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Originally Posted by PeteMoss
If they can't make money in that area with suites and in arena advertising they need a better sales team. There is boatloads of cash in that area.
Typical sports team owner though... sign a 20 year deal at a rate that obviously was acceptable to you at the time, then the market changes and realize you screwed yourself and start the 'oh we might have to move' rumours.
EDIT: ^^^ Surprised you say the A's are popular down there. The Sharks have nearly out drawn them in terms of attendence some years despite playing in a tiny arena. Obviously the A's stadium is a complete dump which is a factor.
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Well the stadium is awful to watch a game in, but if you have a winning team that helps a lot. Even when they aren't at the top, the fans are still loyal, just don't always make it out to watch games in a bad stadium for 81 games out of the year. Even a renovation would make it a better experience, but the team is constantly cash strapped being in the much lower rent east bay (by comparison to the rest of the bay, it's still pretty expensive to live even there but expendable income is much lower). The Coliseum makes the dome look like a palace.
And just to address another thought you added, there is a lot of money in the bay, but it isn't really a sporting town. There's too much else to do in the bay and sports aren't at the top of the list for most people. Same reason why South Florida teams don't draw a lot unless they're winning.