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Post by Anthony_TwinsGM on Feb 6, 2016 22:58:56 GMT -5
1) Teams will be allowed to change ticket prices once at any point during the regular season. Due to OOTP locking ticket prices at the end of December, this is a way for teams to potentially increase gate revenue for the end of the season to help make a few extra dollars.2) A few financial rules are being removed, as well as one that is going to be more enforced going forward. FinancesREMOVED: Teams must reach a salary floor of $40,000,000. If teams finish the season having spent less than $40,000,000 on payroll then they will be taxed at double the shortfall.I've thought long and hard about this. Only one team has broken this rule, to be honest it was the 2023 Oakland Athletics. We came up about 1.3 million short so we will be taxed 100% on that value. I will be adding that in next sim. I've thought about different options regarding this, and didn't like many of the ideas. $40 million is VERY different for a team with a 90 Million dollar budget, compared to say the Dodgers with a 250 Million dollar payroll! It's just not possible. I completely forgot about the punishment regarding this rule and was then forced to sign several free agents just to be able to get to this hypothetical salary floor, obviously coming up a little short short. It just doesn't make sense to throw money at a garbage free agents if you don't need too. OOTP does a much better job at punishing teams now for not making money so I believe removing this salary floor will not hurt us one bit. Here is some of the information I used to make this decision. BEING ENFORCED THIS SEASON: Teams are permitted to spend whatever their owner lets them. If they go over budget then there is no penalty, but trades can only be made that reduce salary.This rule has not been enforced in the past. This season trades WILL BE voided should the deal put you more into the Red. Please keep an eye on your finances so this does not happen! Don't forget that you may include cash or offer to cover salary to make a trade work financially. REMOVED: Teams ending up in the red (which OOTP wipes out at the end of the season) will have any balance beyond -$5 million brought forwards rather than disappearing. If deliberate actions such as (but not limited to) releasing players was the cause of the loss, then the extra expenses may be deducted from the budget for the next season.Another rule that has not been enforced in the past. Again, OOTP has done a much better job in its later versions to punish teams for not making a profit. As you can see in the chart below, most teams that lost money were punished by having their 2024 Budget cut. With that said, because this has never been actually enforced, this will be removed from our rules. As you can see, OOTP has not put an emphasis on WINNING and Making Money. Any questions or thoughts, feel free to respond!
I don't forsee any other major announcements for the upcoming season but still have an announcement to be made, likely Monday. Several details still need to be finalized.
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Post by macmckenzie on Feb 7, 2016 1:12:51 GMT -5
Thank you for taking the time and effort to break that down for all of us. I appreciate how much hard work you put into this league and again thank you for that.
I do have a question about how the game allocates budget and the power of the commissioner's office to make adjustments.
Towards the end of the past 2 seasons I have had money available for free agency- let's say $5m but will have $0 for extensions. This is frustrating as I will have players heading towards arbitration and am unable to sign them despite still having cash in my budget. As commissioner are you able to edit a team's financials to take budget from free agency and move it to extensions?
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Post by macmckenzie on Feb 7, 2016 2:41:25 GMT -5
1) Teams will be allowed to change ticket prices once at any point during the regular season. Due to OOTP locking ticket prices at the end of December, this is a way for teams to potentially increase gate revenue for the end of the season to help make a few extra dollars. I know if this makes sense- because with OOTP16 we now have SEASON TICKETS and that is a separate line of revenue. If you look the season ticket revenue makes up the majority of the ticket revenue with a smaller percentage being the individual game gate revenue. Because of that I think ticket pricing should be LOCKED before the new calendar year. With that said- is there a way we can view or can you make available to us the ticket prices for all of the league teams? This is information we all should be able to get - in real life you would be able to go to a teams website to view their pricing. I want to be able to compare my pricing to the rest of the league to determine if it's fair and competitive and season tik and gate revenue only tells part of the story.
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Post by David_ExBlueJaysGM on Feb 7, 2016 6:08:57 GMT -5
1) I am a big believer in letting the game govern itself, especially in all things financial.
With respect to allowing a change in ticket price, has that been researched as to how it will affect the calculation of: - season tickets versus "walk-up" tickets (the other line)? - the owner's goals?
Quite clearly the game developers put the mechanism in place to lock the price for a reason and at a particular time in the game now (winter meetings). Tampering with that could have unforeseen circumstances in several areas.
I totally understand WHY this is being done to reward a team that might take off and have a great season with added revenue down the stretch and into the playoffs (and yes, it's also "the way things used to work"). And yes, this does happen, to a degree, in real life now.
