Braves owner Liberty Media provided an interesting financial scoreboard on the team this morning.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Liberty said the Braves’ revenue dropped $16 million this year through Sept. 30 “primarily due to lower game attendance and decreased concession sales.”
However, despite the revenue drop, the Braves were more profitable, according to Liberty’s filing. The company said the Braves’ operating income — revenue minus expenses — before depreciation and amortization actually increased by $9 million through Sept. 30, compared to the first nine months of 2014.
Liberty said that increase was “primarily the result of a decrease in operating costs due to lower player salaries and game operating costs.”
While the team’s operating income was up $9 million for the year through Sept. 30, it was up $18 million in the last three months of the period, Liberty said. And while revenue declined $16 million through Sept. 30, it dropped only about $1 million in the final three months of the period — apparently reflective of the fact attendance also fell late in the 2014 season.
Regarding construction of the new SunTrust Park in Cobb County, Liberty said the Braves closed on a $345 million term loan in September. Also in September, the Braves received $103 million from Cobb County bond proceeds “as reimbursement for project costs paid for by (the Braves) prior to the funding of the bonds,” Liberty said. Through Sept. 30, approximately $274 million had been spent on the stadium project, with about $149 million provided by Cobb, according to Liberty.
The Braves this season had their lowest attendance since 1990. Attendance fell by 4,048 per home date from last year, the second largest drop in MLB.
Please check back to MyAJC.com later today for more on this story.
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