When I hear the Chicago Blackhawks complain about how they’re losing money still, it makes little sense to me. It makes as much sense as when Pro Football Weekly claimed the reason they went under is the NFL lockout. One NFL preseason game and OTAs was missed; that’s it. The NFL lockout occurred during the time of the year when no one cares about football anyway, yet it killed off PFW? Huh?
Same thing when the Chicago Blackhawks claim every year they’re in the red; both in their on-ice sweaters and in the fiscal balance sheets. The Blackhawks are selling the place out every night despite sky high ticket prices; concession prices are also through the roof (never a short line there too), and everyone seems to be incessantly tweeting about how Blackhawks television ratings are so high (Take a cold shower! We know HHR numbers like these give you a boner).
Not to mention the Blackhawks bandwagon is filled with drunk douches spending tons of their disposable income on Blackhawks regalia. Oh, and they receive EXTREMELY SOFT coverage in this city from all their cheerleaders disguised as reporters to boot. So what gives?
Blackhawks Owner and liquor distributor Rocky Wirtz said it will take two more Blackhawks seasons like this one to reach profitability.
From Crain’s
Even with higher ticket and sponsorship revenues this season, Crain’s estimates the Blackhawks annually spend between $10 million and $20 million more than they take in. The balance is made up from other companies under the Wirtz Corp. umbrella, including United Center Joint Venture.
This season’s surge to the Stanley Cup Final hasn’t made up for missed revenue from a lockout-shortened regular season, when the team continued to pay more than 100 non-player employees, but it has mitigated the pain.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net. (“Quasi-endorsed” by Philadelphia Eagles Coach Chip Kelly) He’s also an author who also contributes regularly to MSN, Fox Sports , Chicago Now, Walter Football.com and Yardbarker
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