I enjoyed reading Scott Lewis’ article pertaining to The NFL, The San Diego Chargers stadium conundrum, and the idea of an NFL Team offering an IPO to potential investors. I have been mentioning this to friends and colleagues for a few years now. The idea is always met with a fairly positive response.
The Team would have to offer a dividend to make it more appealing. Considering The NFL profits in recent years a dividend would be a nice way for an investor to own a small part of a team and carve out a slice of income each quarter.
The precedent set in other cites seems to be to offer full or partial public financing. Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, and Seattle are examples. Charlotte offered fans the ability to buy a seat at The Stadium.
With respect to Jacksonville, they are the poster child for debunking the myth that all stadium projects increase economic activity near the site. AllTell dropped off as the stadium sponsor a few years ago and no other sponsors stepped up for the naming rights. The area near Jacksonville Municipal Stadium is struggling. Seats had to sealed off at the stadium so the team could claim sellouts and prevent TV blackouts. Make no mistake about it, I have family in Florida as well, The NFL’s #1 Team to relocate to either San Antonio or Los Angeles is not the San Diego Chargers, it’s the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Next time you interview Marc Fabiani mention The IPO option and see if that is a possibility The NFL would consider.