I would say skilled ownership has always been a big help. But in between say 1980 and 2000 or 2005 or 2007 or whenever you want to define that period, you had such substantial appreciation in franchise value. A rising tide lifted everybody’s boat.
It had to do with new stadiums coming online. Several broadcast networks that needed sports programming grew to be hundreds of cable channels. The development of all-sports networks, the development of suites, expansion of corporate sponsorship, companies using athletes to promote their products, and the economy in general was strong during that period … lots of thing were happening to increase values. The equity markets were growing almost as quickly as franchise values.
So the value of all companies was growing.
We may be in a different era now.
Check out Henry Abbott’s interview with former Houston Rockets president and CEO George Postolos under whom the franchise’s value tripled.
