Ok kids, now normally I get excited about writing this kind of stuff. But today, I am not excited. I am not shocked either.
The Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Grande Prairie Storm have made no secret about their financial struggles the last few seasons. We all understand that hockey is expensive and those expenses are not going down any time soon.
So, the team released the following as art of a statement;
“The non-profit team was largely successful both on and off the ice until 2009, with recent years seeing the team struggle to make the playoffs, resulting in declining attendance over several years. These challenges were coupled with growing entertainment options in the region and lowering sponsorship revenue. Today, the team, which once set a Canadian Junior Hockey League record attendance of 74,000 in 2006, is on track for 44,000 less sales this season. In the same period sponsorships have dropped to almost half, at $400,000 per year.
While the attendance and sponsorship numbers are down, the team expenses have remained. Payroll for staff, billets, and equipment, ice time, marketing, and large costs for transportation and meals have continued. These expenses have been trimmed significantly in recent seasons, yet in order for the team to remain playing, they can be cut no further.”
Everyone get that?
See, there is another problem. Most of us can do the math.
If you’re getting about 30,000 in attendance with an average ticket price of about $10.00, and you are getting $400,000 in corporate sponsorship, your problem isn’t financial support. Your problem is having too many people on staff, too many people making too much money, and spending too much money on other hockey items.
See kids, teams in the NAHL can operate at $500,000 per year or less, other Canadian Junior A/Tier II teams operate at less than $300,000 per year. Some NAHL teams operate for much less than that.
Now imagine what was going on when the team was raking in an additional $400,000 more in sponsorships, and 44,000 more people were buying tickets.
Why wasn’t this team fiscally responsible and putting money away in a rainy day fund? Where did all that money go for all those years?
Maybe that’s the question people are asking themselves before they donate anything to help this team. With a funding goal of $200,000 on their fund raising page, they have raised a total of $125 as of 7:30 am today.
Does anyone want t see the Storm go away? No. But the current group operating the team should be removed before anyone gives them a dime. Clearly, though numbers have been on the decline for years, no one involved has been smart enough to make the changes that need to be made well in advance.
But hey, $125 in two days might just say enough to the people running the show that they all quit.
*The Death Pool is a mix of comedy, and satire in connection with recent events. It is not an official report of current events although it may look as though the news is so accurate that it could one day happen or may be happening.
