Reds Budget to Break Even

Lux deal is who they are. Blame them, and Ball-o-nomics.

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I’d love to be a Cincinnati Reds investor. Anyone would. You get to say you’re a part owner of a major-league baseball team, without assuming any investment risks. It’s a little like owning lots of P&G stock, without the great ballpark parking space. You can just hang out and watch the value of your investment increase, thanks in part to the ballpark taxpayers bought you.

Last March, Forbes magazine said the Reds were worth $1.26 billion. Bob Castellini bought the team in 2006, for $270 million. That’s almost a 500 percent increase in value in 18 years.

Put it this way: If the house I bought for $152,000 in 1988 fetched $750K when I sold it 29 years later, I’d be a happy guy. It didn’t. Not even remotely close.