Georgia, the All-Star Game, and the Spiral

 Yesterday, the decision was made...the 2021 All-Star Game for major-league baseball....will NOT be held in Atlanta.  This revolves the voting measure that was passed.

I've spent an hour looking over the story, and the economics.

First, there was a $37-to-$190-million pay-off for the city and region.  Cost for local taxpayers to host?  It was figured to be around $2-million (more or less).  

From that pay-off....a fair amount went toward services (both at hotels and the stadium) that employed blacks....so the cancellation hurt a fair number of local folks.

Second, by the half-way point of this season...at least half the clubs will be talking about this 'little' problem where a Friday night game is only getting 12,000 fans when it used to be 30,000 to show up.  

Third, merchandise hurt?  Go ask at the end of the season....how much merchandise sat there on shelf and was never purchased.

Fourth, getting all baseball announcers to avoid the discussion or topic of the All-Star game?  Nearly impossible, and I'll predict that ten of the announcers are terminated by the end of June over this problem.

So what'll happen?  I'll predict the teams hold a meeting the week after the All-Star game and demand some kind of compensation for their losses....which the league management can't produce.

At the conclusion of the season, the losses will figure upwards to one-third to half of what they'd typically make.  

If this goes into 2022 as well?  You just start laughing over the business plan....it won't work.

Observations:

 1.  Some leaked story started up....President Biden promises 'indirect' talks with Iran over nukes. 

Much to the story?  No.  

What it might mean?  A third-baseman from the Dodgers might be sent to Iran to talk over the nuke business.  As leaks go, this is a 2-star deal and not much attached to it.

2.  The baseball 'dumping' of Atlanta for the All-Star game?

By the time that the boycott hits maximum overdrive.....I would figure that the MLB folks lose around one-third to half of their attendance numbers and TV viewers.  Merchandise?  It'll be hit hard.  Some teams....particularly around the south (Marlins for example) might be in deep financial trouble by the end of the season.  

On the positive side....two seasons of this would be enough to wipe out five or six teams, and that might be a gain for both leagues.

3.  Did the NY Times suggest propaganda for the Biden infrastructure project?

Well....yeah.  Some folks were shocked.

My suggestion is that this will 'fumble' around the House for six weeks, and Pelosi will tell the White House to trim this down by 50-percent and resubmit.  

4.  Somewhere in this Biden infrastructure deal....$20 billion....mandated to reconnect neighborhoods suffering by racism.

I thought this was a joke....well, no, it's not.  Two short-range interstates (one in NY and other in New Orleans) are identified as harming the black community and would be taken down.  So access to these short pieces of transport would be terminated.  

I suspect once the communities realize the negative aspect....they will be furious.