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Recession Should Be Time For Minor League Sports To Shine

Tim Parry October 13th, 2008

I have friends who work for the Arena Football League who are going to be ticked that I clumped their brand of football in with minor league sports. But there is a point to be made here.

If you are a minor or obscure league (pipe down, AFL fans), you need to take advantage during this - dare I finally call it that - economic recession.

Your average sports fans are still looking for something to do. But the average sports fan is also being priced out of the pro sports scene: The cheapest Yankees tickets this season in the House that Ruth Built were about $20 a piece and 500 feet from home plate. Throw in $10 a beer, $20 for parking, and you need a second job to be a fan.

Prices next season in The House That Corporate Greed Built will be much higher.

And something disturbed me this year: My hometown Bridgeport Bluefish did nothing to promote the value of watching them play vs. making a trip to New York or Boston to watch Major League Baseball.

I read a column this morning by Adam Markowitz at ArenaFan. He says the average sports fan will find out this season that Arena Football is the best value for the sports fan.

The league has been promoting itself that way for a while, and maybe now it will catch on in places like Long Island, where I always thought the Dragons would generate more fans if they moved it outside and played on a full-size field.

Places like Orlando, Tampa Bay, San Jose: They’ve been supporting the league for quite a while. And maybe the average fan in other AFL cities will stand up and take notice.