I committed early last season to a rebuilding/tanking project in an effort to allow my trainees more time to develop before I go to the NBBA, and to improve my financial situation. Since I committed early in the season, I was able to shed the right amount of salary to maiximize savings, while still fielding a solid cup lineup that gave me a deep run to continue making $50K a week. I "secured" the 1st pick in the draft which resulted in over 1 million dollars in sales (probably 50% to 100% less than what I hoped for, but the TL issues are a seperate subject.).
My attendance has indeed taken a SEVERE hit this season, and in my past game despite being 18-0 heading in, and having 5 balls on my fan survey, my attendance dropped down to 57%. So there is credibility to the discussion that missing the playoffs, or relegating affects your attendance in such a way that it taps into the short term savings you have by tanking or not paying salaries for 2 weeks during the post season.
However, when I started my project, I was SEVERELY in debt...I sold my expensive players, made a ton of money the rest of the season, and used that to buy a solid roster this season. Now I am 19-0, heavy favorite to promote again, and I couldn't be more happy about my financial situation unless the attendance Gods were nicer to me and put more butts in the seats every week. I have a decent amount of cash right now, and today is my last road game until Game 2 of the Championship. So I have 2 regular season home games to finish the season, and 3 consecutive home games in the playoffs...plus if things go according to plan, another $500 in promotion bonus.
There are obviously short and long term benefits/consequences to both strategies...and in the end, if something happens and i lose in the playoffs and don't promote, this whole thing could blow up in my face....but I do believe a well thought out plan can help reverse a financial mess.
That said, it's too bad that there can be strong rewards for intentionally not fielding a winnning team. Or, more specifically, heavy penalities for tanking (i.e. Field 3 players, or give a walker, and you don't get home revenue) I love how my plan has worked out, and the direction my team is going in...but I felt horrible last season tanking every game, and I felt my situation had a negative effect on the league. To me, that is where making 5th seed an attractive option is bad for BB.