Quote:
Originally Posted by esquire
You're right. The old crop of multipurpose stadiums were typically owned by public authorities and team owners didn't get much if any of the proceeds from concessions, parking, etc. There were little if any premium seating areas like suites and club seats to make money from.
Of course, that's a pretty flimsy set of arguments to justify public dollars for new venue construction, so naturally the owners had to pump up the fan angle... they had to "teach" the fans that the venues they were fine with were in fact grossly inadequate and had to be replaced, etc. Not surprisingly, many people bought it.
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They bought it, indeed. Bought
and paid for it.
SkyDome's advantages are just too good though:
1. It's paid for, mostly courtesy of Ontario taxpayers.
2. It has a retractable roof, which can be helpful in Toronto's climate.
3. The location can't be beat with good connections to transit and entertainment in the heart of the city.
4. It has the amenities that earn $$$ for the owner.
About the only bad thing about it is that it doesn't have the 'baseball feel' like many newer ballparks do. However, I suspect that's window dressing. If the team sucks, nobody will go to the fanciest place to watch a team repeatedly lose. Have a winning team and you'll pack the joint, as we saw in 2015 and 2016.