Let's start with college, where as a Badger season ticket holder, I was one of the recipients of a mass e-mail that is mentioned in this article. In the email, the UW Athletic Department admitted that the COVID-warped season is going to cause a major hit to their finances.
The University of Wisconsin athletic department acknowledged Wednesday that fans won’t be able to use the football season tickets they’ve already secured for a 2020 season that remains in question.
But the Badgers, facing a revenue loss of at least $60 million this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, are appealing to fans to let them keep that money as a donation.
UW on Wednesday unveiled the Badger Legacy Campaign, a fund that the athletic department said will support scholarships, training and support services for athletes….
UW has projected a loss of between $60 million and $70 million in revenue in a best-case scenario that allows football’s 10-game, conference-only schedule to be played. Losing the entire football season would mean a loss of more than $100 million in revenue, according to UW projections.
The athletic department had an operating budget of nearly $140 million approved for the 2020-21 fiscal year before the coronavirus. A spokesman said it was “highly likely” that UW would have to use a reserve fund to cover losses, but the athletic department doesn’t have enough in reserve to cover the loss of an entire year of operating revenue.
Might not be saying hi to this guy in 2020
I’m likely not going to give away my $675 to the AD, but I probably will take the rollover option. That means UW keeps my money to bulk up their bottom line for this year, and I don’t have to pay much/anything for the 2021…assuming it happens.
Wisconsin's pro football team also admitted this week that COVID-19 was going to keep fans away, at least for a while.
The Green Bay Packers said Thursday no fans will be present for the team's first two home games this season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Packers said the first time fans might be allowed into a game at Lambeau Field is Nov. 1 when Green Bay hosts the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers are scheduled to host the Detroit Lions on Sept. 20 and Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 5.
Even if the Pack allows fans to be back starting in November, the loss of 2 preseason games and not having fans for at least 2 regular season games is going to be a significant hit to many people in Brown County.
Packers home games provide an estimated $15 million economic impact to the Green Bay area economy. All told, the Packers provide more than $170 million in annual economic impact in the NFL's smallest market.Given that Green Bay's Hager says that hotels in the Titletown area have already lost 50%-60% of their business since COVID broke out, the loss of Packer tourism would likely be a death blow for a lot of those places. Now maybe some of that money flows to other areas (like food delivery for all the games fans will watch on TV instead of in person), but GB is definitely going to miss not having fans around for Packer Sundays.
The tourism and hospitality industries are hardest hit by the pandemic, even beyond the lack of football fans on game days. Closing training camp to fans meant 90,000 fewer visitors to the area. Eliminating or reducing fans for regular-season games will cost hundreds of thousands more.
"This has been a very, very difficult year for the hoteliers and not just for the Packers games," said Jason Hager, vice president of Tundra Lodge Resort & Conference Center. Hager also is chairman of both the Brown County Room Tax Commission and the Greater Green Bay Lodging Association.
And lots of bars and hotels in Madison will miss out on all that fan spending on Badger Saturdays. Given that inside drinking and dining is discouraged if not outright prohibited in the COVID World, not having that Game Weekend business could be the end for a lot of places, if the recession hasn't killed them already.
Jake,
ReplyDeleteI am truly sorry for all the people who are losing money because COVID has not spared the Badgers and the Packers (and the Brewers and Bucks, etc.) And, I also miss going to baseball games, one of many, many things I miss. So in no way would I minimize the economic -- and even, for lack of a better word, the psychic -- pain that we ordinary people are feeling here. That said, I think it is time to really examine the finances of big-time college sports, a large part of which is football and men's basketball. Where has all the money gone? Seriously, over the years, it's billions of dollars! I heard for years that universities like UW Madison just had to keep sports because it brought money into the university. Well, it brought money into the athletic department which spent it on itself. It didn't get out to the wider university. Now the Madison athletic department is asking fans to donate to it like some kind of charity. A real riches to rags story, huh? Sally Jenkins, one of the best sportswriters working today, wrote a great column about this recently for the Washington Post. Not sure if this link will work for your readers, but here it is: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/08/07/college-sports-embraced-reckless-greed-with-coronavirus-crisis-bill-has-come-due/
In fairness, the UW Athletic Department has kicked back some money to the university at large in recent years. But your main point is correct, in that big-time college sports (especially football) have gotten out of hand with facilities and other amenities that go far beyond the cost of scholarships and educational help.
DeleteGranted, fans have been willing to pay for all of these things so far (raises hand meekly), but you're right that it is odd to see so many programs cry poverty after getting and spending so much in recent years.