Since we are out on the road today and since things are fairly quiet in the world of soccer business (sorry Mr. Kroenke), we thought we would revisit a post that generated a bunch of interest when it first came out. The subject? The mysterious finances of MLS that were partially revealed as part of efforts to secure funding for the renovation of PGE park.
In a report prepared by HVS, many MLS financial numbers became public for the first time. The report is here. Because many of you may have not seen the report, we thought it would be worthwhile to bring back the link and sum up some of the highlights.
The report projects finances from 2011 (when Portland enters the League), until 2015 and aggregates data from past seasons. Total MLS stadium revenues for 2011-2015 are projected at $14-15 Million per year. This includes ticket sales, advertising, naming rights, concessions and more.
The report also addresses season ticket sales for 2007 and 2008 with Toronto the high (16,641 in 2008) and Chivas the low (837 in 2008). The report does not include Seattle’s 22k for 2009. Most teams fall in the 3-5k range, but the League did show a 26% increase from 2007 to 2008 (including the addition of San Jose in 2008).
Because the report focused on the viability of a stadium in Portland, many of the numbers focus on seating, concessions, merchandise and other game day items. Around the League, Club prices range from $5,000 (both L.A. teams) to approximately $1,000. Suites range from $154,000 per year (Galaxy) to $21,000 per year (KC). Some teams sell suites by the game, while most offer only annual purchases.
Stadium naming rights are also discussed; The Home Depot Center is a $70 million deal for 10 years, while Pizza Hut Park is $25 million over 20 years. Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is a $40 million two year deal and Rio Tinto is a $1.5-$2 million dollar annual deal (for 15 years)The report also projects annual ticket sales in Portland (well below the mean), ticket prices, revenue from non-soccer events and more.
This is a fascinating picture of the League’s current, past and future finances. Based on these numbers, the City of Portland and presumably investors in Vancouver, Portland, Philly and St. Louis were eager to buy into MLS. The report makes for fantastic reading (in its entirety) and will definitely make for interesting conversation.
What are your thoughts? Are their numbers in the report that surprise you? Impress you? Let us know.
One point of clarification: the projections for 2011 through 2015 in the presentation are specifically for Portland ONLY – not for the league as a whole. Overall league-wide revenues would be substantially higher than that.
Wow, they’re going to charge the highest price for tickets in the league. What a bunch of jerks. Have fun trying to get fans with a 3% increase in ticket prices each year.
I think those ticket prices are meant to account for inflation. Plus, the cost of living in Portland is a little higher than it is in Kansas City…
Either way, I like that those are very conservative estimates. I really think there is no way the Portland franchise will have an attendance of 14k in its first year (18k at least by my estimate, given that they already get almost 10k in USL-1), so we know that this will definitely be a profitable franchise.
To be fair, the cheapest season tickets for Toronto FC now cost like $38, from what I’ve seen. So beware of comparing 2011 to 2007.
Also, it doesn’t mean all seats will be expensive, only that because of the size of the venue and demand there won’t be nearly as many cheap ones as in some venues. Therefore the $75 club seats will throw off the average more. My guess is the *median* ticket will be in the mid $20s, like many MLS teams.