Comment 57933

By Mogadon Megalodon (anonymous) | Posted January 25, 2011 at 09:03:00

"There were substantial upgrades to Ivor Wynne stadium, paid for by the Ticats. Let's be conservative, and say it was only $10 million. It is disingenuous to call it an "investment" given that they don't own the stadium, the city does. It is an operating cost, that they absorbed to the mutual benefit of the team and city."

Perhaps. As I say, BY's serving up financial paella here, lumping all of his corporate investments into that $30m pile. And "investment" was BY's descriptor. Note that he took pains to calve the team's operating costs from the investments, even while keeping the composite costs all dutifully vague.

"does anyone here doubt that the location and age of IWS has not had a deleterious effect on the Ticats bottom line? Is it not reasonable to expect that better public transit access, parking, comfortable seats and concession areas would have a measurable improvement to the Ticats revenue?"

That's essentially what the Cats have been arguing all along, which is why IWS 2.0 is such a hard sell, especially in the absence of any Cats commitment other than ticket surcharges (which, of course, is problematic). Indeed, revenue-enhancing upgrades would appear to be the sort of "investment", if you care to call it such, that an owner might judge to be blue-chip. The wrinkle, of course, is that the organization is not making the investment in revenue-enhancing amenities. The taxpayers are. And so you get into the sort of math that is a little more knowable, such as the amount of inflation-adjusted rent you might require to cover the operational costs (and ongoing maintenance and eventual replacement) of a $226m stadium with a projected lifespan of 50 years. That looks to be a minimum of $4.5m annual user fees, adjusted for inflation. Another wrinkle: The noises from the Cats’ camp suggest that their winning formula involves, at the very least, inhabiting a factory-fresh stadium -- or, bizarrely, half of a factory-fresh stadium under the same leasing terms enjoyed in a crumbling, 80-year-old facility. Any way you slice it, it'll be an interesting week.

Permalink | Context

Events Calendar

There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?

Recent Articles

Article Archives

Blog Archives

Site Tools

Feeds