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Sports and the economy — Will fans keep coming?

Sports isn't entertainment, it's therapy.

We sometimes make heroes of athletes. Academics, however, will ever be eggheads. It's part of our culture of disdain for knowledge.

Baseball was the great stress reliever for the nation throughout the Great Depression. I anticipate that professional sports will continue to be (as stated above) "therapy" for those who want to escape the pressures of the day, even if the "in-arena" attendance is down, TV viewership (ergo revenues) may actually go up.

Stress therapy? Maybe Obama will include 'free' seasond tickets for everyone in his healthcare plan.

I'm so sick of professional sports. People act like I should be loyal to an entertainment business that consists of people that all make at least 5 times what I do. And so many of the people involved are immature, greedy, criminal, or totally out of touch with reality (or all of the above).

College sports is where it's at.

...except soccer. Is there any revenue there to speak of in the first place?

Attendance may go down but tv viewers? Most sports are mostly on cables and Satalite that their prices still too high. I careless Pro Sports which they are spoiled. I sure enjoy so far on those non bcs schools doing well this year and will continue to do so.

belgie: Look at world in general. You see immature, greedy, criminal and out of touch people at the bank, the hospital and in government.

Sports is just a small segment of that picture. Pro athletes just have a brighter spotlight so their failings are more noticable.

I think sports provided an outlet for many during the Great Depression and attendance at the movies and sporting events actually increased despite the terrible economic hardships of the times. However, the prices today relative to the incomes Americans generally have are much, much higher than during the Great Depression.

Also, the relative strength of each sporting league and the relative strength each franchise has in its own city will be important factors. For example, the strongest sporting league in America right now is the NFL and the NFL should do just fine (think about the 30 year plus waiting list to get Green Bay Packer season tickets). But if you are the MLS (soccer), NBA, or MLB you might have some concerns. The Jazz will probably draw well but I'm not sure the LA Clippers or Charlotte Hornets will in a poorer economy. And yes, I would expect tv viewership of sports to remain strong, perhaps even increase, in these dark, troubling economic ties.

The good thing is that perhaps many of these franchises will have to reduce their ticket prices, do package type deals etc. to fill the seats and make these events more accessible.

I was just wondering, do you go to the movies? Why is it people get all over athletes when they make big bucks, but no one bats an eye when an actor gets $15 to $25 million for a movie? Not to mention the fact that when an athlete makes a mistake, it is there for all to see, but if an actor makes a mistake, they just do it over and over again.

What a waste of a stadium. Complete joke, just like soccer.

If Real Salt Lake can talk Real Madrid or some other big European club into visiting; some European fans will come along & pay in Euros.

Not nearly-worthless US dollars.

This is more unlikely. But maybe RSL could loan or sell some players to European clubs and receive Euros, Pounds or some other non-worthless currency in return. But first, RSL would have to have some talented players. That's not too likely.

RSL sold Freddy Adu to Benfica in Portugal. Javier Morales has turned heads this season, just signed a contract extension for the next 3 or 4 years, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him move overseas when his contract is up, or for another team to buy his contract from RSL. Cris Seitz, who has been heralded as the next 'keeper for the US National team also has a good chance of moving overseas. RSL does have players to loan or sell.

RSL has also played host to Real Madrid, Everton, the Chinese National team, US National team, Monarcas, Saprissa, Tigres, and others. All of these bring in revenue to the team and the county. Now that RSL has their own stadium, these types of teams will visit more often. This will give them more revenue than just ticket sales to league games. This gives soccer teams a bit of an advantage over MLB, NHL, NBA and others who don't have the same international appeal as soccer.

Times may be tough, but I'm still willing to spend $200 to travel from St. George to Salt Lake to see RSL play in their new stadium! Go RSL!

Sports is the biggest waste of time invented by the human race.

Even with the tough financial times, they are able to get a naming rights for their stadium. Impressive. RSL will be fine. Each year...you haters get older....and RSL gains more fans.

Thanks for the support.

Most of you soccer naysayers obviously know very little about soccer. You also don't know anything about the stadium deal. The city owns the land and leases it to RSL. The city and state stand to benefit significantly. Over time when you factor in tax revenue, out of state sales, etc., the stadium and RSL will pay itself 10 fold. This is a good, sound investment for Utah. The only joke is that you can't see the value it brings to us.

To anonymous & re:Belgie:

Professional sports attempt to sell an image at least as much as they do the excitement of the games. In my opinion, the image is severely tainted by all the steroids, criminal activity, contract hold-outs, public feuds, etc. I'm therefore not the least bit interested in the image, and I can get the same level of excitement from college sports.

I'm just as (perhaps more) disillusioned with Hollywood and the music industry. I rarely go to movies or buy CDs because I have such a bad taste in my mouth from everyone involved in the industry. Again, at least to some degree, they are trying to sell me an image along with the entertainment, and I'm not interested.

I know that people in all organizations have character flaws, but banks, hospitals, and other businesses typically just try to sell me a product or service. And, actually, I typically avoid the ones that also push an image (exe. whole foods stores).

I've asked all my friends and they all agree. We wouldn't go see MLS if it was FREE. Sorry to all the sissies who fake injuries to get a "card". Soccer will always be seventh or eighth in popularity in this country.

In reference to you first paragraph, you must not thoroughly read the paper. There are no contract hold outs in collegiate sports, but there have been a litany of stories about criminal activity among college athletes over the last few years. Not to mention that at least in pro sports, the money is out in the open and not under the table as is the case in college sports and if you don't think that doesn't still happen, you need to get your head out of the sand.

When did Utah get a soccer team?