‘If we can not have fans (at games), and with all the other influence that COVID brings, it creates a very difficult financial situation for us. We were thankful that all of our organization understood it, but it did not make it any easier. It’s just a really difficult situation. ”
The pay cuts are likely to take place by the end of the year. Other expenses have also been reduced.
“We have done our best to manage all operating expenses, given the fact that we are receiving significantly less revenue,” Schiller said. “(From the very beginning here, there has been an aggressive effort to manage all of our spending, and that has continued to this day and will continue until we get out of here.”
Braves players, like others across MLB, are paid their full salary for each game played. But with the regular season schedule cut from 162 games to 60, they will receive no more than 37% of their contracted salary this year. The Braves player’s pay table, which should have been around $ 150 million for an entire season, is currently projected to be around $ 55 million when 60 games are completed.
As one of the few U.S. sports franchises with publicly traded stocks, the Braves are required to disclose financial information that keeps most teams private. Monday’s revelations draw attention to the landscape of the sports industry as the first comprehensive public record of the pandemic’s financial impact on a team.
The Braves do not play games in the quarter from April to June, compared to 85 (41 at home) in the same period last year. The Braves’ 2020 season was originally scheduled to begin in early March, but the launch was delayed until July 24 due to COVID-19. Although games are now being played, a lot of revenue continues to flow – ticket sales, concessions, parking, etc. – closed because no fans are allowed in stadiums.
Liberty Media divides Braves’ revenue into two categories – that of baseball and that of real estate development at The Battery Atlanta. In the quarter from April to June, base income fell 97%, from $ 198 million in the same period last year to $ 5 million. Development revenue tumbled 40%, from $ 10 million to $ 6 million.
The delayed season resulted in a “reduction to all primary sources” of baseball revenue, Liberty Media said. The decline in development income “was mainly driven by the deferral of rental income of certain tenants in mixed-use development.”
As of June 30, the Braves owed $ 718 million, up from $ 698 million on March 31st. Most of the debt is related to the construction of Truist Park and The Battery. Liberty said that as of June 30, the Braves were “expected to meet certain debt taxes” and were “in ongoing talks with counterparties to their operating credit facilities and debt related to ballpark financing to obtain exemptions and bond modifications.”
Liberty also said the Braves had $ 309 million in cash, limited cash, cash equivalents and revolving credit capacity as of June 30.
In the second quarter, Liberty reported that the Braves’ operating expenses (excluding inventory compensation) totaled $ 37 million, down from $ 146 million in the same period last year. The reduction was largely due to player salaries and other expenses on game day, Liberty said.
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