantic finishes throughout the standings. Your team might be one of the 22 that goes home after the final scheduled regular season games are played on that Sunday, Oct. 3. Then again, it might win a clincher.

“I never could stand losing,” Hall of Famer Ty Cobb once said. “Second place didn’t interest me. I had a fire in my belly.”

“What are we out at the park for, except to win?” asked Leo Durocher, who won two World Series as a player and another as a manager.

How optimistic are you?

Emotions will run high for playoff clubs. So will ticket costs. With Postseason Ticket Reservations, you can spend a little now to avoid the possibility of a large expenditure later. It is a new option for 2010, and available for all fans right now.

by Jeremiah Tittle

Success on the field of play so often leads to success in the owner’s box. It is not the rule however. Stu Sternberg, the principal owner of the Tampa Bay Rays will attest to that. Since the Rays can’t pack Tropicana Field with Dickie V’s fellow ‘Amazing Rays’ fans the year after the team’s appearance in the World Series, Sternberg has no qualms about dropping the “air of uncertainty…will continue to linger” line in a press conference (press release below) after meeting with St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster yesterday.

The first line of the release identifies Sternberg’s efforts to extort funding from St. Petersberg to stay afloat although its clear this is not enough. While our friends in Santa Clara have identified the downfalls of being chosen by a professional sports franchise as the ideal site for their new stadium, it is not so often the case that an owner comes out and says that the entire region – including residents who live outside of the stadium’s zip code – will need to fork over cash to keep them in town.

For SFC, we’ve been there, done that. These are clear threats to not only the local politicians, but all the Tampa Bay Rays fans who’ve supported the team through the lean years, the hotter-than-hot day games, and, yes, that even includes Dickie V whose tears would flow like a two-year-old’s if the team were to leave the region for more solid financial footing.

Jeremiah Tittle is the Managing Editor of SportsFansCoalition.org. Reach him at Jeremiah@SportsFansCoalition.org.

RAYS WANT TO EXPLORE ALL POTENTIAL NEW BALLPARK OPTIONS IN TAMPA BAY REGION

ST. PETERSBURG, FL—Following a meeting with St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster, Tampa Bay Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said the team wants to explore all potential new ballpark options within Tampa Bay, including those outside St. Petersburg and Pinellas County.

“The future of Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay depends on finding the optimal site for a new ballpark,” said Sternberg.  “It is my conviction that if baseball is to survive and flourish in Tampa Bay for the long-term, we must rise above municipal boundaries and work together with a common interest.”
Added Sternberg, “We will consider any potential ballpark site in Tampa Bay, but only as part of a process that considers every ballpark site in Tampa Bay.”
Sternberg said he believes baseball can succeed in Tampa Bay and that he is committed to doing all he can to keep the team in the region.

“When I assumed control of the Rays almost five years ago, it was commonly assumed that winning would change everything at Tropicana Field.  Everyone believed that with a winning team on the field, fans would fill the stands.  That has not been the case.”

Sternberg continued, “Our ability to compete and, quite frankly, to survive rests on our ability to attract people and businesses to our ballpark.  Our customers are our fans.  And like any other business, we need to be in a location that is convenient for our fans to reach us.”

In discussing the Rays future, Sternberg confirmed that he wants the team to remain in Tampa Bay but for that to happen a regional discussion needs to begin soon.

“Baseball in the Tampa Bay area does not belong to Stu Sternberg, just as it doesn’t belong to St. Petersburg or Tampa, Pinellas or Hillsborough.  It is a regional asset.  It belongs to our fans throughout the region.  For this asset to be preserved, a comprehensive process to explore a new ballpark must begin.  That process needs to consider all possible locations throughout Tampa Bay – meaning Tampa and Hillsborough as well.”

Sternberg said being able to explore all possible stadium options to keep the team in Tampa Bay was “the right thing for our fans and for all the residents of Tampa Bay.” 

Until that discussion began in earnest, he continued, the team cannot and will not make a decision on a future ballpark in Tampa Bay and the air of uncertainty over the future of Major League Baseball in the area will continue to linger.

“The Rays are a valued member of our regional community, and that’s exactly how we want things to remain,” Sternberg said.  “We appreciate all the support we have received from our loyal base of fans and supporters in both turning around this franchise and in trying to figure out how to keep it here in Tampa Bay.”

By Scott Kornberg

When just looking at conference expansion on the surface, it makes sense why Colorado and Nebraska would switch alliances from the Big 12 Conference to the Pac-12 and Big Ten, respectively. Each school gains a significant amount of money and stability in their new conference. However, with these moves, fans lose a lot more in terms of tradition and rivalries.

