http://www.bluebombers.com/2017/04/05/winnipeg-football-club-posts-operating-profit-2-8-million-2016/

2 hours ago, Taynted_Fayth said:

I think it was around 1 a.m, My dad convinced us to stick around as he'd never seen a game cancelled due to weather.  maybe stopped but never before it got started. Took the liberty of wandering the stadium and watching the lightning show off in the horizon from the very top of the stands with my son

Yeah, remember it was very late.

8 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

What time did that game end?

@Taynted_Fayth is right, it was around 1am... I stayed until the 3 minute warning.... I was probably in bed by 1:30ish... that 5:45am alarm came pretty quickly...

14 hours ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Not surprising.  If you applied for a mortgage with the same debt/income ratio the Bombers have the bank would laugh you out of the branch.  Wait until significant maintenance/renovations are needed.  It won't be long.

The Bombers don't own the stadium, Triple B does. They have an Stadium Management Agreement with Triple B. Triple B makes the payments against the capital loan.

Yep Just a touch after 1am.  Luckily, we had gotten a hotel room.  We normally drive home after the game, which would have meant that we would have gotten home around 5 or so in the morning.  Getting too old for all night events.

The lightning show, the Jays game on the jumbotron, Wade put draft on sale for $5 as a thank-you for sticking around....by the time the game got going, the place had cleared out to less than 20k in there, which was still super loud, but there wasn't so many people that you felt really jammed in (I don't do well with big crowds), and of course the Bombers kicked the **** out of Hamilton....it was a GREAT night at IGF....

Some more changes announced by WBB FC:

(via FB page)

Winnipeg Blue Bombers CFL

7 mins · 

Getting excited for the new season? We took your input, feedback and wishes and have made some changes for 2017. To recap:

1. The new Rapid Transit terminal will open in early July. All buses will use the terminal including park and ride and regular transit, freeing up the roads around the stadium and speeding up entry/exit on game days.

2. New lowered concession prices mean hot dogs, perogies, grilled Kielbasa on a stick and many more new options will be priced starting at $4.

3. The Blue Bomber Bar Network - leaving from Gate 2, this shuttle will transport fans directly to bars downtown post-game. ?

4. Approximately 400 seats were removed to make space for new viewing platforms on the concourse for 2017. This will alleviate concourse congestion and create better viewing in the endzones.

5. And finally, the new Ticket Swap program for 2017 -
Can’t make a home game? You can now donate your tickets for a tax receipt or swap games! Details can be found on the Season Ticket Member home page.

Just now, Noeller said:

5. And finally, the new Ticket Swap program for 2017 -
Can’t make a home game? You can now donate your tickets for a tax receipt or swap games! Details can be found on the Season Ticket Member home page.

I like this one.

I'm away for two weeks each summer and invariably miss one home game a year. My buddies, who watch football, all have season tickets, so they don't need more. I never sell them but sometimes give them to friends of friends.

I will use the tax receipt option this year, unless I find someone who would really like them who can't normally get to games.

sounds good, but if you have season tickets... wouldn't you already have tickets to whatever game you would potentially swap? or do you get an extra set?

16 minutes ago, Taynted_Fayth said:

sounds good, but if you have season tickets... wouldn't you already have tickets to whatever game you would potentially swap? or do you get an extra set?

You would get extra tickets to either of the BC games at the end of the season.

2 hours ago, JCon said:

The Bombers don't own the stadium, Triple B does. They have an Stadium Management Agreement with Triple B. Triple B makes the payments against the capital loan.

Who is Triple B Stadium?

The WFC and the two governments that appoint members and have oversight of the Bomber board too.  Same damn entity for all intents and purposes.

3 hours ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Who is Triple B Stadium?

The WFC and the two governments that appoint members and have oversight of the Bomber board too.  Same damn entity for all intents and purposes.

The UoM is also on the board.

