Marlins selling unused tickets to Henderson Alvarez's no-hitter | The Strike Zone - SI.com:
'via Blog this'
As this article says, the Marlins have used this dishonest tactic to squeeze out a few dollars from their own and other fans before. Selling tickets to a past dated event, and counting these sales as part of the official attendance is pretty scummy, no matter how you look at it.
I wonder how else it affects other contracts the team has with vendors, broadcasters, the league or any other angle that depends upon an honest attendance count. Why don't I doubt that the team would stand to make more than the purchase price from the sale of this deadwood to fans than just the purchase price?
Might there be any covenants on the loans to build the new ballpark that rely on minimum attendance figures to set interest rates or other terms? Wouldn't be unheard of.
Even on Broadway, producers have often juiced their attendance by buying out their own unsold inventory to avoid stop clauses, and appear healthier to the outside world than they truly are, holding onto a theater and blocking other shows from the chance to exist.
Why would unions or other business partners ever feel like they could trust the numbers offered by teams or producers during negotiations, when such dirty dealing can and does so readily occur?
Big business, show business, monkey business, bad business. It just makes you feel dirty, doesn't it?
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