Roughriders announce loss of $1.1 million at annual general meeting

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While the Saskatchewan Roughriders are undefeated on the soccer area to begin the 2024 CFL season, the crew introduced a loss throughout its annual general meeting on Tuesday night time.

The crew confirmed it misplaced $1.1 million {dollars} within the 2023-24 monetary assertion, as was beforehand reported in the Leader-Post on June 5. In the annual report, it notes bills of $36.7 million had been above revenues of $35.6 million for the 12 months ending March 21, 2024.

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“It was reflective of what last year was; it was a disappointing year on the field and as a result, we didn’t have overly strong financials,” mentioned Riders’ president-CEO Craig Reynolds.

In 2023, whole gross revenues decreased by $4.1 million from the 12 months prior whereas working bills elevated by $914,000.

The monetary assertion exhibits gate receipts, sponsorships, concessions and fundraising all noticed a decline whereas merchandise, curiosity earnings and CFL distributions all elevated over the 12 months.

Gate receipts — which at $14 million make up 40 per cent of the membership’s income — had been down $1.9 million from 2022, whereas soccer operations prices, which make up 38 per cent of bills,  elevated by $564,000.

During last year’s annual general meeting, the Riders introduced a revenue of $7.2 million, which was buoyed because of the crew internet hosting the 2022 Grey Cup. Without the championship sport, the Riders profited $3.8 million, which was much like how the crew fared in 2021.

However, two straight seasons of lacking the playoffs with 6-12 data caught up with them financially.

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“There’s one known correlation in pro sports and that’s winning,” mentioned Reynolds. “Winning definitely impacts your organization in a positive way.”

To handle the dearth of on-field efficiency, the Riders made a training change this low season as they employed Corey Mace to take over for Craig Dickenson, who had been head coach since 2019. So far, Mace has gotten his team off to a good start as Saskatchewan sits 2-0 forward of Sunday’s house opener in opposition to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5 p.m., TSN).

And whereas Reynolds mentioned on-field efficiency led to a decline in ticket gross sales, so did “affordability challenges” within the financial system.

“When folks have less disposable income, one of the first things they look to (cut) is entertainment,” mentioned Reynolds. “And at the end of the day, we’re in the entertainment business.”

While Reynolds wouldn’t present a precise quantity of season tickets that been bought this 12 months, he did say it’s been two straight years of decline.

To handle the development, the Riders have developed a number of methods aimed at getting youthful followers and households into the stadium via half-priced youth tickets and $99 ticket packages for a household of 4.

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“There’s no doubt we need to get younger (fans), that’s the focus from us is to get younger (fans), get younger season ticket holders (and) more families engaged,” mentioned Reynolds, who famous the membership bought 7,000 household packs in 2023 in comparison with 2,000 the 12 months prior.

“Despite the fact that the crowds weren’t necessarily where we wanted them to be last year, we felt really good that we were able to get a lot more young families in and I think that will pay off down the road.”

Sponsorship ranges — which at $8 million made up 22 per cent of the crew’s income — returned to “normal” after an elevated 12 months because of the Grey Cup. CFL distributions ($6.9 million), which largely stem from the league’s broadcast contract with TSN, made up 19 per cent of the income whereas 11 per cent of the membership’s income is tied to merchandise.

The relaxation of the income got here from curiosity (4 per cent), concessions (two per cent) and fundraising (two per cent).

While the crew had an working loss final 12 months, the membership’s stabilization fund sits at $9.6 million regardless of the membership not making a deposit to it in 2023.

“The stabilization fund is actually higher than it was pre-pandemic,” mentioned Riders’ CFO Kent Paul. “That’s just a reflection of the strength of our financial situation overall.”

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Paul additionally famous that regardless of the online working loss, the crew additionally revealed a optimistic Earnings Before Interest and Depreciation (EBIDA) of $1.5 million.

And whereas the crew isn’t in dire straits with the working loss, Reynolds says there’s work to do in relation to fixing the declining development in attendance.

“We’ve got to do everything we possibly can whether that’s marketing, whether that’s responding to affordability challenges and certainly the product on the field,” he mentioned. “We need to do everything we possibly can to make sure we’re getting fans here because ultimately, our financials are based on our fan base.”

tshire@postmedia.com

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