Wealthy Person’s Sport in Wealthy Area Thrives During Tough Financial Times
↵↵With less disposable income, people are obviously going to cut back on recreational activities that serve as a drain on their pocketbooks, wallets, coffers or whatever other form of money storage that best serves as a representation of a person’s total wealth. I think we can all agree that polo can be safely described as a pursuit of considerable expense.↵
↵↵For a game of outdoor polo, a player needs anywhere from four to six horses in order to adequately deal with the rigors of the match. Each horse, mind you, can set the owner back from $4,000 to more than $100,000. Meaning you can spend anywhere from lavishly to extravagantly on the sport.↵
↵
↵Considering those expenses, you would figure that polo play, then, is on the wane, what with people having less money and jobs and all the other trappings that come with a thriving economy. And yes, on a national level, that is accurate. Not staggeringly so, given that the overall national decline in membership was only 5 percent, but it's still going heading downward.↵
↵↵Not in Silicon Valley, however, where the region’s two main clubs oversaw significant gains. Given the little overall interest in the sport, doubling membership at one of them can account for a gain of only 20 or so members. And it’s not as though Silicon Valley is the least affluent place in the U.S. Still, it’s an encouraging sign if you happen to be big into polo, which we all know you are.↵
↵↵These local clubs have also accomplished this in part by lowering membership fees, which helps offset some of the other extreme costs that come with polo play. They too have given some newer members the option of leasing the horses, rather than paying the entire cost outright. Your move, elephant polo leagues...↵
↵
This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
See More:
