Does Ballpark Ownership Impact Competitiveness?

by

Kenneth Matinale

Last updated: January 26, 2011

A hundred years ago a Major League Baseball (MLB) ballpark was generally owned and paid for by the person who owned the team.  In 2011 many parks are owned and were paid for by municipalities or some entity representing them.  Does that impact the competitive nature of MLB by allowing some teams to avoid spending substantial amounts of money on building a new ballpark while deriving the benefit?

Let’s see how many ballparks owners own, either entirely or in part.  In one case the team, i.e., owner, owns the ballpark but did not pay anything for it!

This link shows who owns 10 of the 30 current ballparks.  Use it to view details if the ballpark name below does not its own link.  Here are the ballparks in order by MLB opening year.

Target Field (2010) - Owner: Hennepin County.  Private Financing: 25% ($130 Million) from Minnesota Twins.

New York: Yankee Stadium (2009) - Owner: New York Yankees.  Cost: $1.6 Billion.

New York: Citi Field (2009)- Owner: New York Mets.  Public Financing: $89.7 million from the City, $74.7 million from the State of New York.  Private Financing: $420 (66%) from the Mets.

Washington: Nationals Park (2008)- Owner: D.C. Sports Commission.

St. Louis: Busch Stadium (2006) - Owner: St. Louis Cardinals

San Diego: Petco Park (2004) - Owner: City of San Diego (70%), San Diego Padres (30%)

Philadelphia Citizens Bank Park (2004) - Owner: City of Philadelphia

Cincinnati: Great American Ball Park (2003) - Owner: City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

Pittsburgh: PNC Park (2001) - Owner: City of Pittsburgh Sports & Exhibition Authority

Milwaukee: Miller Park (2001) - Owner: Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball District (64 percent), Milwaukee Brewers (36 percent).  Private financing: $90 million, or 22.5 percent, from the Brewers owners.

San Francisco: AT&T Park (2000) - Owner: China Basin Ballpark Corp., a subsidiary of the Giants

Houston: Minute Maid Park (2000) - Owner: Harris County-Houston Sports Authority.  Private financing: $52 million, or 20 percent, from Astros owners

Detroit: Comerica Park (2000) - Owner: Detroit-Wayne County Stadium Authority.  Private financing: $185 million, or 62 percent, from Tigers owner Mike Ilitch?

Seattle: Safeco Field (1999) - ?Owner: Washington-King County stadium authority.  Private financing: $75 million (14%) from Mariners owners.

Phoenix: Chase Field (1998) - Owner: Maricopa County Stadium District.  Private Financing: Diamondbacks 29% of $354 Million.

Tampa: Tropicana Field (1990 first used for MLB in 1998) - Owner: City of St. Petersburg.  Private Financing: 21% (renovations): $14 million by Rays.

Atlanta: Turner Field (1996 first used for MLB in 1997) - Owner: Atlanta Braves.  Public Financing: 100% City for Olympics Private Financing: None!

Denver: Coors Field (1995) - Owner: Denver Metropolitan Baseball Stadium District.  Private Financing: 25%: Rockies contributed $53 million.

Arlington: Rangers Ballpark in Arlington (1994) - Owner: Arlington Sports Facility Development Authority.  Private Financing: 20% of $191 Million: Rangers.

Cleveland: Progressive Field (1994) - Owner: Cuyahoga County.  Private Financing: 22% of $175 Million: Indians.

Miami: Sun Life Stadium originally Dolphin Stadium (1987 first used for MLB in 1993)

- Owner: Wayne Huizenga.  Private Financing: 97%: private funds, $10 million by Marlins for renovations in 1993.

Baltimore: Oriole Park at Camden Yards (1992) - Owner: Maryland Stadium Authority.

Chicago: U.S. Cellular Field (1991) - Owner: Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.

Toronto: Rogers Centre (1989) - Owner: Rogers Communications/ Toronto Blue Jays.  Private Financing: 37%: Blue Jays.

Kansas City: Kauffman Stadium (1973) - Owner: Jackson County.

Oakland: Oakland Coliseum (1966 first used for MLB in 1968) - Owner: City of Oakland/Alameda County.

Anaheim: Angel Stadium (1966) - Owner: City of Anaheim.  Public Financing: 100% (original) $24 million, Angels 25% (renovations) $117 million.

Los Angeles: Dodger Stadium (1962) - Owner: Los Angeles Dodgers.

Chicago: Wrigley Field (1914) - Owner: Chicago Cubs.

Boston: Fenway Park (1912) - Owner: Boston Red Sox.

Of the 30 MLB ballparks the three oldest were paid for by the team.  That’s 10%.

Municipal ownership began in 1966.  Of the 27 teams that got ballparks since 1966 only these 6 teams paid more than 50% for them: Yankees, Cardinals, Giants, Marlins, Mets (64%).

This link contains data in spreadsheet form, including a tab broken down by year and division.

In some cases team payment for the ballpark occurred so long ago that it is not a current factor.  Payment is not always clear and anomalies exist.  For instance the Florida Marlins park was built by their former owner for his NFL Dolphins team.  The most extreme anomaly is the Atlanta Braves who own their ballpark but did not pay for it … AND … it’s named after Braves owner Ted Turner!

By division:

ALE:  The Yankees have the big disadvantage.  Boston had paid for its ballpark almost 100 years ago.  Toronto in 1989.  They are not impacted.  Baltimore and Tampa received municipal gifts.

ALC:  All five have municipal  beneficiaries.  Three teams contributed: Detroit 62%, Minnesota 25%, Cleveland 22%.  Advantage Chicago.  Disadvantage Detroit.

ALW:  Another clean sweep of municipal  beneficiaries, all four.  Texas contributed 20%, Seattle 14%.  Angels paid for 75% of renovations, which were almost five times as much the original cost.  Advantage Oakland.

NLE:  New York Mets (2009) may have the biggest disadvantage of any division, paying 66%.  All four other teams got FREE ballparks (Florida from its previous owner).  And since Washington (2008) and  Philadelphia (2004) have new ballparks the Mets are hit especially hard.

NLC:  Cubs have been in Wrigley since 1914.  Cardinals opened their ballpark in 2006 and paid for it.  The other four teams got gifts: Cincinnati and Pittsburgh 100%, Houston 80%, Milwaukee 64%.  Disadvantage St. Louis.

NLW: The Dodgers paid for their ballpark, back in 1962.  Giants paid through a puppet entity.  The other three teams got lots of help: Arizona 81%, Denver 75%, San Diego 70%.  Disadvantage San Francisco.

Are these disparities bigger restrictions on competition than steroids?  Sure seems like it.  For those who want a salary cap, how come they ignore this capital investment?

Why doesn’t MLB own and pay for its ballparks?  That would level the playing field.

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