Considering how much money there is in sports, it’s not strange for people to think that teams own their home stadiums or arenas.
The truth is that the teams that buy stadiums are actually in the minority because there are few clubs with “rich wealth.”
On average, 65% of USA sports teams can achieve revenue balance, and about 35% are losing money. Of course, you have to save money in the case of operating losses.
So sports teams typically do not own their stadiums. The stadium is usually owned by the municipality where the team plays, and the team pays rent to use it. There are a few exceptions to this, but they are rare.
One example is the Green Bay Packers, who own their stadium. However, even in this case, the team still pays property taxes on the stadium.
In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about sports teams and their renting/ownership of stadiums and arenas.
Do Sports Teams Own Their Stadiums/Arenas?
It’s a common misconception that sports teams always own their stadiums or arenas. In reality, it’s quite the opposite.
In most cases, teams in the USA actually rent out stadiums from other organizations. This is because owning and maintaining an arena is an extremely costly endeavor.
Consequently, it simply makes more financial sense for teams to lease arena space instead.
Soccer teams also don’t own their stadiums. In fact, many teams lease their stadium from another entity, such as a city or private company.
This is especially true in Europe, where most teams do not have the deep pockets of their counterparts in the United States.
In some cases, teams may share a stadium with another team or even with a non-soccer club, such as an American football or rugby team.
It’s all about finding the right fit for each team, and sometimes that means leasing rather than owning.
Sometimes multiple entities will share ownership of a stadium, like if a city and a team jointly own it.
Why Do Sports Teams Rent Stadiums/Arenas?
Why do most teams choose to “rent rather than buy”? The answer is: Renting is cheaper and easier.
Building an arena in a city is not a small project. You must acquire land, build a stadium, and maintain and operate it. This actually belongs to another professional field that is not related to basketball.
It requires other professionals to operate it, and sports teams are not experts at this, so they’d have to outsource almost everything – so it is easier and more labor-saving to rent directly.
In addition, renting an arena is more economical.
Generally, the rent for a season is between 1 million and 2 million US dollars, which is equivalent to the season salary of a basic salary employee of the team. It is still very cost-effective.
The decision of sports teams to rent/buy stadiums is really the same as ordinary people renting/buying houses. Although there are a lot of economic calculations and considerations, those who can buy a house are certainly “wealthy.”
Even the biggest teams don’t have their own arena
For example, let’s take the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, which fans are very familiar with. Of course, this public arena is also “rented.”
Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose arena in downtown Los Angeles. Home to the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, it is one of the busiest arenas in the world.
It’s owned and operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which sold the name rights of Staples Center to Crypto.com. It also hosts several other events, including concerts, conventions, and ice shows.
AEG also owns and operates a number of other areas around the world, including The O2 in London, Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, and Barclays Center in Brooklyn. These arenas are designed with features similar to Crypto.com Arena, such as luxury suites and club seats, state-of-the-art audio and lighting systems, and large capacity.
Why Does the NBA Only Have “7.5” Teams that Own Arenas?
Well, the current NBA teams with their own property rights are the Nets, Wizards, Nuggets, Jazz, Trail Blazers, Pistons, and Raptors.
- 0.5 is the Bulls, with only property rights. 50%.
The number of 7.5 is still climbing, and the Warriors, Clippers, Bucks, and other teams are all preparing to build new arenas.
So, are those arenas owned by clubs used only for basketball? Of course not.
The basketball arena is an expensive asset that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, so it is important to increase its value.
As a result, the arenas are utilized extensively. They can be used for large-scale cultural and entertainment events, ice hockey games, and other activities in addition to basketball games. In essence, the spaces must remain empty every day.
Due to this, many teams simply rent out spaces. Save money by only paying for an arena rental when necessary.
NFL Teams and Their Stadiums
The Chargers’ renters aren’t alone, so harassing them with cries of “pay your rent” won’t work.
Only four NFL teams are owners and operators of the stadiums where they play.
The Chargers had a lease agreement to play at Qualcomm Stadium, owned and run by the city of San Diego when San Diego was their home.
The San Diego Padres and San Diego State both occasionally shared the stadium with the Chargers, so they were never its sole occupants.
The teams that play in some of the league’s most recognizable stadiums don’t own them. At&T Stadium, also known as “Jerry World” in honor of Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner, is where the team plays.
However, Arlington city owns the stadium, and the Cowboys pay $2,000,000 in rent each season.
The Chicago Park District owns Soldier Field, where the Chicago Bears pay $6.3 million annually to play.
The city of Green Bay and the B.C. Pro Football Stadium District own Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers’ home stadium, bringing in nearly one million dollars yearly for the stadium.
Every National Football League team plays home games at its tenants’ stadium, except for the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Washington Redskins, and Carolina Panthers.
Stadco LA LLC, a company under the control of Rams owner Stan Kroenke, owns SoFi Stadium, which debuted in Los Angeles in 2020. Ownership of the Chargers has a stake in the business as well.
Although the Chargers’ $1 annual stadium rental fee has received much attention, the Rams also pay the same amount.
The Chargers are more partners than tenants in the stadium, even though Kroenke controls Stadco LA LLC. From their NFL G4 loans, each team contributes $200 million to the stadium’s construction.
Each team retained its share of the stadium’s local revenues, which included earnings from concessions, parking, tickets, and other game-day-related sponsorship and advertising deals.
Do Any MLB Teams Own Their Stadium?
In the last few years, however, teams such as Chicago, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, and Utah have built their own new arenas.
The owner of the Washington Wizards franchise (formerly the Bullets) is even moving from one team-owned arena to a downtown facility that he will also own.
The Gateway Economic Development Corporation is the sole private owner of a baseball park. This organization was responsible for financing the construction of Jacobs Field (now known as Progressive Field) in downtown Cleveland for the Cleveland Indians.
Oakland’s O.co Coliseum is the only remaining stadium shared by a Major League Baseball team and an NFL team.
The famous Yankee Stadium is owned by American Family Insurance after acquiring the naming rights when the agreement with Miller Brewing Company ended in 2020. The 15-year agreement began in the 2021 season. The stadium was named American Family Field.
What About European Soccer Teams Stadiums?
In Europe, the stadium is the main source of income for a soccer team, along with television rights and sponsorships.
A study by KPMG Football Benchmark indicates that only seven teams in the Italian Serie A, 35%, have their own stadium. According to that report, the stadiums of the 20 teams in the League are generally old (only three have been inaugurated this century), public, and not particularly large.
Meanwhile, in the English Premier League, 80% of the clubs own their fields (16 out of 20), and in Germany, 55% (10 out of 18).
It should also be noted that in the Bundesliga, 11 of the 18 have been built in the 21st century, and 14 venues have a sponsor name (such as Allianz or Signal).
Among the Spanish stadiums, most are public, although the case of Betis stands out, whose field the Seville city council handed over to the club in 1961 and is in the midst of a remodeling project.
More recently, Atlético de Madrid took over the property of the Olympic Stadium in Madrid, known as La Peineta, in an urban development operation with the land of the Vicente Calderón, which the club plans to abandon as soon as the works on the new stadium are finished.
The urban development of the Manzanares land will serve to pay for the work of the new field.
Among the Primera stadiums, there is a reverse situation of a club that had to hand over the stadium to the Administration.
Osasuna, which in 2014 had to hand over the El Sadar field and the Tajonar sports facilities as dation in payment to the Comunidad Foral de Navarra for its debt with the Treasury of 53 million. Over the years, the Administration has agreed with the club’s aspirations to recover its assets.