This sounds a bit like Pie in the Sky, but I've always wondered why the Athletic (by themselves) or newspapers (grouped together) haven't set up a network in every city for stringers to cover the opposing team, rather than get involved with the travel costs.
As an example, the Dallas Morning News has a beat writer for the Stars that only covers home games and doesn't travel with the team. If Dallas were to play in Buffalo they could have a Buffalo writer (let's say John Vogl) do all the dirty work there while the Dallas reporter gives them gives them the hot topics and questions for the stringer to use. That way, you would still get a good story for the visiting newspaper at a fraction of the price.