It is human nature for us to make comparisons.  Remember when you were dating (or maybe you still are) and how you compared one date to another to find out which was more “your type”.  The fact is that we do this in many areas of our lives…. Chevy or Ford, Miller or Bud, Batman or Spiderman, PC or Mac, satellite or cable….  Comparisons of similar items help us evaluate them better.  In property taxes, comparisons are extremely important (so important that one of the three approaches to value is the “Sales Comparison Approach”).

Who has heard of the Los Angeles Dodgers?  How about the Reno Aces?  The Reno Aces is a Triple-A baseball team based out of Reno, Nevada.  They recently completed construction on a new ballpark (officially opened in April, 2009) and are disputing the value with the Washoe County Assessor.  According to the Reno Gazette Journal, the Assessor has compared the new Reno Aces stadium to the Los Angeles Dodger’s stadium, saying that the quality of the ballpark is similar to Dodger Stadium.  The attorney for Nevada Lands (owner of the stadium) argues the stadium is a minor league stadium and should be valued accordingly.

I’m just wondering if the Washoe County Assessor has ever been to Dodger Stadium to analyze its comparability to the Aces Stadium.  Let’s see where they compare and where they don’t.  Starting with where they compare… they both play the Cubs.  The Aces play the Iowa Cubs and the Dodgers play the Chicago Cubs.

Okay, let’s see where they don’t compare so much.  Aces Stadium has a capacity of 9100; Dodgers Stadium has a capacity of 56,000 (it now holds the record for being the largest major league ballpark).  The average ticket price for the Aces is $7 (very affordable for families).  The average price of a beer at Dodgers Stadium is probably at least that.  Dodgers Stadium is in Los Angeles with a population of nearly 10 million to draw from.  Aces Stadium is in Reno with about 200,000 to draw from.

Now I’m not a baseball stadium value expert and really am not sure what the going rate for baseball stadiums is, but I do know that an argument for valuing a minor-league baseball stadium against Dodger Stadium is not a fair comparison. This whole comparison thing works best when we compare things that are actually comparable.