In an article in Bloomberg Businessweek, Victor Matheson, assistant professor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross, sounded off on the Miami Marlins’ controversial owner, Jeffrey Loria. In 2009, Loria finagled a deal to build a new stadium costing $650 million, $490 million of which came directly from the city, and because of payment structures, will cost the county $2.4 billion through the year 2049.
Last year, when the Marlins were on track to a losing season, Loria traded five popular players in order to decrease payroll. Combined, the two moves made fans irate, and cast Loria into an unpopular light.
“Loria’s a profit-maximizing person and we shouldn’t presume that he is looking out for the city,” said Matheson, stating that the economic practice of capitalism is still very much alive in big businesses such as professional sports. “He’s looking out for himself,” he continued, “and the way he does that is by extracting as many dollars as he can from fans, from taxpayers, and from the league in general.”
This ‘Holy Cross in the News’ item by David Cotrone ’13.
