Texsox

We kind of discussed it in the Stadium thread but @Kyyle23 correctly pointed out it is really a tangent from stadiums. At least here in Texas high schools, eSports competitive teams are really taking off. Worldwide more people born this century are playing video games over all than participating in physical sports. Additionally, the sub group of gamers playing sport specific games is increasing while physical game play is declining. Even physical sports are seeing a huge increase in generating ad revenue from virtual ties to their games though predictive markets. The e sports stars are earning a living with millions of fans watching. It's a high growth industry while physical sports are experiencing flat or a decline with younger audiences. We have embraced non human entertainment. The Simpsons were the longest running TV show in history. We've embraced recorded versus live, movies replaced stage theater to a great degree. CGI has redefined movies. E books replaced physical books. Humans have always changed. Baseball is much different than the first team to 21 runs wins beginning. Field dimensions have changed, why won't they change to a screen instead of dirt and grass? How much "safer" can we make football until it loses it appeal or is replaced by AI athletes? How many player gambling scandals will we endure before we eliminate the human element? If you are watching a game on your screen (TV, phone, tablet, watch, glasses, eye implant) does it really matter if those images you see are actual humans or they are unable to distinguish the difference AI generated? Everyone here watches more games via broadcast then in person. But I've always embraced change. Perhaps the younger generation wants to slow the pace of these changes and will grab hold of traditions. But based on the last few hundred years we know kids do things differently then their parents. Everyone will eventually be the Boomers their kids will make fun of for not changing with the times. Yes, even vapes will stop being cool.

Then let's keep it to the stadium. To future build this stadium I think fewer seats and a large, year round, casino makes sense. If a community really wanted to attract a team give the team a cut of year round gambling revenue in addition to the tax breaks. We also need to predict how to collect revenue from in seat predictive market transactions. Obviously gaming is experiencing a huge boom and a new stadium needs to take advantage of that. Human umpiring will be gone in this stadium's lifetime. If we can have self driving cars we can call fair or foul, safe or out, with technology. Perhaps one human sitting in a on site booth just to make old people happy will be necessary for a little while. Managers will need better access to technology to share strategy. Perhaps a control room of some sort needs to be considered. But the manager will be more of an entertainer and motivator with all the strategy dictated by statistical analysis. If we are going to stick with humans playing I'd like to see a larger dug out with players platooning like football. Once there is a clear model of how the stadium will generate the most revenue a stadium location will become really clear.

The pace of change is faster now than at anytime in human history. What can happen in a lifetime for someone born in 2010 is vastly different than what happened for someone born in 1950. We are only a decade or two away from only the very old remembering life without cell phones. A few years after that only the very old will remember not having instant Internet 24/7. If we learn anything from Boomers is they cling to their past and think everyone should want that.

This generation is growing up with their view of the world from screens. They are experiencing life on line and mostly virtually. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. Humans are making free choices based on the technology of the day. They will want to continue and expand those experiences. Millennials will be the Boomers wanting things the way they were and being accused of being old and feeble minded. That's history repeating itself like always. Our in person experiences are being augmented by virtual enhancements like predictive markets. Why leave the house to experience the game from your screen? Why have a human player, perhaps based on their participation in the predictive markets, missing a shot when we can have an unbiased athlete playing on your screens? Just like a good lumberjacks or rodeo still has fans, there will be opportunities for old fashioned games being played by enthusiasts. But I really see virtual leagues being mainstream over the next 25 to 50 years. Which use to be the longevity of a stadium.

Throwing a little gas on the fire. JR Two teams and seven championships as an owner. Ishbia Brothers, five teams, four as owners or part owners, one championship as an amateur player at Michigan.

What appeals has changed through the centuries. Humans invent new entertainment all the time and others fall by the wayside.

E Sports are fun to compete in and watch. In live action sports we already want to eliminate human officiating mistakes and replace them with technology. We want managers to stop with the "human gut decisions and hunches" and use computer based decisions. Isn't replacing players the logical next step? By the time we get to replacing human players it will be by fan demand and the young fans will be laughing and mocking the generation that wants to keep things the same.

