SEATTLE, Wash. - The proposed sale of the Seahawks will break two NFL records— one for the sale of defending Super Bowl Champions, and another for the largest reported price in the League’s history at more than $9.6 billion.
So now, what will the proposed buyer, Vinod Khosla, do with the Seahawks?
Some sports industry analysts and experts say it’s a prime time to use the team’s success against the fans.
“The conditions are ripe for asking for public dollars,” Jeff Shulman, the Chair of the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business Department of Marketing and International Business, said.
“The team’s performing at a high level. There’s civic pride and everything, and people don’t want to see this cultural asset leave the city.” Shulman said.
The Seahawks’ lease reportedly runs for another five NFL seasons, which isn’t terribly long in the sports world.
The Denver Broncos have a similar lease term, but the team’s ownership aims to open a new stadium by the time the Mile High lease expires.
“This is a little scary because the environment’s right for this next owner to ask for a new stadium and to ask for public funding locally,” Shulman said.
Public money doesn’t necessarily mean a new home; it could just mean upgrading the existing one.
According to Natalie Welch, the Director of Seattle University’s MBA in Sports and Entertainment. Welch says, after the display Lumen Field (or Seattle Stadium) put on during the World Cup.
“I think it would be silly to move from what has really been built, and there aren’t a lot of other options,” Welch said.
When Allen bought the Seahawks in the 90s, Los Angeles was without a franchise, and NFL expansion had been in the works in Jacksonville and North Carolina. With 32 teams, including two in L.A, Welch believes there are few markets that can support any NFL franchise, much less one as ingrained as the Seahawks.
“There’s nothing like it being able to walk from the waterfront to the stadium,” Welch said, " it would be really smart to just really invest in like any renovations because I think the location has proved to be such a great location."
If Denver is an example, the ownership of Rob Walton of Walmart fame has come with the stated intent of hosting a Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, and year-round stadium-sized concerts in a retractable roof stadium.
While upgrades to Lumen can go as far as the amount of money willing to be spent, the design of the most modern stadiums provides an economic formula only a new stadium can create, according to Shulman. The emphasis now is on high-value seats closer to the field, more club boxes, and more suites—higher-dollar tickets to generate more revenue for new ownership.
"The top-dollar business experience, these clubs and these suites, we could expect that the new owner would probably want to emulate that here in Seattle," Shulman said, “Especially because there are a lot of businesses and there are a lot of individuals with money that they could spend on these premium experiences.”
Not all ownership changes result in promising changes, and Welch points to the Allen Estate’s recent sale of the Portland Trailblazers as a cautionary tale.
Cost-cutting measures and a desire to use public money to upgrade the arena where the team has paid have miffed fans in the Rose City. Welch hopes Khosla’s experience as a minority owner of the San Francisco 49ers helps inform his experience as an owner.
“I think it’s more of a positive, honestly, that they kind of have already had a little bit of a taste of that ownership,” Welch said.
That is far from a guarantee that they will do what it takes to win at literally all costs, Shulman warns. When looking at the balance sheet of the team, there’s little difference in revenue for a team that wins versus one that simply shows up.
“Is this new owner going to deliver on continuing to invest in a championship lineup, but a championship team, or are they going to see that these franchises are appreciating in value, whether they’re competitive or not?” Shulman said.
Khosla expressed gratitude that the nearly $10 billion he’s willing to shell out for the team is going to charity, as is dictated by Paul Allen’s Will and the Estate in his name.
There’s no predicting exactly where that money could get spent; Rutgers University Distinguished Professor of Law Reid Weisbord expects it to take some time to distribute the money.
“The care and sophistication of Paul Allen’s estate plan suggest that he had a very specific idea as to how he wanted that money spent. And that’s likely to be over the course of many years and decades and maybe even generations.” Weisbord said.
Weisbord points to recent gifts towards environmental programs, arts and culture grants, and youth programs as clues for what the Seahawks’ Sale proceeds could be used for.
“I’ll also point out that the Foundation makes it a point to prioritize programming in the Pacific Northwest,” Weisbord said.
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