On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including a curious business fact about the Colorado Rockies. The MLB team has been historically bad for much of this year, yet it continues to draw decent crowds to Coors Field.
The hosts talk about why that is. The team benefits from having a popular stadium that’s located right in downtown Denver. There are also some fan-friendly policies, including a lenient approach to outside food and inexpensive beer. This past weekend the Rockies hosted the Chicago White Sox, MLB’s second-worst team, and sold out two of the three games. Those two sellouts both featured post-game fireworks displays. For reference, the Rockies are averaging 30,100 fans per game this year. The White Sox are averaging 16,600.
Next the hosts talk about Chandler Bats, a baseball bat-maker owned by former MLB outfield Yoenis Céspedes. The company supplies wood bats for dozens of pro players, including two of the sport’s biggest stars: Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. The hosts talk about the company’s unique business history—Céspedes bought it out of bankruptcy after loaning the owners $700,000—and whether there’s an opportunity for the company to make metal bats to sell to youth players.
Next they explain why professional poker players and sports bettors were livid last week about President Trump’s new tax bill. A late addition to the language shifted the way bettors can deduct their losses, opening the door to new potential scenarios where people could owe income tax even if they net lost money gambling in a given year.
The close by talking about an interesting advisor in the WNBA labor talks, and a Sportico event centered around women’s sports on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
(You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Google, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever else you get your podcasts.)