Client’s 20 November Basketball is a sport which is incredibly popular in the US, players who play well become idols but the history of the sport has been marred with controversy. There have been four lockouts including the latest one and this goes to show that the game is not being run properly in the country. These lockdowns have affected the economy a lot; this paper will comprehensively present the ramifications of these lockouts on the economy of the US.
The recent recession has left the economy of the US in tatters, Obama had to rely on a bailout to fix economic issues in the country but there is still no growth even after the bailout and this goes to show how serious this issue really is. The whole world gets affected when the economy of the US is affected.
The recent lockout in the NBA has made things much worse for the economy of the US; it has slowed the growth even further. The lockout refers to players unanimously deciding not to play for their respective clubs; during this period no player will move from one basketball club to another which means there will be no transfers and which further implies clubs will not be able to make money when there are no transfers. All this started when players were forced to accept a pay cut by the NBA stating that they have suffered hefty losses, the players decided to protest against it and they certainly want what they deserve.
“ Without question, sporting events generate sizable, if often overstated, amounts of game-day spending in cities. According to the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, for example, every Oklahoma City Thunder game pours $1. 3 million into the local economy. As The Atlantic recently pointed out, Spurs games generate $95 million for San Antonio, the Portland Trail Blazers made a $2 billion local impact between 1970 and 2004, according to a study, and in 2010 the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce estimated that the Grizzlies and their arena, the FedEx Forum, general an annual economic impact of $223 million.” (The NBA Lockout)
The economy of the US is severely affected because when there are no games played, no revenue whatsoever is generated. Fans buy tickets and other merchandise on match days and this is how the money is generated but the fans would not have to buy tickets when there are no games played in the NBA. It has been reported that billions of dollars have already been lost because they players have decided not to play any pre-season games and this is certainly very bad for the economy of the US.
“ This labor disagreement not only puts the upcoming NBA season in jeopardy, but also raises concern in many small market areas about a potential decline in sales and job losses. Keeping negative impact to a minimum will be the responsibility of city officials and local business owners, but many are at a loss over how to fix the situation. For a city like Indianapolis, the home of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, the lockout could mean millions in lost revenue.” (NBA Lockout Endangers Local Businesses)
This is a very grave issue which needs to be sorted out at the earliest and the sooner it is sorted out the better it is for the economy of the US. Money will surely be generated when the strike is called off and when the players start playing again.
References
NBA Lockout Endangers Local Businesses (2011). National Sports. Web. Retrieved from: The NBA Lockout (2011). Beginning of the End. Web. Retrieved from:
