“The companies are going to look in the medium and longer term, when the coronavirus is no longer going to be an issue. They will continue their discussions, in my view, and eventually they will sign an agreement.
“The project in Anaheim is a long-term thing, and it hasn’t even started. I don’t think they are going to be postponing that for too long.”
To put a dollar figure on that impact would be folly, as no one knows how long the sports shutdown might last. But Patrick Rishe, director of the sports business program at Washington University in St. Louis, did his best to define its impact on restaurants, bars, shops and hotels around a sports venue.
“They are taking a bath right now,” he said.
“If people aren’t going to Staples Center, then potentially they’re not going to L.A. Live. I like Tom’s Urban. But I’m not going to leave Century City and go to Tom’s Urban unless I’m also going to a sporting event downtown.”
In a civic assist, the Dallas Mavericks announced Saturday that employees would be reimbursed for breakfast and lunch purchases from “small, local and independent establishments in the region.” The gesture will provide support for small businesses from hundreds of team employees, if not from the 20,000 fans that the Mavericks average at each home game.nights’ worth of spending into the Georgia economy.
“We may decide to redirect our spending,” he said. “We may decide to do something else.”
And, in an era where sports often are considered all that keeps a cable or satellite subscriber from switching to streaming, what if fans get hooked on other shows and decide they can live just fine without ESPN or SportsNet LA?
“Will they spend more time and money on Netflix and Hulu, and watch the entire catalog of ’30 for 30?’ ” Carter said.The future of sports is particularly critical to the economic future of Anaheim. The Ducks have agreed to develop the area around Honda Center, and the Angels have agreed to do the same around Angel Stadium, but the prospect of a recession could hamper either project, and a delay in construction would mean a delay in city tax revenue.
Tim Ryan, the president of the Ducks, declined to comment. Angels spokeswoman Marie Garvey did not return a message seeking comment.“The companies are going to look in the medium and longer term, when the coronavirus is no longer going to be an issue. They will continue their discussions, in my view, and eventually they will sign an agreement.
“The project in Anaheim is a long-term thing, and it hasn’t even started. I don’t think they are going to be postponing that for too long.”
Carter said it is too soon to say for sure. By the time the coronavirus threat recedes, fans might decide that the rising cost of attendance and the options for home viewing make skipping the game — and the stop at a nearby restaurant or bar — quite preferable.
“Is there going to be a tail to this whole coronavirus,” he said, “that makes people say, ‘yeah, I don’t know if we’re going to the game?’ What’s the economic impact on sports, and what’s the economic impact on real estate development if fewer people are willing to go to Anaheim Live before a game?”
Make it Lane 