Bob CollinsHigh school sports is a business; just ask Edina.
The Star Tribune reports that Edina High School is the first school in the state to charge $100 to anyone who wants to stream any games online.
To be sure, there’s good reason to do it. Some online sites make money on advertising or subscription (see first sentence), although Edina’s stated reason is a little different. The attendance at games has dropped, the Star Tribune reports.
“It’s another opportunity to generate revenue,” Edina activities director Troy Stein tells the Strib. “We have the option to take advantage of this versus asking parents and boosters.”
The fee, which was instituted last season, could probably even be more. Edina brought in $900 last year; it’s making even more this year.
There is, apparently, a trend of people not showing up at high school games as much as whenever the old days were.
Where did everybody go? Online, apparently, although Bob Madison, an associate director of the Minnesota State High School League, and a former activities director in Mounds View, isn’t convinced.
“If people want to crowd around a 4-by-6 screen to watch a game, they probably weren’t going to get in the car and drive to a game anyway,” he told the paper.
The owner of stateofhockey.com, which streams hockey games at no cost, says most of the viewers are probably transplanted alumni.
