The Battlefords North Stars remain a popular draw in the community, as the team was among the league’s average attendance leaders once again in 2019-20. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

North Stars AGM

North Stars feel impact of playoff cancellation but remain optimistic heading into the fall

Jun 30, 2020 | 3:32 PM

The Battlefords North Stars held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) Monday night, offering a reflection on the last fiscal year, as well as a look ahead to what’s to come in the fall and moving forward.

The North Stars saw corporate sponsorships and season ticket sales go up in 2020, while game day expenses and player fees went down, highlighting some bright spots financially.

On the flip side though, the real differentiator between the team’s overall net income from the 2019-20 season compared to the year prior, was the lack of a playoff run. This was due to the league’s early postseason cancellation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Stars’ net operations (which includes revenue from corporate advertising, game day sales and ticket sales) saw the team make over $376,000 this year, up from the just over $342,000 made in 2019.

Net game day funds took a small dip from just more than $107,000 to just under $99,000; but the team did see an increase in season ticket sales, from over $54,000 to over $59,000.

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Overall, the Stars’ total revenue of just over $463,000 was just slightly below 2019’s mark of over $478,000.

When it comes to expenses, the team was able to lower their cost of total player housing/travel from under $89,000 in 2019 to just under 77,000 last season; and their total player cost from over 26,000 to just over 21,000.

Altogether, total expenses were just under $540,000, more than $32,000 less than the $571,000 the club saw the year prior.

At the end of the regular season, the team held a total net income loss of just under -$76,000, which is actually less than the -$93,000 loss they had heading into the 2019 postseason.

However, the cancellation of the playoffs just four games into the opening round is where the North Stars really felt the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team made just under $117,500 on their run to a league championship in 2019, taking their year-end numbers from a net loss of -$93,000 to a profitable $24,438 in net income on the year.

With only two home playoff games in 2020 due to the cancellation, instead of making their money back on a probable lengthy playoff run, the team lost an additional -$17,000 in expenses anticipating the run, prior to the cancellation.

The result was a negative final net income of just over -$93,000.

Marketing Manager with the North Stars, Jennifer Whyte, said the lost playoff revenue was a big hit at the end of the day, especially since the team had their sights on another extended championship run.

“I mean the potential for revenue lost was like, astronomical,” Whyte said. “We expected a long run this year and if we were to make it to the finals against Flin Flon, we literally would have been sold out at every home game.”

She said additionally, the team’s Game 5 of the Canalta Cup Final versus Melfort in 2019 – which saw the team claim the championship on home ice – earned the organization a cool $30,000 boost in one night.

While the loss of that potential postseason income is no doubt a tough pill to swallow, Whyte said the year-end deficit is far from crippling. The team will continue to make adjustments heading into the fall, as they look to minimize costs, but while still ensuring an enjoyable fan experience.

Recent reports indicate the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is likely to begin their season with a 50 per cent capacity at league venues, come the fall. However, because the Civic Centre holds just over 2,300 people, Whyte estimates even half-capacity likely won’t affect the team too much financially.

“[Even] if you slash that in half and consider what our average attendance is, it’s perfectly doable,” she said. “At the same time, when you tell people there’s only a certain number of space, that’s going to make them want to come more too. People don’t want to miss out and they want something to do.”

Hockey Canada is expected to release their official protocols ahead of the hockey season, sometime in mid-July. The North Stars home-opener for the 2020-21 season is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 25.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1