Economic Crisis and Luxury Suites

The big draw for people to buy luxury suites is generally for businesses, who are attempting to woo potential clients. But with business going south, it leaves less money for companies to spend on exquisite items such as luxury suites. One would figure the market for luxury suites would crash in this market.

However, it appears that's not the case. I've never had the opportunity to sit in a luxury box, but if I ever had the money, now would seem to be a great time to buy. Teams are now offering more bang for the buck for those in luxury suites:

"The economic downturn has turned the tables on teams, which are now offering well-heeled fans time on the field during batting practice, meet-and-greets with players and free wine tastings just to stick around. It's a buyer's market for baseball's premium seating, with teams getting more creative and private seats becoming more accessible to willing investors.

"In any economic climate, creativity will always be rewarded," says William Droste, premium sales manager for the Boston Red Sox."

My biggest question is this: it's easy for teams in big markets and passionate fan bases to be creative, but how about the teams in somewhat smaller markets that lack a craze driven fan base? Even with the economic crisis, I would expect teams like the Dodgers, Cubs, Red Sox, and Phillies (all talked about in the article), to do very well with luxury suite sales. But how about the Twins, Nationals, Brewers, and Padres? Are those teams able to sell out their luxury suites?

This is a valid question that this article fails to discuss.

I would imagine teams with smaller and often times less passionate fan bases would have a much tougher time retaining their big dollar luxury suite clients. In times of economic turmoil, I imagine that the Royals luxury suite would be one of the first things to go.

Thoughts?