The Importance of Local Professional Sports
Now this is not in support of municipalities being strong armed into building billion dollar stadiums to avoid losing their team; to me that is disrespectful of those teams to the communities that have supported them through the years. No, this is focused on cities with minor league teams and how civic pride and reinvestment can be make these teams assets in their communities.
This past weekend I was adamant about making it out to Opening Day for the Syracuse Chiefs, the local AAA baseball team. Something about Opening Day, even to someone who wasn't the biggest baseball fan for years, is a touch magical. This game that has been played for well over 100 years, and for 83 consecutive years by the Syracuse Chiefs, in nearly the same way has a timelessness to it. Perhaps its that very history that has brought me back to this game, a game beloved by my brother, father and grandfather. Opening Day was a rough one for the home team, losing 10-0 to the Rochester Red Wings (the home team of my college city), but it didn't dampen the spirits of the couple thousand people who made it out on a chilly April day; baseball season was here and there were 140+ games left to play.
After we wandered out of the stadium a friend of mine mentioned he had some extra tickets to see the Syracuse Crunch, the local AHL team, for that night. We hadn't planned on spending the whole day out, but why not make the most of a beautiful day? And so we ventured to Downtown Syracuse to watch our team battle for a playoff spot.
The Crunch play in the oldest stadium in the AHL, the Syracuse War Memorial. Its a smaller arena built in the 1940s, but it allows the crowd to feel like they're right on top of the action. For all of the arena's drawbacks, it doesn't deter the fans from coming out to support the longest lasting professional hockey team in Syracuse history. The crowd would jumped to their feet every time the Crunch scored and jeered loudly whenever the Albany Devils responded in kind. Both teams were fighting to secure a spot in the playoffs so there was a lot on the line. In the end, this game provided the Syracuse community a much needed boost from a winning goal by a rookie player in the third period.
As the crowds poured out, high off of the win they just witnessed, many walked further into downtown to grab drinks and celebrate, including myself. Moments like these are what makes me write to support these institutions and encourage others to as well.
When I attended RIT, for the longest time there seemed to be a lack of school pride, especially in comparison to my friends who went to Syracuse University. Now I would not change my college experience for one second, but I did begin to notice what was missing; athletic programs that brought the students together. At RIT our hockey games were the biggest rallying cry for students to show their pride, while SU had dozens of teams that would draw crowds. This isn't to say RIT didn't have school pride, there just were fewer outlets to display it.
(To briefly digress, this article is not discussing college athletics for a few key reasons. As much as I advocate for them on a community stand point, they are not as vital to the community as you may think. College athletes do not live and work in the community, they are on a passing trip through for 1-4 years. These students are not invested in the local culture unless they end up staying here for career opportunities. Although these programs do employ a large number of people, more often than not they are students, not people from the community. While I definitely support student employment, minor league teams employ more people who stay in the area. My biggest issue with college sports is how much universities benefit from the athletes without paying them, but that's a whole conversation unto itself.)
I bring up my college experience because the same community pride trend holds true in cities. People in smaller cities may have a lot of civic pride, but they have fewer outlets to show it. This is where these minor league teams come in. They give the community an event to rally around, a team to flash their city's name across the country. And yet these teams don't gain the support they deserve because they've become overshadowed by major league teams in larger cities; teams that have their games broadcast from coast to coast and that every sports bar plays endlessly.
Will minor league teams ever gain as much support as the majors? No, and they don't need to. What they do need to do is become more entrenched in their local communities. Local bars should be showing their games on TVs, inviting players down to meet the fans. We should know the players by name and see them out and about at local events. Now this is asking a lot from the players, who's main goal is to eventually get to the majors, but this also is asking the people to get involved. Sports bars should be proud of all of the local teams, not just the college teams (for reasons stated above). Attendance at the games should be encouraged. The general managers of the teams do the best they can to encourage this with fun theme nights, special deal offers, and low ticket prices. Now it takes friends to get friends out to see their local teams.
One major issue that continually comes up is public financing of the stadiums and arenas that these events take place in. Often these structures are owned by the municipalities and leased to teams. Many are opposed to this arrangement and feel as though its a drain on tax payers. While I do agree with that position to a point, I understand its need for these minor league teams (major league teams earn enough to afford their own stadiums). One way to lessen this burden and make the improvements teams desire is through increased patronage. If the community is invested in the team and attend the games, the teams can become profitable and put more money in to attract more fans. This is all fairly obvious, but it takes people being invested in their community and all that it has to offer.
Now one example that I think we should take a cue from, and it may not work for everyone, is the Green Bay Packers. Instead of the municipalities owning the buildings, lets have the people simply own the team. This would ensure teams won't get up and leave when a different city offers a bigger stadium, or a lower tax bill. This would help get the community truly invested in their team and want to get out to see the games. I don't expect this solution to work in all markets or even for every team in a market, but I think its something more communities should look into. If we all have a stake in the team we root for its success at an even greater rate. There's a reason Green Bay is usually considered to have the most dedicated fans, they have a stake in their success.
All of these thoughts may not sway anyone else to go out and support their local minor league teams, but I hope it gives you a moment to stop and think. Spending my Saturday bouncing around between our professional sporting events made me realize just how much of an asset they can be if we all buy in. Seeing downtown packed with people from around the region to see a hockey game and then venturing out after to grab drinks and dinner/ dessert made me wish there was a similar atmosphere down around the Chiefs. We need to build communities and destinations around our local teams and we might just see an uptick in pride for our city.