ABSTRACT
Professional sports is modernity's mass religion. Support for a local professional team is more than frenzied enthusiasm. Stadiums bring together Americans from all walks of life—black and white, old and young, assembly-line worker and CEO—to share civic pride as they root for the home team. History indicates that fans are willing to pay top dollar for the home team. The Boston Celtics went public in 1986 as a rare "pure play" limited partnership, meaning someone buying shares got part ownership in a company made up entirely of the basketball team and all its parent corporation's holdings. Baseball and—increasingly—asketball and hockey are tied to the fortunes of their owners and the skybox-revenue-generating capacity of their stadiums. Professional teams have become an integral part of community fabric and our emotional and civic lives. Though clearly successful where implemented, community ownership remains illegal in most professional leagues.