Reading over the financial statements is interesting. From an accounting perspective it was quite smart --- have a seperate entity own the stadium and carry the loans --- based on the strength of the borrowers (City of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba primarily) --- with the two plus the Team being the members. Payments from the team are essentially funding both the Capital Asset (ie, building) --- and interest on the loans for the buildings with the lenders. 

Part of the 4.5 Mllion the team has been funding is $500k a year towards the operating reserve --- sitting at 2.59 million - reserve should be 5 million when done in 5 years. 

2017 including capital fund contribution --- max payment is $3.5 Million

2018 and on --- $4,335,834 until capital fund is maxed, after which it would be $3,835834.

Essentially --- get bums in the seats, have extra events and the obligations are easily met and we keep a world class stadium in good. use.

So --- focus on developing a strong team, a loyal and growing customer base and it will work itself out. 

From the financials...

Subject to the existing note payable (Note 5) to the City of Winnipeg, all entertainment tax and facility fees collected on regular season and exhibition Blue Bomber football games by the Club will be paid to Triple B. In any year that entertainment tax and facility fee payments in total exceed $2,000,000, the first $2,000,000 will be applied against the scheduled payments noted below and the excess will be applied to a capital fund to be held by Triple B, to a maximum of $500,000 per year. Any further excess entertainment tax and facility fee payments (over $2,500,000 in a year) will be applied by Triple B to the scheduled payments below. In addition, the Club is to use any Excess Cash generated in a fiscal year, after consideration of the Club’s required working capital levels and allocations to the Operating Reserve, to make a further annual payment to Triple B in accordance with the maximum total scheduled payment, inclusive of the amounts collected and remitted by the Club for entertainment tax and facility fees (except for amounts applied to the Triple B capital fund), as follows: 2016 $ 4,000,000 2017 3,000,000 Thereafter, the maximum annual scheduled payment of Excess Cash will be $3,885,834, until 2058. Any shortfall on the above Excess Cash amounts in any year will be added to the amount to be paid by the Club in the following year in which it was originally due. Under the terms of the Management Agreement the Club is also required to remain a community owned non-share, not-for-profit corporation.

that's actually really interesting -- so, how long is the loan? Is it like a normal mortgage where it's 25 years? How long are we having to make that 4-million + payment?

5 minutes ago, Noeller said:

that's actually really interesting -- so, how long is the loan? Is it like a normal mortgage where it's 25 years? How long are we having to make that 4-million + payment?

40ish years.  I say ish because they've added more to the loans to complete the stadium and repair it.

Yikes...that's a bit of a stretch, indeed....but I like that the "rainy day fund" money is included in that 4.5. So there's ALWAYS money going in there, just in case...

7 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Yikes...that's a bit of a stretch, indeed....but I like that the "rainy day fund" money is included in that 4.5. So there's ALWAYS money going in there, just in case...

And the Province has guaranteed the loan to Triple B up to $35.3M. 

On 06/04/2017 at 0:47 AM, JuranBoldenRules said:

Not surprising.  If you applied for a mortgage with the same debt/income ratio the Bombers have the bank would laugh you out of the branch.  Wait until significant maintenance/renovations are needed.  It won't be long.

The  ability  to service  debt  for companies  and people is measured  in very different  ways. I  haven't  looked  at the financials but it is certainly  a misnomer  that  operating profit  must = debt  payments  for debt  serviceability  to exist. 

7 hours ago, Fraser said:

The  ability  to service  debt  for companies  and people is measured  in very different  ways. I  haven't  looked  at the financials but it is certainly  a misnomer  that  operating profit  must = debt  payments  for debt  serviceability  to exist. 

I know, but they need that money to come from something.  The Bombers are a non-profit so they can't make cash calls and raise capital, they don't have much to turn liquid either. The only way to do that is to go to government based on how they are set up.

On 2017-04-06 at 8:44 AM, JCon said:

The Bombers don't own the stadium, Triple B does. They have an Stadium Management Agreement with Triple B. Triple B makes the payments against the capital loan.

The Bombers are part of Triple B so they own part of it.

Edited April 7, 20178 yr by FrostyWinnipeg