The Business of Baseball: A Whole New Ballgame

San Francisco Managing Partner and Sports group leader Richard Brand recently spoke with the San Francisco Business Times about off-the-field moves that are turning major baseball teams, like the Giants, into financial power hitters inside and outside the game.

Included in the Giants’ business lineup are the final payments to their privately-financed stadium loan, TV rights deals, and a multibillion dollar real estate venture around the ballpark. The development project, which will bring offices, housing, and retail to an area adjoining the field, adds a major new element to the Giants’ diversification of their direct and indirect income portfolio. “Building on real estate right across from the ballpark- how is that going to be a bad thing,” said Rich.

Other key trends in the business of baseball center around soaring sports valuations, which are directly tied to these ancillary businesses, Rich told the Times. “You cannot even begin to express how important media rights are to the value of these franchises,” he said.

To read the full stories from the Times, click here and here

Contacts

Continue Reading