There has been a great deal of furor since Paul Giblin of the Arizona Republic came out on May 5, 2013 with a number that Glendale would have to pay to run the arena of $5.1 to $5.5M per year. See this link: http://www.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/20130502phoenix-coyotes-jobing-arena-costs.html .
Jobing.com arena
On August 8, 2012 (9 months ago), Lisa Halverstadt, a former reporter with the Arizona Republic stated, “If the team stays, the city estimates it will cost about $12.2 million a year, or $54 per resident, when costs and revenue are factored. That’s in addition to the roughly $13 million a year to retire the debt on the arena in about 20 years. But the city says it would face even steeper financial challenges without the Coyotes. If the team leaves, Glendale will still be on the hook for the arena debt. But the city also projects it will then need to come up with millions of dollars a year to pay an arena manager and other expenses if there is no anchor tenant for the arena. The city estimates that would cost $15.8 million, or $70 per resident. With that in mind, Glendale projects it would save about $3.5 million annually by keeping the team.” Here is the link: http://www.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/20120801glendale-few-options-jobing-arena.html .
Even the vaunted Arizona Republic is not consistent in the numbers it offers to its readers. Nine months ago $12M a year to operate the arena was a good number. Now, apparently $5M is the number you should believe.
Below are the numbers from 2006 and 2007 when Jerry Moyes owned the team. Annual revenues were $6.4M to $7.1M. Total expenses were $13.4M to $12.9M. Net loss was $6.9M to $5.7M.
The auditor’s report shows the following :
…………………………………………………………..2006 2007
Revenues……………………………………………. $7,142,000 $6,499,000
Expenses:
Event…………………………………………………. $5,616,000 $4,413,000
General and Administrative……………………. $ 7,303,000 $ 9,052,000
Total expenses……………………………………… $12,919,000 $13,465,000
Net Loss…………………………………………….. ($5,777,000) ($6,966,000)
These numbers from 6 years ago track with the current NHL numbers of revenues of approximately $6M; expenses of approximately $12M; and loss of approximately $6M.
For months I have consistently used these very same numbers obtained under a Freedom of Information request from the city. Moyes’ numbers come from an auditor’s report and the NHL numbers were submitted monthly to the city. There is no doubt in my mind that it takes approximately $12M to operate Jobing.com arena annually with revenues of approximately $6M and debt of $6M. The numbers don’t lie.
I don’t follow this logic. If it costs $12M to run the arena, and Glendale pays an arena manager $6M, and events generate $6M, it seems like everything evens out. (12-6) – 6 = 0
Now the arena managers need to make a profit, but surely that is incentive for them to work hard booking events. If fans expect Glendale to pay the full $12M in operations cost since the city owns the arena, then surely it’s only fair for the city to receive that $6M in profit, yes?
In doing so, once again you arrive at 12-6= $6M to run the arena.
[…] Joyce Clark’s “Numbers Don’t Lie” based on AUDITED ACTUAL EXPENDITURES, it’s a quick and easy summary that concludes the […]