cost of farm systems

[shawngee03]

do minor league farm systems turn a profit? if not, how much does it cost to keep them up and running. from team salaries to travel expenses to all other costs associated

[hot4tx]

The government actually subsidizes the farm programs I believe. It all began with the alphabet agencies under FDR.

[Matthias]

do minor league farm systems turn a profit? if not, how much does it cost to keep them up and running. from team salaries to travel expenses to all other costs associated

I'm not sure about all levels, but I do know at the lowest levels the minor-league clubs aren't actually owned by the team. But rather, it's more of a licensing agreement whereby the teams provide the logo and the players to the clubs and the clubs turn a small profit on their own.

For instance, a few years ago the Wilmington Blue Rocks were a Red Sox A-level affiliate. But after 3 years the Sox and Blue Rocks weren't completely happy with each other (The BR's believed they weren't getting enough marketable players) and so they terminated their affiliation. Now, I believe, the BR's are an affiliate for the KC Royals.

[thedude]

do minor league farm systems turn a profit? if not, how much does it cost to keep them up and running. from team salaries to travel expenses to all other costs associated

I'm not sure about all levels, but I do know at the lowest levels the minor-league clubs aren't actually owned by the team. But rather, it's more of a licensing agreement whereby the teams provide the logo and the players to the clubs and the clubs turn a small profit on their own.

For instance, a few years ago the Wilmington Blue Rocks were a Red Sox A-level affiliate. But after 3 years the Sox and Blue Rocks weren't completely happy with each other (The BR's believed they weren't getting enough marketable players) and so they terminated their affiliation. Now, I believe, the BR's are an affiliate for the KC Royals.

That is how it works for most levels. The minor league team has a different who owns the ballpark and gets to decide what promotions to use and what ticket prices to charge.