Osaka Credit Association Heading 'Group' NPB Entry

- ... plans to set up another professional baseball team in Osaka, but under a system that lets the "people" own the players.

I'm not too sure I like this idea, where a different person would each own a different player, this could turn out to be very chaotic.

Given that most of Osaka seems to think of the Tigers as "their team," I am sceptical of its chance of success.

I'd been following this in Nikkan Sports for the past week or so. And the general reaction has been less than luke warm.

More than the innovative business model that is being proposed to fund the team, there are two major objections:

1. Who will represent such a group as the "owner" in the Owners Meetings, and
2. Orix is already laying claim to Osaka.

While the first of these is really not a major obsticle, as the group can find some way of deciding on a representative, the second objection is a little harder.

Orix is playing "double franchise" in both Kobe and Osaka for the next three seasons, and from what I've read, are seriously considering moving permanently to Osaka thereafter. So Osaka isn't really without a baseball club right now. The Tigers are also trying to claim Osaka as being within their region, and will object loudly to another team trying to squeeze in.

The proposed business model of the new team is interesting. People are scratching their heads, wondering if it might work. But unless the group sets up in an area that doesn't already have two teams claiming the region (some place like Shikoku), they're going to have a hard time getting the owners to allow such an experiment to even take place. This particular group, however, is made up of Osaka-based businesses who are adamant about building a new team in Osaka, so there is no motive for this group to seek out another region to call home.

By the way, from what I understand, the Kinki Sangyo Shinyo Kumiai is a group of businesses to which Kintetsu belongs. The group felt that the Kintetsu Buffalloes were part of them, and are upset that it merged rather than been sold off to "part of the family." This further makes one question how hard Kintetsu tried to sell the team before committing to the merger with Orix.

One has to look at the potential revenue stream as well. An innovative business model does not necessarily bring success, and most projections for new businesses are generally on the optimistic side. As I mentioned above, most of Osaka (and the surrounding region) considers the Tigers to be their team. This means that the money they allocate to spending on baseball goes on the Tigers. For historical and other reasons, this has produced an extremely loyal fan base which will be extremely difficult to lure away from their current loyalty.

Whilst Orix might want to claim Osaka as their territory, only the Tigers can fill the Osaka Dome.

Not sure about another team in Osaka or the idea of a person or company sponsoring a single player. The idea of the community owning the team is not a new one, though. Hiroshima city has a major stake in its team, and the NFL's Green Bay Packers have done pretty good with it. In Japan it would be a good idea for a smaller city to do this. I personally would love to see it just to see the team named after the city and not a company.