WHICH CITIES CAN AFFORD PROFESSIONAL SPORTS FRANCHISES?

     The effective buying income (EBI) of a region is used as an
indicator of disposable income and a measuring stick of an area's
ability to afford professional sports franchises in a chart from
the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE.  The following listing is a
comparison of metropolitan areas with at least three professional
sports franchises.  These EBI figures are the gross personal
income of a region minus taxes as calculated by the "1995 Rand
McNally Commercial Atlas & Marketing Guide" (Minneapolis STAR
TRIBUNE, 8/29).     NOTE:  Population is in millions; EBI in
billions.
METRO AREA    TEAMS   POP/EBI      METRO AREA    TEAMS  POP/EBI
NYC/L.I./NJ    9 19.8/$415    HOUSTON        34.0/$ 72
L.A./ORANGE    6 15.4/$255    SEATTLE/TAC.   3    3.2/$ 61
CHICAGO        5  8.5/$161    ATLANTA3  3.3/$ 58
SF/OAK/SJ      6  6.6/$131    MIAMI/FTL43.3/$ 54
PHILADELPHIA   4  6.0/$112    MNPLS/STP32.7/$ 49
BOSTON         4      5.5/$106     CLEVELAND32.9/$ 47
DETROIT        4  5.3/$ 91    DENVER/BLD42.2/$ 40
DALLAS/F.W.    4  4.4/$ 81    PITTSBURGH3    2.4/$ 38