Average game attendance for the Miami Marlins last year was 10,016, by far the lowest in the major leagues.
The team may have lost money last year due to Marlins Park’s running costs of $ 515 million, and if the baseball club were to play 2020 without fans in the stands, the Marlins could turn a profit, according to the back-of.
The 30 team owners and the Major League Baseball Players Association are locked in a fight that will determine the length of the 2020 season, or whether or not it begins. The negotiations center on the finances of playing in empty stadiums. The owners have said that the absence of fans will cut winnings by an average of $ 640,000 per game, but have declined to release information to support that figure.
The mystery surrounding the numbers largely explains why the baseball season remains uncertain, even as the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League have consolidated plans to start playing again. And while it’s not based on Marlins-specific iron numbers, it’s probably the best possible estimate in the fog of mistrust and secrecy that is a hallmark of the Major Leagues.
Representatives for the team owners and the players’ union declined to comment. So did the Marlins.
This is what is publicly known. The Atlanta Braves, who won the same division last year that the Marlins finished last, are part of billionaire John Malone’s Liberty Media empire. As such, information can be obtained from Liberty Media’s annual report that is not available for the other 29 MLB teams.
The Braves made $ 5.4 million per home game last year, an amount that includes stadium operations: ticket revenue, soda and merchandise sales, and postseason money. There were also local and national broadcast fees, licenses, and other “MLB revenue-sharing streams,” which would continue to flow even in a season with empty stadiums.
Ticket sales and other game day winnings account for 39% of the team’s revenue, according to a confidential Major League Baseball report titled “Economy of Playing Without Fans in Attendance” that was shared with the players union and obtained by Associated Press.
The average cost of running a stadium per game is around $ 300,000, according to the former team official. Not all of that money would be saved in an empty stadium because it includes energy costs, but a substantial amount is to pay for game-day personnel who wouldn’t need to be present without a crowd.
The math gets murky in the secrecy surrounding other franchises, including Derek Jeter’s Miami Marlins. The Hall of Famer for the New York Yankees is the CEO and owner of 4% of the Marlins.
Using the Braves as a benchmark and figuring in publicly available data on attendance and average cost of a ticket, the Marlins appeared to be profiting from fans at their stadium.
There are many caveats. For example, the franchise gets the benefits of revenue sharing whether or not someone shows up to Marlins games, so they get an advantage when, say, the Braves sell out.
The Marlins’ average attendance per game last year was 31% of the 32,776 customers the Braves attracted. Apply that to the Braves’ $ 2.1 million per home game revenue from fans and that’s just $ 644,000 in stadium sales for the Marlins.
The next step is to adjust the difference in ticket prices. The Marlins average, which does not include premium seats or luxury suites, was $ 22.55, according to data compiled by Statista. The average cost of the Braves ticket was $ 29.44, which is about a 25% discount. Apply that to the adjusted revenue figure and that leaves about $ 500,000 per game of stadium sales for the Marlins last year.
Compare that to the average cost of running a ballpark, and you have $ 200,000 left per game.
It’s a ballpark figure, and there’s a lot to discuss, but this is one of the reasons that negotiations on the 2020 baseball season drag on.
