When it was a game

Humphrey Bogart once reflected that “A Hotdog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz.”

Professional sports used to be a game dedicated to the fans that united us so we could all rally around our teams.

Have they now been perverted, as most of our institutions, by the profit motive?

Many stadiums have become billboards for commercial advertisements. Has the “sponsors” fixation on profits prompted the team owners to leave the fans behind?

“MetLife Stadium” replaced Giants Stadium in Meadowlands, home of the NY Giants and Jets. “AT&T Stadium” replaced Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. “M&T Stadium” replaced Memorial Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens. “Gillette Stadium” replaced Foxboro Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. “Nissan Stadium” was built to house the Tennessee Titians, former Huston Oilers that played in the Astrodome. “Mercedes- Benz Stadium” replaced Georgia Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons. “Oracle Park” replaced Candlestick Park, home of the SF Giants. “CitiField” replaced Shea Stadium, home of the New York Mets.

So what is the benefit to the fans vs cost for the construction of new stadiums? Just look at the New York experience.

Yankee Stadium was built in 1923. It seated 56,866 fans and had 19 luxury suites. The new Yankee Stadium opened in 2009. It seats 50,287. There are 56 luxury suites and 4,600 club seats. That is 6600 fewer seats for regular fans at a cost of $1.186 billion to the public in subsidies, 51 percent of the total stadium price tag of $2.308 billion.

Shea Stadium was opened in 1964. It seated 57,405 fans and had 45 luxury suites with 4,327 club seats. CitiField, the new home of New York Mets, opened in 2009. It seats 41,992, 45,000 with standing room. There are 54 luxury suites and 7,800 club seats. That is over 15,000 fewer seats for the fans at a cost of $614 million to the public, or 74 percent of the $830 million total.

New York citizens paid about 1.8 billion, or 58 percent, of the $3.138 billion for two stadiums that seat about than 21,500 — or 19 percent — fewer fans, but the number of luxury suites increased 72 percent.

The average price of one ticket to a Yankees baseball game was $145 last year. Add to this the cost for parking or transportation and concessions, the cost for a family of four — even with discounts — would be in the hundreds of dollars! Would attending two or three games a year be within the means of the “average” fan?

Attending a football game could be much more expensive. The average price to see a professional football game ranges from $99 — at the low end — to see the Cincinnati Bengals and $104 for a seat to watch the Jacksonville Jaguars. At the higher end, we see fees of $350 to see the Chicago Bears or a staggering $490 to see the New England Patriots.

These numbers bring into question “Who were these stadiums built for?” Certainly not the average fans.

In 1991 HBO produced “When it was a game.” It was a compilation of home movies from the average baseball fan and players between 1934 and 1957. The documentary took us from the throws of the great depression through WW II to the cold war. But through these trying times it showed that “the culture of stadiums, the ritual of afternoon games, the spiritually sustaining rivalries” were welcome and unifying respites from the harsh everyday realities. The fans were there — all cheering together at the top of their lungs, rooting for their home team, uniting them in a cohesive community.

Gone are the days when a couple of kids could go to a game, have a hot dog, a drink and bag of peanuts for $2. You sat in the “upper decks” and spent most of the time in between your team’s batting trying to sneak into the lower levels. Or you sat with the “bleacher bums” in the outfield screaming at the umpires.

“When it was a game” fans would team with the players to support a unified goal of outscoring the other team and winning the game.

Why have we the fans allowed professional sports to become nothing more than a profit-centered political rally designed by the few for the few, being used as a forum to divide the many?

John M. DeMaggio is a retired Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General. He is also a retired Captain in the U.S. Navy, where he served in Naval Intelligence. The above is the opinion of the author and is not meant to reflect the opinion of the U.S. Navy or the U.S. Government.