"Can't forget the Motor City"

Interesting article in today's Free Press:

November 16, 2008
Wish Lions would vanish? Stay tuned - Detroit's at risk of losing a pro teamBy DREW SHARPFREE PRESS COLUMNIST
It's not a birthright that Detroit has professional sports teams in each of the four major sports. It's the result of strong corporate support and a loyal fan base willing to pay high prices for tickets.
But those days are over.
The automotive industry as we once knew it is dead. It will reinvent itself with a leaner identity and a more responsible spending philosophy. And that will likely translate into a more conservative approach as it pertains to cutting checks for luxury suites and unlimited entertainment expenses.
It wouldn't be a surprise if Detroit loses at least one of its four professional sports teams within the next 10 years because ownership sells to an outside interest and the franchise moves to an area with a stronger economic base.
If you don't think that's possible, then you're not looking at the current local economic situation with a realistic eye.
Detroit and Phoenix are the only two cities that support four professional sports teams in four separate facilities. That requires four teams capable of finding enough corporate backing for those all-important luxury suites in four different stadiums/arenas to keep the coffers filled without sharing the facility operational costs with another tenant.
That task becomes much tougher for teams in the aftermath of this economic crisis -- especially in Detroit.
The idea of the NFL waiving television blackouts in Detroit has been nationally perceived as the equivalent of a government bailout. But the difference between Congress stepping in to assist the automotive industry and the Lions getting a break from the NFL is that there's no competition for the NFL. It's a monopoly. It possesses full marketing control and can dictate, without competitive challenge, the market price for its product.
That's why it cannot turn a blind eye to what's occurring in Detroit.
There's an obvious reason why the NFL hasn't gotten a new franchise in Los Angeles: It cannot guarantee sellouts in the country's second-largest media market. The NFL's primary business objective remains establishing a premium local value for tickets of home games.
Los Angeles residents have long understood that there's more available to them on a sunny, warm fall Sunday than paying top dollar for an NFL football ticket.
Detroit residents may soon discover there's more available to them on a cold, cloudy fall Sunday, too. That's precisely why the NFL cannot afford to lose a Midwestern stalwart like Detroit.
Detroit's economic base is changing, and the professional sports teams must adapt or else their leagues may soon exist without Detroit.