I'm watching the Cavs-Denver game, and although Tristan and the boys are up by 11 at the half, I feel nothing but dread for the future of professional sport in America.
Here's why; pro sports requires a viable base of middle class fans.
That middle class is fast going gone. That's why you're watching NASCAR races with acres of empty bleachers. The fans are gone because the middle class is gone.
The Pepsi Center in Denver has a capacity of 19,000 plus. Denver has a population of roughly three quarters of a million. That's what's known as a "small market" in MBA terminology. A Nuggets game with the family, including a dinner out and a snack after, is at least a $500 touch for a family of four.
Who the fuck can afford that? The one percenters!
Are there enough one percenters in Denver to keep this balloon afloat?
And look at Cleveland, foreclosure capital of the USA. The Quicken Loans Arena (and what a droll choice of sponsor here in the foreclosure capital of America!) has a capacity of 20,500. Just like anywhere else, making a Cavs game a night out for the family is going to be a $500 ding in the wallet. Cleveland has a population base of less than 400,000.
When you've got a pop base of 400,000, you've got a working adult base of maybe 20% of that, so the one percenters, the folks who can afford season tickets, are what, around 800?
And not all of those are keen to pay big bucks to watch a black kid throw a basketball, so what's the real fan base?
Pro sports are gonna go down the toilet, and soon.
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