STADIUM RULES

General Rules

  • A club may construct a new stadium only when its existing park is at least 30 years old and paid off.

  • Minimum down payment for new stadium is 10% of the total cost.

  • Remaining balance will be paid in annual installments, at an interest rate of 10%.

  • Terms of repayment may be anything from 1-30 years.

  • Clubs may refinance their remaining balances to cut costs. Refinancing charge of 5% of balance will be applied.

  • As long as a loan balance exists, the club is obligated to remain in the park. Once paid off, the club may remain in the park or move at any time.

  • Annual payments begin immediately. The new stadium will open on the first Opening Day at least 2 years after the down payment.

  • Ballparks that are 30 years old will begin to age, with detrimental effects for attendance and revenue. (-3 FI and -200k revenue per year).

  • For existing UL stadiums, aging effects will begin in 1960.

Stadium Construction Costs

Item

 

Effect

Price (m)

Basic (30,000-seat) stadium

 +20 fan interest

 $    50.0

Additional 1,000 seats

 $      1.0

   35,000-seat stadium

 $    55.0

   40,000-seat stadium

 $    60.0

   45,000-seat stadium

 $    65.0

10 luxury suites (max 50)

Adds $100k revenue/yr

 $      2.0

Trolley/subway links

+5 fan interest

 $      5.0

Trolley/subway station

+10 fan interest

 $    10.0

Premium location

+10 fan interest

 $    10.0

Novelty factor - 1st year

(sum of above increases)

Novelty factor - 2nd year

-3 fan interest

Novelty factor - 3rd year

-3 fan interest

Novelty factor - 4th year

-3 fan interest

See Example Below


Stadium Renovation

In general, stadium renovations cost half of what a new stadium would cost, and give you half the Fan Interest boost of a new ballpark. But renovating an old park provides you with a cheaper alternative to stave off the detrimental effects of an aging ballpark. In addition, over time, the older parks will grow in esteem and tearing them down will hurt your Fan Interest, to the point where fan displeasure over the razing of a 'green cathedral' will partially or completely offset the new ballpark boost. This 'green cathedral' rule will be fine tuned as we go along.  In 2005, Wrigley and Fenway are considered hallowed baseball ground. But that has less to do with the stadiums themselves than the fact that they are rarities in the age of modern ballparks. In 1951, Fenway and Wrigley were just two of many old ballparks.  (If Forbes or Griffith or Sportsman's or Shibe were still around today, for instance, they would be in this category.)  Thus, the stadiums that will benefit from the 'green cathedral' rule will be those two or three parks that are still around after most other teams have moved into new stadiums.

Item

 

Effect

Price (m)

Stadium renovation

+10 fan interest

   First 30,000 seats

 $    20.0

   Each additional 1,000

 $      0.5

Add 10 luxury suites

Adds $100k revenue/yr

 $      4.0

Add trolley/subway link

+5 fan interest

 $      5.0

Add trolley/subway station

+10 fan interest

 $    10.0


Stadium Expansion

A club may expand its stadium for $1.5 million per 1,000 seats added.  A maximum of 10,000 seats may be added to existing ballparks.  Clubs may only increase stadium capacity if their average attendance exceeds 80% of capacity for two consecutive seasons.  (For this reason, Louisville's Parkway Field was not increased in 1952 as originally planned, because its attendance in 1951 was only 11,345 per game (19,000 capacity).


Relocation

Clubs may relocate to greener pastures if they feel that they will be better supported, and thus generate more revenue, in a new location. In 1951, the League approved a list of cities capable of supporting UL clubs. This list was modified in 1953, and will be modified from time to time to reflect the geographic expansion of the major league in the '50s and '60s, and to reflect demographic trends. Some cities will build stadiums or offer cash incentives for clubs to relocate. We will use historical ballparks where possible.

Who Can Relocate?
In general, a club that is drawing less than 75% of the league average attendance for three consecutive years is eligible to relocate without penalty and without the approval of the owners. If a club does not meet this criterion, it will be assessed $1 million for every percentage point above 75, and the move will be subject to a majority vote of UL owners.

