World Series a positive for Mets bonds -Moody's

By Edward Krudy
NEW YORK, Oct 26 (Reuters) - The New York Mets' first
appearance in baseball's World Series since 2000 won't just have
fans cheering, it should also bring a smile to holders of the
club's bonds.
Competing for the Major League Baseball championship this
year should generate excitement among fans next year too,
helping the team fill its stadium, Citi Field, at home games.
That will push up revenues, making more cash available to pay
back the debt.
The Mets completed a four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs in
the National League Championship Series. They will meet the
Kansas City Royals in the best-of-seven World Series that will
begin on Tuesday.
Credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service said in a
note on Monday that for bondholders if not for fans, it does not
matter if the Mets win or lose the championship. Moody's report
showed that home attendance usually increases the following
season for both the winner and loser.
Increased attendance can have a compounding effect at modern
stadiums like Citi Field, completed in 2009, which offer fans
better dining and shopping than the usual hot dogs and popcorn.
"Just getting butts in seats actually can have a multiplier
effect that you used to not have at some of the old stadiums,"
said John Medina, an analyst at Moody's.
Medina's research showed that home attendance increased the
following season for every major league baseball team, apart
from one, that has played in the World Series in the last 14
seasons. The exception was the San Francisco Giants in 2012,
when attendance fell 1.5 percent.
Interestingly, performance of teams playing in the World
Series actually got worse in the following seasons in 70 percent
of the cases, the research showed. Stats like that are unlikely
to put off fans, however.
Moody's said the average increase in home game attendance
following a world series was 10.6 percent and the median
increase was 5.7 percent.
The Mets have around $650 million in outstanding debt that
was issued through the New York Industrial Development Agency on
behalf of Queens Ballpark Company LLC to construct and manage
the Mets' new stadium.
The Mets did not immediately return a request for comment.