DonaldBrashear Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/canucks-financial-situation-improving-1.279007 Canucks financial situation improving CBC Sports Posted: Jun 07, 2001 3:17 PM ET| Last Updated: Jun 07, 2001 3:17 PM ET The Vancouver Canucks will lose $10 million this season, a significant improvement from three years ago, and will use an aggressive campaign to sell more season tickets and increase corporate sponsorships in hopes of breaking even next year. By slashing player salaries and trimming other costs, while still managing to make its first playoff appearance in five years, the NHL team has stopped the hemorrhaging that saw the club lose $36.6 million in 1998. "I do think we've taken the franchise out of the risk category as far as it being at risk to move," Brian Burke, the Canucks president and general manager, said Wednesday. "I don't think anyone can take any bows. We're not there yet." Dave Cobb, the Canucks chief operating officer, said while the bottom line has improved, breaking even will still be a struggle. "It's turned a corner," said Cobb. "That last $10 million will be the biggest challenge we have, the toughest $10 million to get. "We did meet our plans this year, but frankly we did have a little bit of low-hanging fruit to grab in order to move toward that target. This coming year will be a much bigger challenge." The Canuck financial figures include operation of GM Place Arena. One of the revenue streams the Canucks hope to improve is the sale of season tickets. The team had 19 sellouts last year and saw average attendance at GM Place grow to 17,017 a game, an increase of about 2,000 fans a night. Still, the club's season ticket base remains at around 8,000, well below the NHL average of 11,500. The average season ticket base for other Canadian NHL teams is 13,000. The Canucks are launching a two-year plan to increase the season ticket base to 12,000. The goal for this year is to reach 10,500. "That will be a big part of going from $10 million (in losses) to zero," Cobb said. Even with the 6.5 per cent increase in ticket prices announced for next year, Cobb said Canuck tickets remain lower than most of the other Canadian teams. "We think we're priced very competitive compared to the other teams," he said. "Because we are priced a little bit lower, our attendance needs to be higher." One area the Canucks don't plan to slash is player salaries. The team has seen its payroll drop from a high of around $37.5 million US in October 1999 to around $28 million US this season. That could grow to $32 million US next year. Burke said any more salary reductions would affect the product on the ice. "We're down to muscle and bone now," Burke said. "We don't think there's any more fat we can trip. We've reduced our costs to the level where to do so beyond that, we're cutting into muscle and bone and you're affecting the ability of the organization to compete. "We want to pay our players what's fair, but not a penny more." The Canucks had a 36-28-11-7 record this year for 90 points and made the playoffs for the first time since 1997. Although the team lost in four straight to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs, the excitement generated by the Canucks makes them attractive to local corporate sponsors. "People are excited about the team again," said Cobb. "All the reasons for investing in a sports team is better than it has been for a long time. We're certainly in a better position to do more than we have in a long time." The expected departure of the NBA Vancouver Grizzlies to Memphis will also help bring some more corporate money to the Canucks. The Canucks are also exploring the possibility of showing 10 to 12 games on pay-for-view television this year. Cobb said as the Canucks become a more viable operation it will make it easier for owner John McCaw to attract local minority partners, something the Seattle businessman has wanted for the last several years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpcurtly Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 haha I certainly haven't forgot. Problem is...a lot of Nucks fans these days have never experienced bad times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronalds.Kenins41 Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Lost almost 40 million in 1998 (4 years after the cup final appearance). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 In that light I guess we should thank Bettman for the salary cap. Even though Canada will likely never see a cup again, at least we get to keep our teams around for when the dollar tanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoKnows53 Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 "My stinky team isn't on top of the Standings anymore Waah waaahh, fire everyone because I say so!!" - New Era Canucks Fans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMR Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 It was a dark time and it could happen again during this retool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonaldBrashear Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 People who think the Canucks team is invincible should take this article in. Aquallini bought this team during good times. After he bought it, the Canadian dollar soared in value and the Canucks team became competitive. Moves that Brian Burke had made, such as getting the Sedins, paid off in dividends. Now, everything that hurt the Canucks from 1996 to 2000 is happening again in exactly the same way: 1) Canucks are coming off a loss in Game 7 of the finals, which resulted in riots and decreased morale. 2) The Canadian dollar is reversing itself and becoming weak again to the USD. 3) The cap is going up, and Canadian teams will have trouble keeping up if the CDN dollar keeps dropping 4) The team has a brash, rogue coach who is hated by many, just like the Keenan years. 5) Season ticket holders appear to be ready to cancel tickets, causing a serious lack of revenue for the team. 6) The Canucks organization is spending millions of dollars on new upgrades to the arena, just at the exact time the organization begins to tumble. Sound familiar? GM Place was built in 1995, just as the "golden years" ended for the Canucks. There's tons of other things I'm sure, but these are just a few similarities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMR Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 haha I certainly haven't forgot. Problem is...a lot of Nucks fans these days have never experienced bad times. I remember as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoted Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Some of that had to do with the state of the dollar, but yes, dark times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisbanks Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 dave scatchard ,harold druken and bill muckalt come to mind. when thinking of the dark days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronalds.Kenins41 Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 People who think the Canucks team is invincible should take this article in. Aquallini bought this team during good times. After he bought it, the Canadian dollar soared in value and the Canucks team became competitive. Moves that Brian Burke had made, such as getting the Sedins, paid off in dividends. Now, everything that hurt the Canucks from 1996 to 2000 is happening again in exactly the same way: 1) Canucks are coming off a loss in Game 7 of the finals, which resulted in riots and decreased morale. 