For instance, Washington suffers through a few bad seasons. Griffith Stadium is aging and attendance is down, but the club is not among the lowest drawing clubs.  In 1960, Washington decides to relocate to Denver. Its attendances in 1957-59 averaged 90% of the league average. For Washington to relocate, it will have to pay a relocation fee of $15m (90-75), and have its proposed move approved by a simple majority of UL owners. Furthermore, a club must completely pay off any stadium loans before it can relocate. If a new stadium is being built in the new city, the club must play one final season before it moves, and will suffer a Fan Interest penalty of -15 for that season.


Ballpark Effects

  • Each stadium has a unique effect on various aspects of the game.  Stadium seating capacities, dimensions, wall heights, and park effects are listed in the table below.  Park effects are indexed to 100.  Values over 100 are above average, values under 100 are below average.

 

 

 

 

----- Park Factors -----

Team

STADIUM

Capacity

2B

3B

RBA

RHR

LBA

LHR

Built

ATL

Fulton Co Stadium

51,000

101 106 110 114 110 114

1965

BOS

Fenway Park

35,200

115

93

108

97

103

93

1912

     

BRO

Frank Thomas Stadium

40,000

107

105

97

60

105

75

1955

CHI

Comiskey Park

52,000

103

116

91

87

92

88

1910

CLE

Cleveland Municipal

78,000

100

99

92

95

92

95

1931

DAL

Turnpike Stadium

35,185

99

74

101

90

101

90

1955

     

DET

Kiner Field

40,000

103

87

105

108

102

120

1965

LA

Arroyo Seco Stadium

56,000

80

57

95

86

95

88

1958

MAN

Yankee Stadium

67,000

98

102

102

102

105

109

1923

STL

Sportsman's Park

34,000

97

105

96

92

101

110

1902

SF

Seals Stadium

22,180

97 100 98 98 91 92

1931

WAS

Griffith Stadium

32,000

104

115

84

80

97

88

1911

POSSIBLE EXPANSION CITIES

DEN

Bears Stadium

34,645

110 136 122 120 113 107

1948

MIN

Metropolitan Stadium

30,637

105 115 107 97 107 97

1956

PHA

Connie Mack Stadium

33,000

115 121 96 78 98 79

1909

REPLACED STADIUMS

BRO

Ebbets Field

32,000

103

87

105

108

102

120

1913

1954

CHI

Wrigley Field

36,765

97

95

104

110

99

100

1916

1959

 

LA

Memorial Coliseum

93,000

117 101 118 94 104 82

1923

1957

LOU

Parkway Field

23,000

109

109

106

91

98

85

1923

1964

MAN

Polo Grounds

55,000

82

137

99

159

99

159

 1911

     

NYG

Yankee Stadium

67,000

98

102

102

102

105

109

1923

1959

 

 

----- Dimensions -----

----- Wall Height -----

Team

STADIUM

LL

LF

LC

CF

RC

RF

RL

LL

LF

LC

CF

RC

RF

RL

ATL

Fulton Co Stadium

325

355

385

402

385

355

325

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

BOS

Fenway Park

315

340

379

389

380

380

302

37

37

18

18

17

5

5

BRO

Frank Thomas Stadium

340

346

400

422

375

340

325

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

CHI

Comiskey Park

352

358

365

415

365

358

352

10

10

5

30

5

10

10

CLE

Cleveland Municipal

320

362

380

410

380

362

320

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

DAL

Turnpike Stadium

330

355

380

400

380

355

330

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

DET

Kiner Field

343

347

351

384

352

318

297

20

20

20

20

9

38

38

LA

Arroyo Seco Stadium

330

355

385

395

385

355

330

4

8

8

8

8

8

4

MAN

Yankee Stadium

301

350

402

461

367

331

296

4

4

8

14

15

4

4

STL

Sportsman's Park

351

365