Green Bay Packers are now possible Super Bowl hopefuls after winning six consecutive meetings with Chicago Bears. Meanwhile, the Bears look like they will be missing the playoffs once again. However, this is not the most significant difference among the two teams. If the Chicago government doesn’t pay for their stadium upgrades, the Bears are threatening to leave Chicago. Despite playing in one of the most small markets in the National Football League, The Packers have asked their supporters to contribute money towards their stadium upgrades.
NFL rules dictate that the majority of franchises must be owned either by an individual or small group. One exception applies to The Packers. The stockholders own the Packers since 1923. The company sold shares in order to preserve the team and Green Bay. The shares couldn’t be returned to owners to avoid them selling the team in an attempt to sell it on a bigger market.
In 1935 and 1950, similar stock sales were made by the Packers to help financially stabilize them. They also used these stocks to finance stadium additions in 1997 and 2011. An additional stock sale continues. Shares offer very little in return: an ownership certificate and invitation to the annual owners meeting. There are also trivial voting rights for the future of this franchise. However, sales of the shares have proved to be extremely popular with offerings raising $24 million, $64 millions in 2011 and an estimated $90 million.
Sports teams have a tendency to encourage billionaire owners of sports teams to force cities into bidding for tax-funded stadiums. These threats by the Bears are not the only one. Clark County spent more than $645million to finance a new stadium for the Raiders, and they recently relocated from Oakland to Las Vegas. The county was forced to cancel the project because it is not going as planned. Reserve fundingIt has been repaid its bond multiple times. The Minnesota Vikings is another rival to the Packers. SecureTo fund the new stadium, the cities of Minneapolis and Minnesota have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars. Minneapolis is having trouble keeping its end of this bargain and has recently asked for the state’s help.
Even if Brown County voters were once in favor of the Packers fan-funded model, it is still far superior to that of the Packers ApprouvéThe stadium improvement fund could be funded by a sales tax. This revenue should be accessible to all other franchises. This structure could be beneficial for the New Orleans Saints, which is a great example. Saints owner Gayle BensonShe has stated that she would like the profits of selling the team go to charity, and she wishes to keep the team in New Orleans. Why not allow the fans to purchase the team instead of searching for an owner? All NFL teams can operate profitably due to the TV broadcast rights and strict salary caps. The team would be kept in New Orleans, and this model would allow the most loyal fans to help fund its expenses.
Alderman George Cardenas was back in Chicago Introduced a planThe city could buy the Bears, then make the sale to its fans. It is obvious that there are major problems with the notion of the city paying for the team. Even if the ownership is temporary. At least, they are considering alternative ways of funding and team ownership; who knows? Maybe they will go all-in on a market-based approach. Bears fans may be borrowing some ideas from the hated Packers. MustBe open to learning something new.