Study: O's economic impact 'more valuable than the numbers suggest'

From "Study: O's economic impact 'more valuable than the numbers suggest'," in the Baltimore Business Journal:

Despite nine straight losing seasons and lagging attendance numbers, the economic impact of the Baltimore Orioles on the local economy is still significant, according to a report done for the Maryland Stadium Authority.

In 2006, the team generated more than $166.9 million in sales and wages, with $17.9 million going to the state and city government in the form of tax revenue.
Oriole Park at Camden Yards supported 2,452 jobs last year, totaling $72.6 million in personal income.

"The economic impact of the Orioles is arguably more valuable than the numbers suggest," Anirban Basu of Sage Policy Group, the firm that conducted the analysis, said in a release. "The impact largely takes place on weeknights, which would otherwise be slow for local merchants." According to the report, "Baltimore's fan loyalty coupled with the excellence of Oriole Park as a facility" have maintained the club's economic importance.

The Baltimore Business Journal reported last September that the average home game attendance had dropped to 27,000 per game through the season's first 60 home games-- a dip of 20 percent. Attendance numbers are considerably higher when the Yankees or Red Sox are in town, drawing a lot of traveling fans or transplants from the Northeast.

Oriole Park, considered by many to be one of the crown jewels of professional sports, is celebrating its 15th anniversary this season, and economists and urban planners say its impact continues to leave an imprint on Baltimore. Since the stadium opened, the Convention Center was remodeled, M&T Bank Stadium was built to accommodate the Ravens, attempts have been made to revitalize the downtown's west side, and now a Hilton hotel is being erected beyond the centerfield scoreboard.

Many stadiums, like Cleveland's Jacobs Field, Denver's Coors Field and San Diego's Petco Park, mirror Oriole Park's model of being built downtown to spur revitalization.