The game is built so that a GM has to anticipate ticket prices in the USUAL place, in the off-season? - Because if they DO and GUESS WRONG (high), the OWNER will penalize them - hence that game mechanic! - Because if they DO and GUESS WRONG (high), then their revenue, ticket sales, season ticket sales, etc. will tumble and they will suffer the consequences - hence the game mechanic! - If they DO NOT raise their ticket price at the appropriate time, then they themselves are TO BLAME for not paying attention - hence the game mechanic!
When you sign a 32 year old superstar to a 6-year contract, hoping he'll still be hitting .325 when he's 38...THAT is a CALCULATED RISK! You don't get to cut his contract in half when he doesn't perform!
I say the same thing should apply to ticket prices AND at the intended time. If you THINK you are going to do well, then RAISE THEM. If you THINK you are going to suck, leave them alone or even lower them.
Plus I might STRONGLY argue that the residual value of your SUCCESSFUL season will be felt THE NEXT SEASON when the SEASON TICKET NUMBERS (not price) GO UP, in response to finishing the year STRONG!!!
THAT is where you can capitalize on the INCREASE IN TICKET PRICE WHERE THE GAME INTENDS, NOT as it is happening late in the previous season!!!
If you allow RAISING of prices, THEN the residual value kicks in the next season, you effectively can be giving a team a DOUBLE BONUS, NOT intended as part of the game. You are in a sense now GAMING THE GAME with this rule, to the extreme benefit of a winning season!!!
In fact, this mechanic was put INTO THE GAME specifically to AVOID the late season JACKING of ticket prices...........
And if OOTP allows changing at anytime in the future BTW, then I would be ALL for that, AT THAT TIME and because the GAME is coded to deal with it.
I know the argument "it's just a game" can take BOTH SIDES in this case, but I am a firm believer in letting the GAME dictate how it's played and REALLY dislike messing with the game as intended in this case.
I am ALL FOR each of the other decisions as it restores the intended GAME MECHANISM.
I might caution teams not to see going into the RED as some new found way to sign bigger contracts as it can bite you - and I would hate teams to go deeply into RED and them have a GM depart...leaving a mess...BUT all for these moves! IS THERE ANY CHANCE THE FIRST ITEM CAN BE REVISITED (and removed) TO ALSO ALLOW THE GAME TO DO IT'S THING, LIKE THE REST OF YOUR LIST???
And is there an all-encompassing list of the SBL rules, with all changes up-to-date? And could that be stickied somewhere?
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Post by David_ExBlueJaysGM on Feb 7, 2016 6:34:32 GMT -5
1) Teams will be allowed to change ticket prices once at any point during the regular season. Due to OOTP locking ticket prices at the end of December, this is a way for teams to potentially increase gate revenue for the end of the season to help make a few extra dollars. is there a way we can view or can you make available to us the ticket prices for all of the league teams? This is information we all should be able to get - in real life you would be able to go to a teams website to view their pricing. I want to be able to compare my pricing to the rest of the league to determine if it's fair and competitive and season tik and gate revenue only tells part of the story. In real life you could indeed easily get ticket prices - just call. I may be completely mistaken but I believe in Statslab you can show a LOT of financial information, if the Commish chooses. I'm not sure if JUST the ticket price can be selected - I doubt it. But frankly, I think that should be secret (and not allowed to be altered in-season too of course). Comparing your ticket price to the "rest of the league" is somewhat irrelevant because the data might only make sense for a team in the exact situation you would find yours. If your "small market" team has a million fans showing up, then your ticket price would only relate to another small market with a million fans. There is absolutely NO value in knowing that the YANKEES (to pick on them, the team not the GM, again) are charging twice what you do AND have five million fans attending games. It's apples to oranges and would just piss you ( certainly me) off! And there's frankly nothing you can do to change that. If you raise your ticket price to generate Yankees revenue, based on a million fans - MAJOR FAIL!!!!! Won't happen. Again, that's just something you have to work with, like everything else unique to the market you're in!
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Post by agrimsley on Feb 7, 2016 7:50:49 GMT -5
I agree with the sentiment above.
Also, loving the irony that you managed to use the word capitalise in lower case while still typing the rest in upper case!
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Post by Anthony_TwinsGM on Feb 7, 2016 8:26:59 GMT -5
Thank you for taking the time and effort to break that down for all of us. I appreciate how much hard work you put into this league and again thank you for that. I do have a question about how the game allocates budget and the power of the commissioner's office to make adjustments. Towards the end of the past 2 seasons I have had money available for free agency- let's say $5m but will have $0 for extensions. This is frustrating as I will have players heading towards arbitration and am unable to sign them despite still having cash in my budget. As commissioner are you able to edit a team's financials to take budget from free agency and move it to extensions? As far as I know.. No. Thst is based off of future year and controlled by the game. You can lower scouting and or development budgets to get guys signed.
