MLB team financial documents

[SoxFan562004]

I was only commenting on the person that said an accountant can take something that was a 4M profit and turn it into a 2M loss and vice versa. That is utter crap. Certainly there are regulations that enable you to capitalize certain things or you can get some beneficial one time write-offs, but at the end of the day, ultimately, it all will ultimately make its way into the financials.

 

I also should point out that we don't know what exact debt covenants the Marlins had to reach to ensure they had access to funding, but that is a whole nother story.

 

I think the Marlins made money, I just questioned the person who had a quote talking about what accountants good do. Sure, one year we might impact the financials one way or another (by capitalizing an item, thus delaying a chunk of the expense from hitting the P/L or by expensing the item, thus taking a 1 time hit which might allow future Net Income to apear higher). But one way or another the amount is still going to flow through the financials.

 

And people are forgetting, teams can make a lot of money by seeing there franchise value increase significantly as well.

Ah OK, no I agree with that concept, I just really like the docs because as I said earlier it shows all the "hidden" sources of income, meaning how big some of the TV contracts are and how much teams make off the jumbotron signs etc... Again, they don't have the White Sox so I am conveying these onto the White Sox, but it bolsters my argument that for a large market team like the White Sox, attendance is important, but not as important as smaller market teams. I would love to see the White Sox docs for many reasons, biggest being parking, I heard they have a great deal with that.

 

You are 100% right about the franchise value, that was the crux of the final analysis on deadspin from a CPA, basically saying that's the "holy grail" of owning a franchise, teams just need some cash-flow (basically why the Cubs are screwed for another year or two) and can even take some loss, but the equity is the key, and few teams are in better position than JRs ownership group as far as that goes.

[Harry Chappas]

Ah OK, no I agree with that concept, I just really like the docs because as I said earlier it shows all the "hidden" sources of income, meaning how big some of the TV contracts are and how much teams make off the jumbotron signs etc... Again, they don't have the White Sox so I am conveying these onto the White Sox, but it bolsters my argument that for a large market team like the White Sox, attendance is important, but not as important as smaller market teams. I would love to see the White Sox docs for many reasons, biggest being parking, I heard they have a great deal with that.

 

You are 100% right about the franchise value, that was the crux of the final analysis on deadspin from a CPA, basically saying that's the "holy grail" of owning a franchise, teams just need some cash-flow (basically why the Cubs are screwed for another year or two) and can even take some loss, but the equity is the key, and few teams are in better position than JRs ownership group as far as that goes.

 

The White Sox I believe will show what they are doing is what they say they are doing. They can take a loss for a year and JR can open the wallet to the tune of $4-5M as they can tap into their equity and take a loss from time to time. This is when KW asks for the extra $0.50. In the long term the Sox are not going to do this annually but will if need be.

 

I believe the White Sox get 100% of parking as JR owns that land although I could be wrong.

[HuskyCaucasian]

OUCH! This is going to sting:

Marlins execs funneled cash to themselves

Florida Marlins president David Samson has perfected the art of doublespeak. Even after the mushroom cloud settled over the disclosure of financial statements that showed he and Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria are indeed duplicitous, Samson couldn’t help himself. Lies are simply part of how the Marlins do business.

 

The latest came during Samson’s weekly radio appearance on The Dan LeBatard Show in Miami, during which he addressed Deadspin’s publication of the Marlins’ balance sheet. What Samson said was so provably false that it was akin to a 3-year-old trying to hide his peas under a pile of mashed potatoes.

 

“Jeffrey Loria did not put a dollar in his pocket,” Samson said.

....

On Page 34 of the documents, under the heading Note Y, is a transaction called “Management Fee.” A corporation named Double Play Company is listed as the Marlins’ managing general partner. The partner is paid a yearly sum. For the two years the documents cover, the fees were $2.6 million and $2.8 million. In 2009, the documents say, the fee was raised to $3.2 million.

 

Records from the Florida Division of Corporations show Double Play’s CEO is Jeffrey Loria. Its president is David Samson.

 

Of the six teams whose documents were leaked, only the Marlins have a management fee listed in their operating expenses.

....

Though the documents do not show that Loria has taken a direct distribution of money as owner, it is undeniable that he plundered the team’s coffers as it received nearly $500 million in public funding for a new stadium and more than $75 million in revenue sharing from MLB.

 

Samson did not reply to a request for comment.

[Gregory Pratt]

OUCH! This is going to sting:

Marlins execs funneled cash to themselves

 

The rest of the column is just as outstanding. Passan is awesome.