The TCA isn't a business per se (a 501c3 is either a service organization or an educational organization, or with the TCA, both), but there are business principles that it or any group/club can and should be looking at. One of the cardinal rules of business is to attract new clients, a bar that caters only to a a clique of regulars isn't going to stay in business long, a car brand that only attracts 'old men' (Buick, anyone?) isn't going to last. Ideally a business will grow, but at the very least, you want a model where you have replacement, where your business might not grow but also doesn't contract, replacement is better than decline, and slower decline is better than rapid decline.
To me it sounds like those running York understood that a closed group that doesn't promote itself is going to end up like the old man bar that withers and dies. The first change I recall them making, that caused many to grumble, was to stop the requirement that other TCA members had to vouch for you, whatever benefit that gave was outweighed by it being a hurdle. I think it was a great compromise to turn York into a hybrid, where the general public can experience some things, while keeping member only benefits, and by allowing non members to experience the member experience, the way a YMCA or Gym allows someone to get a temporary membership to see if they like it, which is a path to new people joining. Yeah, if toy trains were the thing of the day, if there was tons of interest among the public, a closed meet would make new members join to be part of the 'gang'; but given that isn't the way it is, having an 'exclusive club' translates into decline when you have something that for various reasons is not in the public mindset or is in some ways dwindling. Making York closed again is like shooting yourself in the foot just before a race you are hoping to run.