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Post by Anthony_TwinsGM on Feb 7, 2016 8:27:59 GMT -5
1) Teams will be allowed to change ticket prices once at any point during the regular season. Due to OOTP locking ticket prices at the end of December, this is a way for teams to potentially increase gate revenue for the end of the season to help make a few extra dollars. I know if this makes sense- because with OOTP16 we now have SEASON TICKETS and that is a separate line of revenue. If you look the season ticket revenue makes up the majority of the ticket revenue with a smaller percentage being the individual game gate revenue. Because of that I think ticket pricing should be LOCKED before the new calendar year. With that said- is there a way we can view or can you make available to us the ticket prices for all of the league teams? This is information we all should be able to get - in real life you would be able to go to a teams website to view their pricing. I want to be able to compare my pricing to the rest of the league to determine if it's fair and competitive and season tik and gate revenue only tells part of the story. In my quick glance, I saw tickets as cheap as $16 (Rays and A's) and tickets as high as $35 (Texas)
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Post by Anthony_TwinsGM on Feb 7, 2016 8:32:01 GMT -5
1) I am a big believer in letting the game govern itself, especially in all things financial. With respect to allowing a change in ticket price, has that been researched as to how it will affect the calculation of: - season tickets versus "walk-up" tickets (the other line)? - the owner's goals? Quite clearly the game developers put the mechanism in place to lock the price for a reason and at a particular time in the game now (winter meetings). Tampering with that could have unforeseen circumstances in several areas. I totally understand WHY this is being done to reward a team that might take off and have a great season with added revenue down the stretch and into the playoffs (and yes, it's also "the way things used to work"). And yes, this does happen, to a degree, in real life now. The game is built so that a GM has to anticipate ticket prices in the USUAL place, in the off-season? - Because if they DO and GUESS WRONG (high), the OWNER will penalize them - hence that game mechanic! - Because if they DO and GUESS WRONG (high), then their revenue, ticket sales, season ticket sales, etc. will tumble and they will suffer the consequences - hence the game mechanic! - If they DO NOT raise their ticket price at the appropriate time, then they themselves are TO BLAME for not paying attention - hence the game mechanic! When you sign a 32 year old superstar to a 6-year contract, hoping he'll still be hitting .325 when he's 38...THAT is a CALCULATED RISK! You don't get to cut his contract in half when he doesn't perform!
I say the same thing should apply to ticket prices AND at the intended time. If you THINK you are going to do well, then RAISE THEM. If you THINK you are going to suck, leave them alone or even lower them.Plus I might STRONGLY argue that the residual value of your SUCCESSFUL season will be felt THE NEXT SEASON when the SEASON TICKET NUMBERS (not price) GO UP, in response to finishing the year STRONG!!!
THAT is where you can capitalize on the INCREASE IN TICKET PRICE WHERE THE GAME INTENDS, NOT as it is happening late in the previous season!!!
If you allow RAISING of prices, THEN the residual value kicks in the next season, you effectively can be giving a team a DOUBLE BONUS, NOT intended as part of the game. You are in a sense now GAMING THE GAME with this rule, to the extreme benefit of a winning season!!!
In fact, this mechanic was put INTO THE GAME specifically to AVOID the late season JACKING of ticket prices........... And if OOTP allows changing at anytime in the future BTW, then I would be ALL for that, AT THAT TIME and because the GAME is coded to deal with it. I know the argument "it's just a game" can take BOTH SIDES in this case, but I am a firm believer in letting the GAME dictate how it's played and REALLY dislike messing with the game as intended in this case. I am ALL FOR each of the other decisions as it restores the intended GAME MECHANISM.
I might caution teams not to see going into the RED as some new found way to sign bigger contracts as it can bite you - and I would hate teams to go deeply into RED and them have a GM depart...leaving a mess...BUT all for these moves! IS THERE ANY CHANCE THE FIRST ITEM CAN BE REVISITED (and removed) TO ALSO ALLOW THE GAME TO DO IT'S THING, LIKE THE REST OF YOUR LIST???
