Ravens President visits Van Munching

During a speech in Van Munching Hall last Tuesday evening, Baltimore Ravens President Dick Cass compared his enterprise with "any other medium-sized business."

Speaking to a full house in Frank Auditorium, Cass outlined some of the business challenges the National Football League franchise faces.

"Right now we're 30 miles from our stadium, yet we're in a different media market," said Cass, who described the disproportionate influence of the Washington media market and the subsequent dominance of sports television and radio airwaves by the Washington Redskins as among the greatest obstacles to expanding the Ravens' fan base and increasing sales.

"There's no easy way for a fan to get news on the Ravens," Cass said.

Despite the challenges of being in what he called "a weak media market," Cass said the Ravens have sold all of M&T Bank Stadium's suites for the season and are attracting more unique visitors to the team's website than in previous years.

"Those numbers don't come cheaply," said Cass of the Ravens' financial success and high approval ratings for club and premium seating on a recent NFL survey. "In the last five years, we have spent $17.5 million on improving the game-day experience."

On a matter of growing concern to the NFL and its fans, Cass sounded a grim note, admitting it is possible no deal will be reached on labor issues before the league's collective bargaining agreement expires in early March.

"It might not get done," Cass conceded, although he said the NFL and the National Football League Players Association would put in "hard work" to establish an agreement.

Even if the worst-case scenario, a full work stoppage and lockdown, were to occur, Cass vowed not to cut any of his team's approximately 140 full-time employees.

Despite the burgeoning labor dispute, Cass said he was pleased with the overall direction in which the NFL is going.

"The popularity of the NFL right now is really pretty amazing," said Cass, who noted that February's Super Bowl XLIV, in which the New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts, was the most-watched television event in U.S. history.

Cass also praised the league's business model, which divides many team profits, including a significant portion of ticket sales, among the 32 NFL franchises.

"[The revenue distribution rules] limit us, govern us, and, I think, make us quite successful," Cass said. "It's a rare business where 32 competitors actually share their revenues, but that's what we do."

The Ravens president also had warm words for Baltimore, describing a resurgent city in which Ravens memorabilia is increasingly common.

"In terms of demographics and jobs, Baltimore is doing well," Cass said. "What's going on in Baltimore is actually very encouraging. So I feel good about our city."

After the speech, which started at 5:30 p.m., and lasted for more than an hour, concluded, freshman Victoria Kelley said she enjoyed the event, which was part of the CEO@Smith speaker series.

"I … just got into football, so it's kind of interesting to learn about the business," said Kelley, one of many Freshman Fellows students who was given reserved seating at the event. "I was expecting him to talk about the business, but I didn't know anything about the business [before the speech]."

Freshman marketing major Oscar Chen said he appreciated Cass' focus on the business model.

"I'm not a huge football person … but what he said was definitely interesting," Chen said. "It wasn't 100 percent focused on sports, which was good for someone like me."