The Braves’ worst record and lowest attendance in a quarter-century led to a sharp decline in the team’s revenue, owner Liberty Media disclosed Thursday.
But that was more than offset by reductions in player payroll and other expenses, making the Braves more profitable despite the dismal season on the field, according to the team owner.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Liberty Media said the Braves’ revenue dropped $16 million this year through Sept. 30, compared with the same period in 2014, “primarily due to lower game attendance and decreased concession sales.”
Yet the Braves’ operating profit — revenue minus expenses before depreciation and amortization — increased by $9 million compared with the first nine months of the previous year, Liberty Media said. The company said that improvement “is primarily the result of a decrease in operating costs due to lower player salaries and game operating costs.”
The filing cast light on how the Braves’ business was affected by a 67-95 record — the team’s worst since 1990 — and a series of trades that shed payroll and star power while mostly bringing back prospects.
The revenue decline followed a drop in attendance of 4,048 per game from 2014, the second largest drop in MLB this year. The Braves’ total announced attendance of 2,001,392 was their lowest since 1990.
Expense reductions started before the season and apparently continued. The Braves opened the season with a player payroll of $97.8 million, down $14 million-plus from the start of the previous season. The Braves ranked lower among MLB teams in payroll — 23rd — at the start of the 2015 season than in any year since the 1980s.
The Braves have said they will increase their player payroll when they move into SunTrust Park in Cobb County in 2017, but haven’t said by how much.
According to Liberty Media’s filing, only $1 million of the $16 million drop in year-versus-year revenue came during the July-through-September quarter — apparently reflective of attendance and revenue also falling late in the 2014 season. Operating profit rose by $18 million from July through September, compared with the same period last year, after falling by $9 million in the first six months of the year.
Liberty Media didn’t disclose the Braves’ total revenue or profit. For all of 2014, the team’s revenue was $251 million, based on previous filings.
Liberty Media disclosed several financial details Thursday regarding the Braves’ new stadium.
The company said that in September the Braves closed on a $345 million construction loan and received $103 million from Cobb County bond proceeds “as reimbursement for project costs paid” by the team before the issuance of the stadium bonds. Through Sept. 30, $274 million had been spent on the stadium project, with about $149 million provided by Cobb County, according to Liberty Media.
“Our stadium and mixed-use development (are) progressing well,” Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said on a conference call with Wall Street analysts. He made no comment on the Braves’ season.