Forbes list of top 500 businesses ranks Texas as #1 in number of companies and California #2. What I find interesting is both states seem to be on the extreme end of worker's rights. Texas gives away tax incentives at a rapid rate to attract corporations while touting low wages. California seems to protect workers. I wish I found it odd how many Texas workers actually think ranking #1 is a good thing. Although SpaceX has brought some better paying jobs to the Brownsville area which created both problems and opportunities.

What did you decide on? I wonder what the secondary market will be like? I am assuming some events will be cheaper.

A quick AI look at what a billionaire spending some of his money buying athletes might look like. New York Mets The Financial Loss: Following his purchase of the team in 2020, billionaire hedge-fund manager Steve Cohen shattered spending records. In 2023, the Mets posted an estimated $292 million operating loss—the largest single-year deficit ever recorded for a sports franchise—driven by a $375 million payroll and a $101 million luxury tax penalty. On-Field Results: The "win-now" spending spree yielded wildly erratic results. 2022: 101 wins, securing a Wild Card spot (lost in the Wild Card Series). 2023: A historic collapse. Despite the record payroll, the team finished 75–87, missing the postseason entirely and forcing a mid-season fire sale of aging stars like Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. 2024–2025: Rebuilt with a blend of younger talent and strategic short-term contracts, bouncing back to secure a deep postseason run to the NLCS in late 2024. And if the AI generated content One thing we would have to accept is being the high bidder on a lot of free agents. That will look like "crazy, insane, money for bench players".

E Sports will gradually merge with human sports. It's a stat lovers dream. No human bad calls. No poor managing. "Owners" won't have to pay superstar salaries. No freezing your ass off or sweating while watching games. No traffic hassles. No finding a babysitter. No annoying fans next you you. It will look very lifelike, you won't know the difference. Boomers who might still be alive will complain it's not as realistic or as good as when they were kids, but they say that about everything.

We've had players not coming together, fighting, etc while the posters here were unified in their dislike for the players and organization. Now we have the players coming together and the organization mostly getting things right and the posters here are the disorganized, arguing group. Love it! Much better this way. Better content. And I'll give JR the same amount of credit as I blamed him for the bad years.

A lot of fans have been through this cycle before. "Multiple Championship Seasons" weren't that long ago. I think what I'm liking the most is an attitude change. It's tough to tell from watching on TV but the team seems to be playing with some intensity. I'm just not seeing some of the half ass plays like the past few years. While it's easy to credit winning for that, I think we've actually drafted some players with better attitudes than we've had in the past.

You want a really bad nickname for SA? He's the Spur that is putting the giddy up in the lineup. Sinatra was the Chairman of the Board. That nickname should be retired with him, plus it's another JR mention.

Perhaps I'm being too pessimistic. I wouldn't overreact to this start. Hold the course, live through the upcoming negotiations, and enjoy the ride. I didn't see any viable trade that makes this a world series winning team. Any impact player would likely create a different hole.

Not giving away tax dollars to billionaires and huge corporations sounds great until giant corporations start moving across state lines for a better business climate. Tesla and Space X aren't in Texas for the great weather. Amazon was courted by multiple states. But in those cases we are talking thousands of full time jobs with salaries that get spent in the local economy. Now pivoting that to stadiums and I just don't see the economic drivers on the same scale. Eventually we will be watching AI created athletes while wearing VR headsets and "home team" won't matter.

That brings back some memories. Good times. RIP

It's been fun in San Antonio watching this team take over the city. I hope MLB is watching when expansion comes around again.

Welcome to the big leagues, oops, I mean the Sox. And no tips over 15%

I'm finally feeling like a Sox fan again. That was a weird stretch of hope and optimism.

It highlights how razor thin the line of success is at this level.

Fun fact, one of the only players in history to start in four consecutive season openers at four different positions.

I sold a lot of parts that went into those boxes and back then didn't give it a second thought.

In crypto.

While the Dodgers are passing Go and collecting $2,000,000