Leagues, teams wary of rising stadium expenses amid pandemic

Sporting Kansas City had just packed Children's Mercy Park to the brim for a 4-0 blowout of the Houston Dynamo when the coronavirus pandemic brought not just the Major League Soccer season but the entire sporting world to a standstill.

Suddenly, what looked like such a dream start for the club — on the pitch and off — had the makings of a nightmare.

Many professional sports league, such as the NFL and European soccer leagues, have lucrative television contracts and big-money corporate sponsors that fill their substantial coffers. But the domestic soccer league in the U.S. still relies heavily on ticket sales, merchandising and concessions, much like many university athletic departments.

Without games, their very ability to make ends meet would stretch the abilities of even the savviest of accountants.

“The economic impact is significant, borderline catastrophic, and not just for us,” said Sporting KC President Jake Reid, whose club returned to full team training Monday. “If you cut off revenue streams and we still have the expenses of running buildings and paying players and staff, it's a challenge.”

It is also but one example of the financial impact felt by the sports world from the coronavirus pandemic.

Most teams and leagues are reticent to discuss the fallout, but during a conference call with players, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said 40% of league revenue comes from ticket sales and in-arena purchases. So while the NBA has joined the NHL and MLS in crafting return-to-play plans, they are designed with safety in mind and that means centralized games away from their home stadiums.

The financial impact of that decision is no small one: The NBA makes about $1.2 million in gate revenue for each regular-season game played with fans, and there were 259...