By Ben Klayman
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is battered by high energy prices, a housing slump, tight credit markets and fears of slowing consumer spending, but the heads of four top U.S. sports leagues aren't running scared.
In fact, the heads of Major League Baseball, NASCAR, the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer said at the Reuters Media Summit this week that their sports are mostly racking up record attendance and revenue figures.
"The sports economy seems to be inelastic," Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber said at the event in New York. "There does not seem to be a direct correlation between the general economy and the interest or capability of the sports consumer to spend, whether on tickets or merchandise.
"We had our best year ever at a time when people are questioning the economy," he added.
Garber also pointed to "exploding" corporate spending on stadium naming rights, tickets and sponsorships as a good sign. Another growth area has been new-franchise expansion fees, which will have at least quadrupled by the time the current round of expansion ends in a few years.
The open-wallet policy by consumers, companies and investors suggests people view sports as a diversion they can't live without.
"Even in economic difficulties, people still need to be entertained and still need to find mechanisms for leisure," David Sanderson, head of Bain & Co's media and entertainment practice, said at the summit. "Media consumption is a relatively low-cost way to do that.
"Sports fans are typically the most zealous of the consumers of content, and sports have proven to be absolute must-have content," he added.
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said he already expects his league to finish 2008 with record revenue and attendance.
"Everybody's ticket business is up," he said. "Clubs are reporting to me at every level that they are ahead of this year's pace."
Hockey Commissioner Gary Bettman sees the same.
"We're not seeing much of an impact from what's happening in the economy," he said. "Our attendance is actually up over 2 percent and that's coming off two years of record-setting attendance ... and it appears we will do the same this year."
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing saw flat attendance at many races this season as high gasoline prices dissuaded fans who travel long distances, but Chief Executive Brian France is not worried about next year.
"People love the sport they follow and tend to make it one of the last things they want to not do in tough times," he said. "We'll be fine."
(Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.
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