Sports fans love bitter rivalries and classic moments that come from them. Both Nebraska and Colorado had long established that for their fans with the Big 12. Nebraska was a founding member of what became the Big Eight conference (and in 1996, the Big 12 conference) in 1907, while Colorado joined the conference in 1948.

College football fans no longer will have the opportunity to see the great Nebraska-Oklahoma rivalry, a rivalry that produced the “Game of the Century” between the two schools in 1971. They lose a significant amount of history like the infamous Fifth-Down game between Colorado and Missouri in 1990. It will not have the same meaning for fans to be watching a Nebraska-Indiana or Colorado-Washington State game. In their new conferences, Nebraska and Colorado games will lack the intensity and passion that their fans loved in the bitter rivalries of the Big 12.

Another casualty for sports fans, especially those cheering on the Cornhuskers and Buffaloes, is the lack of ability to follow their team on road games. In the Big 12, Colorado fans could make a 7-8 hour drive to see their team play at Nebraska, Kansas, or Kansas State. Now their closest competitor in the Pac-12 is Oregon (Eugene), which is a 14.5-hour drive from Boulder. It will be much less convenient for Colorado fans to watch their team on the road in the Pac-12.

Nebraska fans face a similar dilemma. In order to watch road Husker games at Kansas State, Kansas, or Missouri, Nebraska fans made a manageable 2-4 hour drive from Lincoln. The closest school in the Big Ten to Nebraska is a 5-hour drive to Iowa (Iowa City), while a trip to the furthest, Penn State (University Park), would take 17 hours.

For Colorado and Nebraska, conference expansion makes road trips for fans increasingly expensive and time-consuming. In addition, Buffalo and Husker fans are losing the intense and passionate rivalries which existed in the Big 12. So while Nebraska and Colorado may be making more money in the Big Ten and Pac-12, respectively, their decision does not benefit the tradition and rivalries their fans loved and enjoyed for decades.

Scott Kornberg is a sportscaster for WMUC Sports (www.wmucsports.com). He hosts his own sports talk show, and announces baseball and softball games for the University of Maryland. He covers Maryland’s football and basketball writing for www.turtlesportsreport.com part of the scout.com network.

This is a very interesting video. 

Keep out of earshot of small children.

by Jeremiah Tittle

After a lot of grassroots organizing and countless hours trying to battle the miseducation campaigns waged by the San Francisco 49ers, Santa Clara Plays Fair came up short in trying to convince the people of Santa Clara – led like sheep to the slaughter at the polls earlier this month – that putting a new stadium in downtown Santa Clara would bankrupt the city or at least its taxpayers.

According to one of the organizers, the 49ers spent what one San Jose State poly sci professor called a ‘crushing’ amount of money. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said it was the most spent per voter in the history of the U.S. – in excess of $300 - and that the 49ers blacklisted both he and Santa Clara residents from telling the other side of the story on local TV and radio airwaves leading up to the vote.

Now that the Santa Clara voters have approved measure J which would clear the way for Candlestick Park’s destruction with an eye toward downtown Santa Clara as the new site for a stadium, loads of articles have suddenly appeared in the media regarding the risks to Santa Clara – the risk of seat licenses and naming rights particularly.  SCPF has been trying to get that info into the news for an entire year but the media turned a blind eye. Now that the 49ers won, reporters are coming out of the woodwork to speculate on how risky the funding is for this project.

The day after the election, the San Jose Mercury News published a correct pie chart of the stadium construction costs that looks like the SCPF pie chart (numbers all come from the Term Sheet).  They should have been publishing that all along.

An additional hinderence is the lawsuit filed by Great America (Cedar Fair).  The city is trying to breach its contract with the company to lease the same piece of property to the 49ers.  The city doesn’t want to give them a rent reduction even though they must close on game days.  Maybe the good people of Santa Clara have an ally.  Or maybe there will be a settlement and the green ‘all systems go’ light will stay shining brightly.

Our friends at Santa Clara Plays Fair are  going to try to hold the city and the NFL team to its words, keeping the campaign promises in the final document. They made more promises than a politician the day before a primary – that conflict with the Term Sheet, mind you, which is non-binding.

Time will tell if these efforts to hold the city of Santa Clara, the city of San Francisco, the NFL, and the 49ers accountable. Rest assured, the good people at Santa Clara Plays Fair will continue to hold them accountable every step of the way, and Sports Fans Coalition supports their efforts 100% understanding that unchecked power will lead to abuse.

Jeremiah Tittle is the Managing Editor of SportsFansCoalition.org. Reach him at Jeremiah@SportsFansCoalition.org.