Stephen Ross donates $200 million to Michigan

It's his business, if he wants to put it into the Miami Dolphins he will make the investment. Sucks he can't put that towards the phins.....but what can we do?

 

You left out the part where he spends more money to form a PAC to get rid of the guy who had the least to do with his bid for free money losing.

 

Honestly this is such obviously-bad timing to do this in the same offseason where he just tried to get the public to foot the bill for stadium upgrades that I wonder if it's a sign that Ross intends to sell the team pretty soon.

 

There are probably tax reasons involved as well.

 

In a better world that would be earmarked for tuition relief, but you know they will raise tuition 3% next year...

 

Considering all of the other owners in the league, you can understand why there might be pressure for him not to foot the bill for the stadium renovations. I am sure the other owners would be pretty pissed if he did so. However, this IS bad timing considering he was just asking for money lol.

 

With the departure of Mike Dee and the seeming abandonment of their plans to build the Dolphins into a more universal entertainment brand, any semblance of his dolphins ownership being a true enterprise seems to be out of the window. All that appears left is building a winner. A losing season this year and I would imagine he may not have the interest level left to go through a new GM/Coach search, especially considering the additional monies that would be required after spending so much this offseason.

Of course a run deep into the playoffs may well have the opposite effect as well as rekindling his hope to build the brand.

 

Oh man I hope he does sell the team.

Some things really tell a story better than others.

I would rather have Fergie or Serena Williams as principal owner than the guy who tolerates Ireland.

Fergie or Serena would fire that loser in a heart beat.

Seriously though...........Ross selling the team would be a true God Sent Miracle.

He has failed at every aspect of ownership.

 

Thing is though he didn't lose any money last year....the only team in the red was Detroit. I agree with your point but if he was losing money on top of your post I would think he is out of here pronto. Simply put business people of this caliber do not lose money, if they do drastic changes are made you know?

 

Fergie is a freaking crackhead and Serna? How do you know they would do such a thing? I would rather have Ross than celebrity owners anyday....

Ross with a strong GM is the way....

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Ross's stadium bid include him paying a lot of the money up front and some back to the city anyway? Not to mention the money the city stood to make from the events in the stadium.

It looks like Ross may have given up the fight for now and given the money originally designated for the stadium to Michigan instead.

 

If I could fist pump this post 1,000 times I would.

While certainly the donation is very generous of Ross, it's the typical uber-rich person move of getting his name on some buildings without doing all that much to help the actual students who attend Michigan. $200 million in scholarship or grant money would be a far better use that would help many more students.

How many buildings does the business school need?

 

It wouldn't shock me but it seems like this is a bad time to sell if he wants to make a profit.

How many more billionaires are out there who just have to overpay for an NFL team?

 

Nail on the head. No coincidence that the amounts are in the same ball park. He pretty much just sent the money he was going to spend on stadium upgrades to the University of Michigan.

 

Right you are Mo-Bezzy.....

However Ross "fight" only goes as far as the Speaker, then the public allows it....he may have to foot the whole thing....

When Steinbrenner was looking into building the new YS, he didn't get any support from the public, except in the end to tiddy up the surrounding parks, etc...it was basically NYC saying "fine move" knowing damn well the Yankees weren't moving away from the Bronx because of their history...

 

I don't know if it's necessarily the same thing. I'm not an accountant by any means, but him donating $200 million to a public university is probably going to have significant tax benefits that I don't know him paying for his private business will.

I don't think you can really assume that this is him sending a signal, either. Given his track record, it's just as likely he is completely oblivious to the public relations elements of this move.

 

Omar Kelly is so stupid on twitter pointing out how Ross has spent hundreds of millions of dollars this off season, doesn't he realize that every owner now has to spend 90% of the cap under the new CBA? No he doesn't because he's stupid.

 

I've also said this before but I feel like Stephen Ross selling the team to Jordan Zimmerman would be getting worse. That guy is seriously a twat.

 

I don't think he's that stupid.

 

That's fair.

 

Makes perfect sense. One benefits him personally, the other would cost him personally.

There is zero benefit for Ross to invest money into stadium renovations. Renovations aren't selling more tickets. They aren't increasing margins by much, if at all. The beneficiaries are the NFL as a whole and South Florida.

 

Ross was not going to spend any of his money. The money he would be putting into it would be coming from the NFL.

 

I think it's silly to think stadium renovations wouldn't affect revenues.

 

Link?

 

How much would they affect revenue? Is demand going to spike because there are larger kitchens, or a canopy? Its on the margins. It certainly wouldn't be enough to outset a $200M outlay.

 

You could charge more for tickets, if the stadium becomes a more desirable destination. You could also charge more for concessions.A nicer stadium might get a better naming rights deal, which is just free money. It might attract more sponsorship agreements, which is also free money.

I agree that revenue increase alone might not justify the expense but it would absolutely increase the value of the team, which is the real way to make money eventually in the business.

 

Over what time period?

Of course stadium upgrades would affect revenues. Improving stadium experience is among every team in the National Football League's highest priorities for a reason. You're tricking yourself into thinking otherwise.

 

You're forgetting superbowls, ticket sales from that game alone with hike in prices for merchandise etc....not to mention tv rights, commercials, etc.

 

Not every seat in a stadium is some upper deck ticket. There are box seats, luxury boxes, etc. Improving the stadium experience via things like canopies, moving the seats closer to the field, making improvements to luxury boxes, vending and all that stuff...all feeds into what the team can charge for which seats and how many people actually show up.

I have no idea why anyone would trick themselves into thinking otherwise.

 

This is all really speculative, and I'm not sure I agree that a canopy and better food is making people want to go to stadium. I also don't agree that these renovations are increasing the value of the team significantly. Its like buying a boat. These renovations would be dated in the near future. Hell, look at the renovations Huizenga undertook. Does anyone believe they had a great impact on the value of the franchise?

 

I agree. Ross owns the stadium. Do we think he wouldn't see a dime if his stadium hosted a Super Bowl?

 

Superbowl revenue is split amongst all the NFL teams. Luxury boxes are almost exclusively given to corporate sponsors, which benefit all the NFL teams. Thats the key here. The NFL as a whole benefits from renovations far more than Stephen Ross would. Which is why the NFL has the G4 fund.

 

Plus it would bring back the Super Bowls.

 

He has just a little over 4 billion left, not sure if he can retire just yet....lol

 

Host teams aren't benefiting from Super Bowls anymore than the other 31 teams. The ticket, concession, and merchandise revenue is split evenly.

 

Of course. All the teams are trying to compete with the "at home experience". That's why they're installing better wi-fi and showing the Red Zone in "Fantasy Lounges"

 

They absolutely did. It was part of the premium that Ross paid for the team.

Cowboys Stadium increased the value of the cowboys by almost a billion dollars.