Professional sport was once a unifier of American society across all classes. But now stadiums are being built for the corporate, and wealthy, elites. They do not want to be anywhere near ordinary sports fans, who are being squeezed out of attendance by fewer seats and higher prices.
Voters from the northern state of
The new Twins Ballpark, in Minneapolis, will have 3,000 seats in clubs, lounges and suites to cater for the affluent but will admit about 15,000 fewer ordinary fans because cheaper, upper deck seats will be stripped out; the upper class wants to be segregated from what it sees as boorish, hooligan behaviour in the cheap seats. Professional sports may once have fostered national unity across classes, but it is now oriented toward the needs of the upper-income ranks.
Many of these new stadiums are being built in highly policed zones set aside for the local and transnational elite – or tourist bubbles – and this makes it clear who they are intended for (1).
A better class of fan
Within the stadiums, further barriers are raised to protect the upper class even from the middle classes. The upper classes are the true targets of these new palaces. The leading baseball newspaper in the
Many Americans used to enjoy the tradition of buying cheap tickets and moving down to the expensive seats by the field when they were empty. This is no longer possible. My brother and I would watch the empty seats along the first and third base lines and after about three innings we would move down to these seats that we certainly could not afford. This was common. If someone with tickets appeared, we moved on without a fuss.
In the new stadiums, guarded doors separate the sections and a ticket must be shown to enter the upscale areas that have climate-controlled lounges with plasma TVs that show the game, and separate parking lots with private entrances to the stadium. Excellent seats in the front of the stadium remain empty and those at the back are the best that can be afforded by a family of four unwilling to pay more than $100. Quite a few of these new stadiums cost far more than the ticket price because they do not allow fans to bring in their own food. Once the cost of food and parking ($15 in
Families used to bring sandwiches or fried chicken to the stadium but now are checked to confiscate food not purchased at the stadium. The few ballparks that do allow outside food restrict consumption to areas designed for family picnics, another gate that separates the haves from the rest. Baseball stadiums were never really melting pots, but I remember going to games in
I also remember the fans in
The corporate elite see going to a game as a way to entertain a client and work on a business deal, and are not captivated by the game itself. Because they can easily become bored, the new stadium has become a theme park with lots of things to do besides watch the game and enjoy fine food in a secluded environment. The lounge areas contain museums of sports memorabilia and the history of the team. There are also interactive areas where patrons can, for an extra charge, enter a batting cage and swing at balls thrown at the speeds that the professional players find tough. Patrons can also pitch a ball at a target and have the speed of throw measured. Bragging rights are another antidote to the boredom of the game.
Guess who’s paying the bill
The cost of the construction is paid by all taxpayers, even though many in the service class cannot afford the cost of a proper family outing to the game. Ordinary people, including those enthralled by the home team, did not want to pay the bill for a new stadium and elected officials were well aware of this. In
Voters have begun to recognise that these new coliseums are for the entertainment of the few, and no longer bread and circuses for the many. Not just the hooligans are being excluded. But elected officials in
Richard A Keiser is professor of political science at
(1) D Judd and
(2) A Zimbalist and R Noll, Sports, Jobs and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums, Brookings Institution Press, 1997.
Original text in English
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