The Name of the Game: The Business of Sports

Partners in the accounting firm of Ernst and Young, Gorman and Calhoun have obviously done a prodigious amount of research and, aided by freelance sportswriter Rozin ( Garvey ), they make their points convincingly. Analyzing the balance sheets of major league teams individually and comparing the worth of various franchises, the authors of this enlightening study show sports as a profit-motive business with management decisions determined by their impact on P & L statements. The authors audit the sources of income (television, radio, gate receipts, concessions and product licensing), the principal expenses (players' salaries, financial support of minor leagues, stadiums and their upkeep), the economics of expansion and, finally, pressure from fans to retain popular players whose contracts may not be cost effective. The book covers baseball, football, basketball and hockey and the authors soberingly caution that if the forces of economics cannot coexist with fan equity, then sports will become another ``product'' of the mercantile system. (Mar.)