Organisation
The ABL is jointly owned by MLB (75%) and the ABF (25%). Rather than following more traditional models of the franchises being owned privately by individuals or organisations, the league is the owner of each team. One of the rationales for this structure is to closely manage the financial situation, helping to ensure that all teams are equally viable. It is expected that this arrangement will continue for at least the first five seasons: the period of time covered by the financial commitment made by MLB and the ABF.
As a result of the central ownership of the teams, all players are paid by the league. This is to ensure that no team receives an unfair advantage over any other with regards to financial success. The payscale has set a number of tiers which group players of similar experience levels, with all players in the same tier receiving the same pay. The ABL has considered the possibility of having one or two marquee players paid above the standard scale, though no final decision has been made with regard to this. One concern about high rates of pay expressed by the ABF was that it was a contributing factor, if not the main factor, in the failure of the previous Australian Baseball League. ABF management has also expressed the concern that if this league were to fail, that there may never be another opportunity for professional baseball in Australia.
The business model is heavily reliant on local team following as, for reason of distance, it is unlikely that away teams will attract significant fan followings other than Sydney-Canberra.
Read more about this topic: Australian Baseball League
Famous quotes containing the word organisation:
“It is because the body is a machine that education is possible. Education is the formation of habits, a superinducing of an artificial organisation upon the natural organisation of the body.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895)