"NFL LOCKOUT COULD COST STADIUM WORKERS 115,000 JOBS"

                                                                                                                                                                                               

If the National Football League owners lockout the players next season, not only will millions of fans not have games to watch on Sunday afternoon, but more than 115,000 jobs could be lost.  The 32 NFL teams employ on average 3,739 people each , including players, concession workers, and office staff.  Beyond the rich players and even wealthier team owners, arguing over how to divvy up $9 billion dollars in revenue a year, the people who would suffer most if there's no NFL season this year are those whose jobs, businesses, and even charity work depend on games.  It's the 2,500 ticket-takers, janitors, and other game-day employees at the Superdome in New Orleans, and the suburban dry cleaner who wash all the uniforms, who would be the ones not able to make a living.  It's the Episcopal church that sells parking spots for the Tennessee Titans games, the hotel across the street from the stadium in Houston and the ticket broker who opened a store facing Cowboys Stadium.  It is the receptionist and accountants for the New York Jets, and the High School Band Booster Club that sells burgers and beer at Carolina Panther games.  Not only are the players affected, but also the jobs of 25,000 concession workers at stadiums across the country that are threaten by the lockout.  (See video above.)  Another example is Gibson a sales director for a Holiday Inn located one block from Reliant Stadium in Houston.  Here is how heavy his hotel's bottom line is tied to the NFL.  The food and drink tab on a typical weekend is $2,000; it is closed to $12,000 on a weekend when the Houston Texans are at home.  There is also a bump in occupancy.  All 238 rooms were rented for both preseason games last year and they sold out for a Monday night game one and a half months in advance, which never happens, he said.  Each NFL team plays eight home games, which generates on average $20 million dollars for the team and community.  A lockout could cost each of the 32 cities as much as $160 million dollars.  With just eight home games per regular season, game days are only part of a workers income--extra hours or a second job for stadium types; or a busy day at the office for the waiter at a nearby sports bar.  However, it is still money they are counting on.  "The doomsday scenarios are exaggerated, but there will be innocent bystanders who are casualties of this," said John Vrooman, who teaches sports economics at Vanderbilt University.  "The overall loses to these people are going to be small, but they are not small to them."  It is like an earthquake--there is a ripple effect out to other people, and other regions.  You cannot really assume the impact is limited to the area around the stadium.  You feel the shock everywhere along the way.  It may not be the same shaking as the epicenter, but you feel it.  Another aspect of losing revenue would be casino sports books not being able to take bets on NFL games.  The NFL is king among sports bettors, whose influence in casinos goes far beyond actual wagering on games.  The main tourism agency that promotes Las Vegas estimates this year's Super Bowl alone brought 275,000 visitors to Sin City, generating $85.6 million in revenue beyond gambling.  However, if there are no NFL games this year,will Las Vegas attract and bring in that kind of money as they did in the past.  In 2010, 267,000 people came and spent $83.1 million on hotel rooms, restaurants, and other entertainment besides gambling, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said.  Will the impact of no pro football this season put a financial crunch on mega casinos and surrounding businesses?  The way our economy is in this Country right now, I think that it will have a rippling effect throughout the United States.  Star quarterbacks Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and seven others are among the players who filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL on Friday to prevent a lockout.  This will take place in U.S. District Federal Court in Minneapolis and my vote is going for the players.  Section 1 of the Sherman Act prohibits agreements that unreasonably restrain trade.  Generally speaking, an agreement is an unreasonable restraint if its anti competitive effects outweigh its precompetitive benefits, as judged under the "Rule of Reason."  The players would be arguing that all rules that restrict a player's ability to make money or restrict a player's mobility--including the salary cap, the draft, and free agency restrictions--are unreasonable restraits.  Antitrust cases are complex and unpredictable, even more so in the sports arena, so we will see how this all unfolds in Federal Court.  There's always UFL or Arena football, but it's not the same.  "My RIGHTS AS A FAN HAVE BEEN VIOLATED IN THE PERSUIT OF HAPPINESS AND I'M GOING TO MISS MY PRO FOOTBALL THIS YEAR."