This is far from over and it seems that the entire situation will get uglier before it all finally clears up. Since the initial news broke that the Blue Jackets were lobbying for a Sin Tax to help Franklin County take over Nationwide Arena, there has been a large amount of negative attention for the franchise. Yesterday Portzline gave a breakdown of the situation as told by CBJ President Mike Priest:
– After making a modest profit in their first two seasons, the Blue Jackets have lost money every season since, including more than $10 million this season when they made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time. I asked Priest if the club would make money late in the season, and he said no. I asked if they’d make money if they went deep into the playoffs, and he said no. The Jackets would not have made money, Priest said, if the Blue Jackets made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. In other words, $10 million may be the low end of what they’re claiming for losses.
– Priest said the Blue Jackets would be in good financial standing if they got this part of their business model rearranged. “I spent the first year on the job trying to get our club headed in the right direction, in terms of hiring the right people to give us a winning product on the ice,” said Priest, whose first big hire was GM Scott Howson. “Ever since then, my focus has been on getting the rest of our financial picture in order. If we’re able to have a building that generates money for us like most clubs in the NHL, we’ll be in decent shape. We’ll have good seasons or bad seasons based upon how our club performs, and that’s how it should be. That’s all you can ask for.”
Pretty scary to read some of that. I cannot say the loss of money is a huge surprise given the team’s woeful performance on the ice prior to this season. The goodwill garnered by the Jackets when they first arrived was quickly destroyed by delusions of grandeur from one former GM Doug Maclean. Porty goes on to explain the proposed tax itself:
– If the “sin tax” goes through, it’ll cost 28 cents more for a 12-pack of beer, 6.4 cents more for a bottle of wine, 60 cents more for a fifth of hard liquor and 4.5 cents more for a package of smokes within the limits of Franklin County. It does not have to be approved by voters.
Frankly, to keep my team in place this is a small price to pay. If these facts and figures are true, I would vote for the “sin tax” although I’m certain I’d still be in the minority. That’s what the issue really comes down to, pushing the new tax through without voter approval, which could be done. In 2009 when we are in the midst of an economic slow down, when the government on all levels is threatening to cut services is many vital areas lest they get a tax increase, the climate is any thing but conducive to helping the CBJ get a new lease.
Today Bob Hunter, Dispatch sports columnist, echoes many of the same thoughts and proposes that we take a look at the bigger picture of what could happen if the team were to leave town:
Team officials say the Blue Jackets have lost $80 million the past seven years and that their lease with Nationwide Arena is a big cause of that. Are we really prepared to let this continue and eventually see the team move to Kansas City? And if it did, what kind of economic impact would that have on the city? How would it affect restaurants, hotels, bars, stores, etc., and those who work there? What would happen to the Arena District if the arena didn’t have a major tenant?
Those aren’t pleasant questions, and they aren’t about hockey. This is a problem that has to be solved.
Hunter is looking at the big picture and seems relatively to feel the same way that I do about this mess. I think that the Jackets need to tread lightly because this could destroy a lot of the positivity that surrounded the team after finally making the playoffs this season.
More to come…
