Forbes ranks Brewers #23 out of 30

[sheethead]

Franchise valuation. Looking at the Yankees vs. everyone else, and I can see Mark Attanasio's beef. There just isn't a good fix for the disparity.

 

Link

[kilgore37]

Well considering we are the smallest market in MLB that's not that bad. A few more winning seasons and the value could jump up quite a bit

[jeffy]

I don't think the franchise value is the issue, it is the revenue available to the team that matters for competitive balance. But the story is the same with revenue, there is the Yankees and then there is everyone else. The revenue difference between the Yankees and the, #2 in revenue, Mets, is $173 million, while the difference between the mets and the Marlins, at the bottom in revenue, is "only" $124 million.

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/33/baseball-valuations-10_The-Business-Of-Baseball_Revenue.html

Some teams like the, #1 in profits, Marlins, probably do deserve some criticism for just pocketing their revenue sharing money, though.

BTW, it looks like Mark A. could pocket a nice profit, with the team he purchased in 2005 for $223 million now being worth $351 million.

[brewerguy71]

The Marlins are also in the midst of building a new stadium, while fielding a very competitive team consistently. I have no problem with the way they spend their money. I would love to see the Brewers utilize that philosophy instead ot trying the tired old "sign free agents" route (which doesnt really work anyway).

[Invader3K]

The Marlins model would fail here. They don't draw consistently, and people get sick of their fire sales and rebuilding. They could be moving away from that once they get their new stadium, though.

[Flood Pants]

Wow, Detroit operated at a loss of 29.5 million. Their "win-now" spending spree has been a total disaster.

[WestSideWillie]

350 million, a 60% return on your investment? Now only if my TCW funds

had a 60% return since 2005. Sign Prince Now---no excuses. Franchise value

all time high, ticket sales, all time high, marketing and sponsorship, all time high.

Sign Prince!

[JoeHova]

Wow, Detroit operated at a loss of 29.5 million. Their "win-now" spending spree has been a total disaster.

The Ilitch family has a ton of cash and owns a bunch of casinos. I doubt losing that much affects them in any way so I think "disaster" is probably too strong a word. If they don't mind losing money, I don't see what the problem is.

[And That]

Now only if my TCW funds had a 60% return since 2005.

Investing with TCW may have been your first mistake, unless it was a bond fund or maybe their small-cap growth fund. They have a pretty weak track record.

 

No, not an investing thread.

[Invader3K]

JoeHova wrote:

The Ilitch family has a ton of cash and owns a bunch of casinos. I doubt losing that much affects them in any way so I think "disaster" is probably too strong a word. If they don't mind losing money, I don't see what the problem is.

For them it seems to be more about public goodwill than anything. I read that they lost a large sponsorship from GM before last season, and instead of selling some cheap sponsorship, they put up a tribute to the "big three" automakers.

[Nottso]

One thing I'd like to see the team really take a good look at, is the area along the Illinois state line. There's entirely too much Cubs/Sox support down here. It's "cool" for the teens and younger twenty-somethings to declare themselves Chicago "gangstas," and of course, the younger kids follow right along. I think a concentrated effort to win over the younger kids down in this area via player appearances, free tickets, etc. would be a solid investment in the future fan-base. After all, today's third grader is tomorrow's season ticket holder.

[Dragonbait]

Opening a restaurant in the 'heart' of Cubbie Wisconsin (i.e. Lake Geneva) seems like a good start.

[bork]

I guess this is a good place to post this. Attanasio says the team budgeted for 2.7 million fans this year and that they budgeted for a loss, unlike previous years where they budgeted for break-even. They are 30,000 tickets behind last year, at this point.

Attanasio said this week that the Brewers have essentially optimized the revenue potential at Miller Park. The park operates at 90% capacity, there are three retail stores in the ballpark, and the franchise has approximately 130 sponsors. Last season, the team ranked 18th in baseball in terms of overall team revenue.

The answer to finding more money, he said, is Brewers Enterprises, which was formed to find new ways to raise revenue both in-season and out-of-season.

 

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/90317417.html

[Invader3K]

That reflects something many of us have hypothesized for a while; that the team is essentially tapped out as far as revenue generation. You can only increase ticket and concession prices so much on an annual basis.

 

It's too bad that their media revenue is apparently so low. It's also a bit disappointing to hear that ticket sales are slightly behind last year, though 30,000 doesn't seem like a large gap to close.

[davemakovec]

Doesn't the awful FSN deal that Wendy signed run out soon? Did they sign a new deal? If the deal is coming up soon, that might be able to pick them up a few more dollars.

[kilgore37]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/44072747.html they just signed a new deal last year

[Baldkin]

It's also a bit disappointing to hear that ticket sales are slightly behind last year, though 30,000 doesn't seem like a large gap to close.

It's not surprising, since they aren't coming off a playoff appearance. Also, the Brewers did open up 2009 at home on the weekend against the Cubs with 3 sold out games.

[Invader3K]

That probably makes sense. They have their "spring madness" promotion coming up against the Pirates, which will maybe help close the gap. One would figure that if they play well through the next month or so, ticket sales will be strong going into summer.

[1992casey]

If Mark ever does a chat, a good question to ask would be if the Brewers are reaping the benefits of the new TV deal right now or if they have to wait until after the old one would have expired.

[brewerguy71]

The Marlins model would fail here. They don't draw consistently, and people get sick of their fire sales and rebuilding. They could be moving away from that once they get their new stadium, though.

If the main goal of your franchise is to sell tickets, as Rick Schlesinger has been on record a lot recently as the goal of the Brewers, then yes this model fails for both the Marlins and would for the Brewers. Time will tell if the actual goal is to build a winner. I know that Mark A wants to create that illusion by signing free agents like Jeff Suppan and Randy Wolf, but fans will stop showing up when the strategy of building "success" by siging, and overpaying, free agents fails.

 

But I could care less how well te team draws if they are competitive year in and year out. Heck, the Marlins have been profitable, so there wouldnt be a fear of the team going bankrupt or moving, so imo, if the Brewers followed the Marlins model for building and reshaping a team, and it works in the W-L column, works for me.

 

 

[snyttri]

It looks like the Brewers are currently second in MLB in revenue per fan at $74 (behind the Giants $80) in the new Forbes rankings, another indication there may not be much room for growth.

Edit: same as last year. http://forum.brewerfan.net/viewtopic.php?t=18916

[bork]

The numbers show just how little room there is for error. Unfortunately, 30% of the Brewers payroll is in error this year (Suppan, Hall, and Riske).

[Oldcity]

How about Joe Morgan blabbering for nearly half an hour about small market teams! He never even made a point! I was almost in tears from laughing.

[logan82]

I was in tears because it was so painful.

[SenatorShriv]

Painful is an understatement. I never could figure out what Joe Morgan was really getting at. His two inning long blather about small market teams making "excuses" for not signing players was brutal. At the very least he should have acknowledged that revenue streams are different for each team.