On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the many ways in which inflation is affecting the sports industry.
Interest rates are still very low, which means many franchise owners are considering expensive capital projects, be they new venues or renovations to existing ones. But while money is cheap, costs are rising in other parts of their business. Those include expenses related to concessions, and energy.
Perhaps most important, inflation is definitely affecting sports fans across their everyday lives. That presents a challenge for owners as they consider pricing for items like tickets, merchandise and concessions moving forward. Season ticket prices have risen about 5%-7% annually in recent years, way faster than the 1.9% annual inflation that the country has seen over a similar period. That will likely change in the near term.
The hosts also talk about Arctos Sports Partners upping its stake in the Golden State Warriors to 13% from 5%, the latest private equity deal in the NBA. They close with a discussion about college football bowl games, which are getting disrupted amid the surge of the COVID-19 omicron variant.
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