Damaged brand, poor attendance & kicked out of stadium - surprise it was the Yankees
I am a big history buff and ran into this information in 2016 and thought I would share it.
There are eerily similar characteristics with the Argos situation in this case study. I would even venture to say that the situation is less challenging, given that the other owners wish to be part of the solution.
New York Yankees, was a franchise in trouble in 1914 and was given notice by Polo Grounds to find a new home, best thing that ever happened to them!
In 1914, the New York Yankees, one of the three New York City baseball teams, were for sale. The state of the franchise - on the edge! They didn't have a single player with talent, generally finished near the bottom of the standings, attracted poor crowds, and didn't even have a home stadium. From 1913-1923 the New York Yankees shared the Polo Grounds with the New York Giants in northern Manhattan. In 1920, the Yankees were asked to find their own home by Giants!
In 1915, Jacob Rupert, owner of the largest brewery in the USA (located in Manhattan) - purchased the Yankees. Ballpark beers sales were a big part of the synergies for him. Given notice by Giants owner John McGraw, Ruppert decided to proceed with building his own 60,000 seat stadium at considerable financial risk and speculation. The size of this facility was twice the average baseball stadium at the time and was rather risky as the average baseball attendance in the 1900s was around 4,000.
In 1920, The Yankees sole asset was a young baseball slugger named Babe Ruth. With this asset Ruppert decided to proceed with the Yankees Stadium at 60,000 seats. This was very interesting in light of the fact that attendance had dropped by 50% as a result of:
1. World War I;
2. the Spanish flu killing millions an discouraging public gatherings; and
3. the 1919 Black Sox Scandal in which eight Chicago White Sox players were expelled for conspiring with gamblers to fix that year's World Series, & if that wasn't enough competition from the new Federal League!
To make matters more interesting, Congress passed the Volstead Act (Prohibition) causing Jacob Ruppert's brewery business to fail and the loss of a major Yankee Stadium revenue source to dry up.
Many people also felt three baseball teams could not prosper in New York City, but Ruppert was confident the Yankees could outlast the more established Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants of the National League. Ruperrt would end up footing the bill for construction of the $2.5 million stadium.
The initial crowd on opening day was 70,000 when standing room was factored in. After that, 12,500 was the norm. Rupert was right, with the Dodgers and the Giants leaving NYC for California.
History takes a while play out, but often with interesting results.