And is there an all-encompassing list of the SBL rules, with all changes up-to-date? And could that be stickied somewhere? The rule page has been updated and has always been stickied. summitbaseballleague.proboards.com/thread/4/I was thinking more along the lines of lowering ticket prices, so a rebuilding team could get a few extra dollars from some fans coming to the games after a lost season. I've seen other leagues do this without reprocussions for a few seasons now so I really wasnt expecting a kickback on it. If I was to change the wording of the rule to "teams may lower ticket price one time" with a stipulation that it can't decrease more than $2. does that make it better? Teams do promotions during the season something OOTP does not offer (anymore. One of my favorite features that was removed.) Season tickets sales are locked in and OOTP doesnt improve walk up sales based on the team youre playing so I dont see how lowering a teams ticket price can do anything but good.
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Post by David_ExBlueJaysGM on Feb 7, 2016 8:32:34 GMT -5
Towards the end of the past 2 seasons I have had money available for free agency- let's say $5m but will have $0 for extensions. This is frustrating as I will have players heading towards arbitration and am unable to sign them despite still having cash in my budget. As commissioner are you able to edit a team's financials to take budget from free agency and move it to extensions? I would have to check, but I think this relates to money not being available for the "next" season or two, for extensions. Check that when you pull up a contract offer and it should be listed in the mid to upper left - money left in next season, money left two seasons from now??? That means you could sign a FA int he current season (if still in a season) and possibly for just the one season? I don't think it would let you sign multi-year if you do not have "extension" money. And, for roughly the same reason, you simply cannot move that money. Hope that helps (if I'm correct of course - otherwise ignore me)!
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Post by macmckenzie on Feb 7, 2016 8:40:16 GMT -5
Comparing your ticket price to the "rest of the league" is somewhat irrelevant because the data might only make sense for a team in the exact situation you would find yours. If your "small market" team has a million fans showing up, then your ticket price would only relate to another small market with a million fans. There is absolutely NO value in knowing that the YANKEES (to pick on them, the team not the GM, again) are charging twice what you do AND have five million fans attending games. I agree. I am looking to compare my ticket pricing with teams in similar markets. In my case Pittsburgh and Cleveland would be teams I would look at first. I am certainly not looking to compare my pricing with the Dodgers and Mets, although it would be fun to see what they are able to charge. This is information that should be readily available to us. I don't want to put extra work on Anthony, but maybe at the end of each season maybe he could provide us with a list of all the ticket prices so we can make informed decision on raising or lowering our prices.
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Post by Anthony_TwinsGM on Feb 7, 2016 8:51:05 GMT -5
Comparing your ticket price to the "rest of the league" is somewhat irrelevant because the data might only make sense for a team in the exact situation you would find yours. If your "small market" team has a million fans showing up, then your ticket price would only relate to another small market with a million fans. There is absolutely NO value in knowing that the YANKEES (to pick on them, the team not the GM, again) are charging twice what you do AND have five million fans attending games. I agree. I am looking to compare my ticket pricing with teams in similar markets. In my case Pittsburgh and Cleveland would be teams I would look at first. I am certainly not looking to compare my pricing with the Dodgers and Mets, although it would be fun to see what they are able to charge. This is information that should be readily available to us. I don't want to put extra work on Anthony, but maybe at the end of each season maybe he could provide us with a list of all the ticket prices so we can make informed decision on raising or lowering our prices. I have no easy way of getting that information. I have to go through every teams financial page to get it.
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Post by macmckenzie on Feb 7, 2016 8:55:53 GMT -5
I like the idea of only allowing one price change within season.
I also agree with Anthony- it is too bad we can't schedule promotions. I love the idea of Bobble Head Nights in Cincinnati to boost fan interest.
I would have them for Johnny Bench , Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Dave Concepcion, Barry Larkin, Ted Klusewski, Joe Nuxell, Frank Robinson, Sparky Anderson and maybe even Johnny Cueto BUT NO Joey Votto.
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Post by macmckenzie on Feb 7, 2016 8:59:12 GMT -5
I like the idea of only allowing one price change within season. I also agree with Anthony- it is too bad we can't schedule promotions. I love the idea of Bobble Head Nights in Cincinnati to boost fan interest. I would have them for Johnny Bench , Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Dave Concepcion, Barry Larkin, Ted Klusewski, Joe Nuxell, Frank Robinson, Sparky Anderson and maybe even Johnny Cueto BUT NO Joey Votto. My bad I forget Ken Griffey,Jr. Actually I will have a special 2 headed Griffey Jr-Sr bobble head made for that night.
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Post by Anthony_TwinsGM on Feb 7, 2016 9:11:03 GMT -5
Bat night, Tshirt night, Bobblehead night, Hat night. I miss that feature so much!
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