2) The Canadian dollar is reversing itself and becoming weak again to the USD. 3) The cap is going up, and Canadian teams will have trouble keeping up if the CDN dollar keeps dropping 4) The team has a brash, rogue coach who is hated by many, just like the Keenan years. 5) Season ticket holders appear to be ready to cancel tickets, causing a serious lack of revenue for the team. 6) The Canucks organization is spending millions of dollars on new upgrades to the arena, just at the exact time the organization begins to tumble. Sound familiar? GM Place was built in 1995, just as the "golden years" ended for the Canucks. There's tons of other things I'm sure, but these are just a few similarities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRussianRocket. Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 haha I certainly haven't forgot. Problem is...a lot of Nucks fans these days have never experienced bad times. Bingo. I haven't seen the bad days cause I wasn't around then but I'm certainly not one of the majority of new fans now days that cry and scream when things don't go right. They expect things to be easy and all sunshine and rainbows ever year but that's not how things work and I understand it. Just sad more people can't see that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 I remember in the '80s when people could call up and order season tickets - no wait list, just take the order right then and there. People wait multiple years now to get season tickets and the best suggestion posters can come up with to show the owners what we really feel is to cancel their season tickets and hope everyone else does the same. This is an entirely different animal from where this franchise has been in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 I'm actually hoping I might be able to afford to take my sons to a game if this keeps up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummer4now Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 People who think the Canucks team is invincible should take this article in. Aquallini bought this team during good times. After he bought it, the Canadian dollar soared in value and the Canucks team became competitive. Moves that Brian Burke had made, such as getting the Sedins, paid off in dividends. Now, everything that hurt the Canucks from 1996 to 2000 is happening again in exactly the same way: 1) Canucks are coming off a loss in Game 7 of the finals, which resulted in riots and decreased morale. 2) The Canadian dollar is reversing itself and becoming weak again to the USD. 3) The cap is going up, and Canadian teams will have trouble keeping up if the CDN dollar keeps dropping 4) The team has a brash, rogue coach who is hated by many, just like the Keenan years. 5) Season ticket holders appear to be ready to cancel tickets, causing a serious lack of revenue for the team. 6) The Canucks organization is spending millions of dollars on new upgrades to the arena, just at the exact time the organization begins to tumble. Sound familiar? GM Place was built in 1995, just as the "golden years" ended for the Canucks. There's tons of other things I'm sure, but these are just a few similarities. Just another example of history repeating itself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silfverberg Snipes Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 I haven't been through these supposed bad times but we're they due to plain stupid decisions? I'm not mad that our current team isn't performing, I'm mad that Gillis single handedly turned a juggernaut into this pile of crap. Younger and tougher is just going to make us another Nashville or Pheonix. We need to be younger and more talented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyfall Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 I haven't been through these supposed bad times but we're they due to plain stupid decisions? I'm not mad that our current team isn't performing, I'm mad that Gillis single handedly turned a juggernaut into this pile of crap. Younger and tougher is just going to make us another Nashville or Pheonix. We need to be younger and more talented. I've been through the mike Keenan era and that was pretty bad. What I haven't liked about the current version of the team is how they're such BSers and make this weird crap happen. The Lu, Schneider, hodgson, kesler and malhotra situations are garbage. At least I knew that Keenan's canucks would literally put up fights which were fun to watch. This current team has made fools of themselves and even in the cup run year sedin taking 5 punches while not punching back shows no self respect at all. If I want to see political spin I'll watch CNN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73 Percent Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 "My stinky team isn't on top of the Standings anymore Waah waaahh, fire everyone because I say so!!" - New Era Canucks Fans no its always been like that. just rhe internet wasnt as popular back then so you actually had to talk to friends to hear opinions. you have none so you didnt hear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Fig Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 haha I certainly haven't forgot. Problem is...a lot of Nucks fans these days have never experienced bad times. Yeah, and they have no idea how much you don't want to travel down certain roads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonaldBrashear Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 I haven't been through these supposed bad times but we're they due to plain stupid decisions? It depends. Do you consider hiring the two guys who beat you just a few years earlier in game 7 (Messier / Keenan), and stripping your long time Captain (Linden) of the C, to be "plain stupid decisions"? I'd say 99% of Canuck fans would call that the dumbest moment in history. Far dumber than trading Schneider or Luongo. It ruined the team for 3 years, and almost caused the Canucks to be relocated to a US city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.