3m in attendance? Wow, I wouldn't even want to guess how long it will be until that achieve that again. For comparisson, only 9 teams in the entire game reached that figure last year. I believe the Padres were 17th last year, to go with a bottom four payroll. If the circumstances of the purchase of the team were not in the picture I would imagine everyone and their mother would be asking why such a low payroll? Particularly after seeing the TV revenue double.
These next two years represent the end of our current cycle. Maybe Moorad purchases the team early, but I'm just going to assume that isn' the case, because really that's all we can do. If the club is 15th in attendance in 2014 and bottom-five in payroll, the same excuse (paying off the team) won't be their to justify the allocation of the money.
Of course middle revenue doesn't mean middle payroll in every circumstance, though to be in the neighborhood while consistently sporting bottom-5 payroll's won't make Moorad look good, and boy I can already imagine the dark columns castrating him.
“Our goal is not to make money,” Moorad said. “Our goal is to break even. Even if we sell the ballpark out and have a new broadcast contract and are able to sell more expensive seats at some point, every dollar that we are able to generate over and above expenses will go right back into the facility or the major league payroll…"
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/01/forbes-figures-padres-may-need-recalculation/?page=2#articleIsn't there a problem if you think the A's will likely stay ahead of the Padres in the immediate future considering they drew 700k fewer fans then SD last year? That's not directed at you, but big picture. How are we in the same boat other than having to fund the sale? How will the conclusion of the sale alter how things are compared to now? Talent wise, I think the Padres are on the cusp of a nice upswing with the players on hand. Talent always wins right? They field a winner, more fans will come. 2.4m would have been good for 14th best in the game in 2011 and I'm hoping that reach that point during the next two years.
Here's the 2011 attendance numbers for the teams your willing to bet staying above SD in payroll in the immediate future:
SD - 2.14m
TB - 1.53m
KC - 1.72m
PIT - 1.94m
Cle - 1.84m
FLA - 1.52m
Tor - 1.81m
Oak - 1.48m
Arz - 2.11m
Yes, the Padres out-drew every single one of those clubs, even the first place D-backs, though it was close. Shouldn't they be able to outspend atleast five of those clubs come 2014? More fans, added TV revenue, yet still spend less?? Doesn't add up to me.