Submission By Gino Rosario Scarcelli
As another Pirates season ends, I can’t help but feel that no progress is being made. For 22 of the past 25 years, the Pirates have finished under .500, and after the exciting 3 straight seasons of making the postseason, it appears that the Pirates are reverting back to their old losing ways. My fix? Entice Pittsburgh native Mark Cuban into buying the Pirates. Although it may be a longshot, it’s more of a possibility then you’d think. Even though Bob Nutting is a better owner than most give him credit for, I feel that’s it’s time for a change of scenery.
For many years, Cuban has attempted to purchase a second professional sports team. In 2006, Cuban was a part of an investment group that attempted to buy his hometown Pittsburgh Penguins. He also has expressed interest in buying multiple MLB teams at one time or another, including the Pirates back in 2005. Cuban was interested, but Pirates ownership told him the team wasn’t for sale. If Cuban comes calling again, it would be a huge mistake for the Pirates ownership to decline the native Pittsburgher.
Cuban would also bring an excitement and a new energy level that is rarely seen in baseball, and is evident with the team he currently owns, the Dallas Mavericks. In 2000, Cuban bought the Mavericks for $285 Million. Today, 17 years later, it is estimated the Mavericks would sell for 1.85 Billion. In the 20 years prior to Cuban buying the Mavericks, they had a winning percentage of roughly 40 percent. 10 years after buying them, The Mavericks had won 69 percent of their games including one NBA championship.
Local Penn State Altoona student, Jared Cumming, believes that Mark Cuban would “bring excitement and energy to the team and would be willing to spend more money on the team”.
Many consider Cuban to be the 6th man of the Mavericks. He gets involved in every game and always sticks up for his players. Although this has resulted in more than a couple fines thrown at Cuban from the NBA, his players appreciate that the owner has their back. Even former NBA commissioner David Stern praised Cuban, saying he would leave a lasting legacy of “a focus on growth and recognizing that the NBA is in the entertainment business and that it’s a global product, not just a local product”.
Just this past season, Cuban was able to bring buzz and excitement to the last-place Mavericks by allowing former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo to participate with the team during one of their games. The Pirates, and more importantly the MLB, need this type of entertainment to pull in the coveted college age and younger demographic.
Today, the excitement level of the Pirates fan base is at its lowest since before the 2013 season. The average attendance at PNC Park for 2017 was only 23,696, the lowest it’s been in over 5 years. If Cuban were to buy the Pirates, the on-field performance would improve and rising attendance would surely follow. Despite the popularity of the Steelers and Penguins, Cuban might even turn Pittsburgh back into a baseball town.
Gino is Business major here at Penn State Altoona