Post by razorsedge on Apr 7, 2010 22:51:52 GMT -5
Blue finances grim
Bombers set to announce $1.2 million loss in 2009
By PAUL FRIESEN, Winnipeg Sun
Get ready to gulp, Winnipeg.
Because your Blue Bombers are about to deliver some news that might cause flashbacks to the dark days of the late 1990s.
The Bombers today will open their books on the 2009 season, a year that produced the organization’s worst financial bath in a decade.
“It’s grim,” incoming board chair Bill Watchorn told the Sun Tuesday. “It’s not a surprise, but it’ll be about a $1.2 million loss.”
Not a surprise?
Maybe not to the board, but fans are likely to choke on their Cheerios when they read the news this morning.
The Bombers haven’t bled that badly since 1999, when a $1.5-million loss left the franchise on the verge of bankruptcy.
The $1.2-million hit takes a good bite out of the team’s bank account, now whittled down to $2.6 million.
Compared to the $761,000 profit recorded in 2008, this team has done a $2-million about-face in 12 months.
What gives?
Look no further than the disaster created by the hiring of head coach Mike Kelly.
That ill-fated experiment, conducted by former president/CEO Lyle Bauer, led directly to around $1 million in unexpected costs: payouts to Kelly, director of player personnel John Murphy and several assistant coaches.
Even Bauer’s resignation wound up costing the Bombers money, even though he claimed the day he walked that he wasn’t taking a penny with him.
Sources say Bauer’s contractual payout, though, was minimal.
Kelly’s, on the other hand, was around $160,000, as we told you in January, even though the Bombers initially hoped his run-in with the law down south meant they wouldn’t have to pay him anything.
Kelly’s assistants, averaging maybe $80,000 each, mostly had another full year left on their deals, and they did nothing to get fired for just cause, while Murphy may have had two years left.
Translation: the board had to write some cheques.
“About $1 million of that is on the changeover,” Watchorn said. “Senior management changes cost the most. Head coach, coaches, a couple of staff changes. Lyle, of course, left. It cost some. The coaches cost a fair bit.”
Amazing the domino effect caused by one bad hire.
The rest of the $1.2-million loss came from costs associated with the new stadium, a disastrous concert that lost $150,000 and going over the salary cap by some $45,000, which actually put a $90,000 dent in the budget (the Bombers were fined dollar-for-dollar by the CFL).
“Just a whole bunch of areas that weren’t properly managed,” is how Watchorn summed it up.
There’s no need to panic, though, because most of those are one-time costs (insert sigh of relief, here).
In fact, Watchorn says the Bombers’ financial turnaround will be immediate — and significant.
“We’ll be profitable in 2010,” he vowed. “We’ve been through the business plan. We have a good feel. We’ve got our costs under control. We’re not looking through rose-coloured glasses. We have an upside plan as well, but forget that. We’ll probably make $300,000 to $500,000 this year.”
Maybe more, if they make the playoffs.
That’s based on an average attendance of about 24,000, which the Bombers should be able to pull off — if they’re decent.
“I think we’re going to have a decent team,” Watchorn said.
And then the new chairman of the board offered up this little gem: “This club should never lose money.”
Sure. And it should always win the Grey Cup.
I’ll bet you another $1.2 million on either one of those.
www.winnipegsun.com/sports/columnists/paul_friesen/2010/04/06/13492236.html
Bombers set to announce $1.2 million loss in 2009
By PAUL FRIESEN, Winnipeg Sun
Get ready to gulp, Winnipeg.
Because your Blue Bombers are about to deliver some news that might cause flashbacks to the dark days of the late 1990s.
The Bombers today will open their books on the 2009 season, a year that produced the organization’s worst financial bath in a decade.
“It’s grim,” incoming board chair Bill Watchorn told the Sun Tuesday. “It’s not a surprise, but it’ll be about a $1.2 million loss.”
Not a surprise?
Maybe not to the board, but fans are likely to choke on their Cheerios when they read the news this morning.
The Bombers haven’t bled that badly since 1999, when a $1.5-million loss left the franchise on the verge of bankruptcy.
The $1.2-million hit takes a good bite out of the team’s bank account, now whittled down to $2.6 million.
Compared to the $761,000 profit recorded in 2008, this team has done a $2-million about-face in 12 months.
What gives?
Look no further than the disaster created by the hiring of head coach Mike Kelly.
That ill-fated experiment, conducted by former president/CEO Lyle Bauer, led directly to around $1 million in unexpected costs: payouts to Kelly, director of player personnel John Murphy and several assistant coaches.
Even Bauer’s resignation wound up costing the Bombers money, even though he claimed the day he walked that he wasn’t taking a penny with him.
Sources say Bauer’s contractual payout, though, was minimal.
Kelly’s, on the other hand, was around $160,000, as we told you in January, even though the Bombers initially hoped his run-in with the law down south meant they wouldn’t have to pay him anything.
Kelly’s assistants, averaging maybe $80,000 each, mostly had another full year left on their deals, and they did nothing to get fired for just cause, while Murphy may have had two years left.
Translation: the board had to write some cheques.
“About $1 million of that is on the changeover,” Watchorn said. “Senior management changes cost the most. Head coach, coaches, a couple of staff changes. Lyle, of course, left. It cost some. The coaches cost a fair bit.”
Amazing the domino effect caused by one bad hire.
The rest of the $1.2-million loss came from costs associated with the new stadium, a disastrous concert that lost $150,000 and going over the salary cap by some $45,000, which actually put a $90,000 dent in the budget (the Bombers were fined dollar-for-dollar by the CFL).
“Just a whole bunch of areas that weren’t properly managed,” is how Watchorn summed it up.
There’s no need to panic, though, because most of those are one-time costs (insert sigh of relief, here).
In fact, Watchorn says the Bombers’ financial turnaround will be immediate — and significant.
“We’ll be profitable in 2010,” he vowed. “We’ve been through the business plan. We have a good feel. We’ve got our costs under control. We’re not looking through rose-coloured glasses. We have an upside plan as well, but forget that. We’ll probably make $300,000 to $500,000 this year.”
Maybe more, if they make the playoffs.
That’s based on an average attendance of about 24,000, which the Bombers should be able to pull off — if they’re decent.
“I think we’re going to have a decent team,” Watchorn said.
And then the new chairman of the board offered up this little gem: “This club should never lose money.”
Sure. And it should always win the Grey Cup.
I’ll bet you another $1.2 million on either one of those.
www.winnipegsun.com/sports/columnists/paul_friesen/2010/04/06/13492236.html