Sports and Economics

This is a sports and economics story on a German topic.

For those who aren't aware of it....for German soccer, there are leagues, and if you crap out (meaning you get to the final three of the league), you get dismissed as a team and sent to the next down.  The positive here, if you are in the third-level league (pretty far down on the totem pole), and get into the top three positions....you move up a notch next year, to the second league. 

The disadvantage of going from the first league, to the second....to the possible third league....you can't really charge full price on entry tickets.  An example of this....if you wanted a normal average seat over at Mainz for their first league team, the basic ticket would cost you around 15 Euro (up to 17 Euro if Munich comes to town). 

However, if this were a second league team, you'd probably be limited to around 10 Euro for a basic ticket to enter.  And if this were a third league team?  Typically not more than 7 Euro (meaning $8.50 US dollar).

So this story starts out in 2002, in Kaiserslautern (in the Pfalz).  The city management was able to convince the folks running the World Cup in 2006....that K-Town would be this wonderful to have a couple of the games.  Everything was agreed upon, and then the topic of Fritz Walter Stadium came up.  The stadium needed renovation, and the eventual amount was figured to be near 40-million Euro (a hefty amount).

Who signed the paperwork?  The city management folks. 

They figured that they would get the money back via the 'rent' that the FCK local soccer team (in the first league) would bring in, and from the 2006 World Cup action. 

The yearly rent necessary to pay the bills and the renovation 'loan'?  3.25 million Euro. 

The FCK club?  Stuck in the third league?  They've been there for several years and the most that they can pay is 425,000 Euro (roughly 2.8 million missing). 

Who pays the missing 2.8 million?  The city.

Yes, out of their budget.....via the money from the state and the fees, fines and property tax base. 

In recent weeks, this has come up as a major topic, with the mayor and city council in serious discussions that something has to happen.  The FCK team playing better and moving up to the second league?  No....that won't happen. 

The mayor has suggested in the past week that maybe they could interest some concert folks in using the stadium.....that they could pick up an extra quarter-million here and there....if they could package it for concerts. 

If that fails?  Well....the city will continue to float the renovation loan business and the public will be handed the bill....for a stadium that has no other use capability.