The Riders posted a loss for the 2019-20 fiscal year. But that’s nothing compared to what might be in the coming year.
“To be honest, this is the biggest financial crisis the Saskatchewan Roughriders have faced in 110 years,” says Riders President and CEO Craig Reynolds.
“Never in our history have we had, essentially, a complete loss of revenue.”
A somber message for the Riders annual general meeting.
“In a worst-case scenario of a cancelled season, the club could experience a $30-million decrease in revenues,” says Riders Chief Financial Officer Kent Paul. That loss would be offset by a $20-million decrease in expenses.
That points to a $10-million loss for the coming year if there’s no football.
For the 2019-20 year the Riders announced an operating revenue of $39.6 million. Ticket sales accounted for $17.1 million of that. That’s fully 43% of their revenue that, as of now, they will not be getting in the coming year.
“It’s very challenging to be in the mass-gatherings events business right now,” says Reynolds. “And that’s really what the Roughriders are.”
The Riders financial statement shows they have a stabilization fund of $7.6 million. Reynolds says they will have to tap into that money for sure, and that it will not be enough to sustain them through this year.
“We’re looking at all options,” says Paul. “We’re working closely with the league–obviously there have been discussions occurring at the federal level. Obviously continuing to work with our partners and our provincial counter-parts with what the province may be able to support us with. And we’re working closely with the city as well.”
Reynolds says they are considering a number of options on how to proceed this season. From a financial perspective he says “It’s marginally better to play than to not play.”
“When you play games in front of fans you have the associated revenue, but you also have the associated costs,” says Reynolds. “If you play games without fans, obviously you have television revenue. But you have substantial costs without the gate receipts.
“I’ll just say it’s economically challenging to play without fans.”
The Riders posted a $210-thousand loss for the 2019-20 fiscal year. That includes paying $670,000 to help keep the Montreal Alouettes alive and spent $222,000 on Grey Cup planning.
Without help from various levels of government, next year’s annual general meeting could be a bleak affair.
