Last week, Canadian Soccer News uncovered documents revealing that MLSE had withheld nearly $500,000 from the Canadian Soccer Association for allegedly not fulfilling their contractual obligations.
When BMO Field was originally approved for construction, it was done under the provision that the CSA agreed to host to a minimum of six national team games a year.
Although the CSA met that requirement in the first year of the stadium's operation (based largely on the 2007 FIFA U20s) it did not in 2008 or 2009. As a result, MLSE withheld payments to the CSA that normally would have been made under the original Letter of Intent.
Signing such an agreement appeared to show a level of naivety on the part of the CSA. And last week, we told you about the extent of that naivety and how former CSA COO Kevan Pipe made the deal with MLSE without the CSA board of director's awareness. Shortly after he was fired he found employment with three companies associated with MLSE.
Today, as a sidebar to those stories, CSN has secured a copy of the June 2012 BMO Field Management report. Created by MLSE, to be presented to the Exhibition Place Board of Governors, the document details the breakdown of how much BMO Field takes in during a month, as well as the year to date. We are using the June 2012 report as an example of just how much money BMO Field pulls in. Why? Well, aside from simply wanting to know more about how much MLSE makes from Toronto FC and Canada games - and that month included two Toronto FC home games, two CSA games and one international match - we wanted to put that $500,000 number in perspective.
You can read the entire document here for yourself. After the jump we've pulled out some of the more interesting bits.
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REVENUE OVERVIEW
For the month ending June 30, 2012, the operating profit before depreciation, incentives and rebates for BMO Field was $453,000. It was $119,000 favourable to what was budgeted.
Total revenues for the month were $1.4 million. That includes food and beverage revenue ($201,000), Ticketmaster rebates ($20,000) and CSA usage fees ($11,000).
Total expenses for the month was $981,000. This was over budget by $162,000 for the month.
Total revenues before expenses for the year to date was $4,273,000.
PROFIT AND LOSS
Cash of $2.5 million increased by $320,000
Food & beverage and third party commissions were $201,000 and $16,000 favorable respectively for the month thanks to higher than projected attendance at CSA and Rugby events. They were down $5,000 from the two MLS games due to lower than expected attendance.
BMO Field paid out $34,000 in food and beverage royalties.
CONCLUSION
It’s important to realize that BMO Field is one of the few stadiums in Canada and MLS that is profitable. Built relatively cheaply, it has proven to be a cash cow for MLSE and the City of Toronto over the years – the stadium is the only facility in Toronto that makes money for the city.
And, it’s MLSE’s job to manage it for the city. On that front they deserve credit. In 2011, MLSE returned about $550,000 to the city. Since 2007 the number is $1.75 million.
BMO Field has been a very good deal for the City of Toronto.
Has it worked out as well for the CSA and, by extension, the rest of Canada?
It’s less certain that it has been a benefit, but payments made to the CSA make it more difficult to argue that it’s been bad business. The stadium gives the CSA a ready tool to use and an opportunity to make a profit.
If the CSA meets the 46,001 tickets sold target, using accepted estimates, the CSA would receive $46,800 in payments before factoring in profits from ticket sales. It’s nowhere near what MLSE or the City receive, but profit is profit.
This past week CSA president Victor Montagliani spoke to CSN about the deal. He said that under the re-negotiated deal the CSA was happy. He stressed that fans need to view the deal in the context of the time, which came after several stadium deals had fell apart.
“I don’t want to speak to what happened before, how the original deal came together, but…overall we’re happy.
“Without the stadium we don’t have the U-20s and without that we don’t have MLS in Canada.”