1990's Baseball Case Study

Introduction
During the 1990’s baseball was facing some of the most monumental challenges ever “The realignment issue and its impact on the Chicago Cubs were still in litigation. National television revenues, which had been growing by leaps and bounds, were poised to take a severe dip (as it turned out the next year, by more than 50 percent). Attendance at games fell by 1.6 percent in 1992, with eighteen of the twenty-eight teams experiencing drops. A 1992 Gallup survey showed that MLB now lagged the NFL in popularity by a more than 2 to 1 margin. With the emergence of local cable TV revenues and new ballparks, team revenue disparities were growing rapidly and engendering consternation among the owners. Average player salaries had just passed
It was the first ballpark constructed specifically for a major league franchise in the 1990’s; Tropicana Field (current home of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays) was built in 1990 with aspirations to one day be home of an MLB franchise. During 1985, following studies conducted to appraise the possible renovation of Comiskey Park which proved that it be too costly of a feat, the City of Chicago started proposing potential locations for a new ballpark. Initially the city offered a location for a “50,000 seat stadium at Roosevelt Road along the Chicago River” (ballparksofbaseball.com). Disinterested in the city’s offer, the White Sox pitched a ballpark in a west suburban Addison location only to be rejected by Illinois voters. The White Sox were infuriated by the discord and threatened to take the team to Tampa, Fl. It was at this time that Illinois Governor James R. Thompson entered into the conflict. With a determined attitude, Thompson was able to scrape together enough revenue for a stadium to be built in an agreeable location. U.S Cellular Field took just two years to finish and was ready for the 1991 season. It sat 44,321 and offered numerous features and attractions such as a fan deck, a rain room, Fundamentals Deck (area devoted to young fans), scout seats, The Patio (area for standing), and the Gold Coast Tickets Club. Only three features were carried over from
Without the creation of the 1990’s Retro era ballparks, baseball would be in a very different state than it is today. It helps one appreciate the leaders that dictate the difficult decisions in the MLB. These ballparks brought beauty to the venues we choose to watch baseball while educating us about the history of the game. Baseball is a wonderful sport that has many secret stories that one could go through life overlooking, but to have a superior knowledge of the game know need to know its