Free Agency heating up, lets get Puljos!!!!

[davearm2]

Just for kicks:

 

200 hourly employees for a baseball game

x $10/hr wage

x 8 hour shift

x 9 home games

============

$144,000

[Sammy Sofa]

The $24M number is the floor, IMO. Like Kyle said, the gameday revs should exceed the gameday expenses, leaving another net gain. Plus the follow-on revenues in 2012.

 

That doesn't make $24 million the floor. Those revenues ultimately being anything above $1 after all is said and done would technically count as the revenues exceeding the expenses. The costs being, say, $10 million dollars would still mean that they receive around $14 million in revenue, so your floor declaration is meaningless.

Do you even bother reading?

 

START with $24M

ADJUST from 2008 to 2011 dollars

ADD for concessions etc.

SUBTRACT for ushers etc.

 

ASSUME concessions > ushers

 

Do the math: how can $24M *not* be the floor???

 

Please, give us something more than "well I would say it's no more than $14M". Show us your work.

 

Used the same "formula" you just used. I don't think the concessions exceed the overall costs of putting on these games. I think the concessions help offset the cost to keep them profitable, but I don't think they get them back to or over the $24 million mark.

 

$14 million is a shot in the dark, but I highly doubt they're still taking in at least $20 million when all is said and done, and you have have just as much as non-evidence as I do. I can't find concession figures for anyone to help answer this, so we'll just have to have differing opinions.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Exactly how much do you think it costs to put on a major-league baseball game?

[Sammy Sofa]

Yes, because paying the park employees is the primary cost of hosting a baseball game.

[Sammy Sofa]

Exactly how much do you think it costs to put on a major-league baseball game?

 

No idea. I'm assuming a lot, especially a WS game. I'm spitballing the supply costs, maintenance, groundskeeping, security and God knows what else. I have little doubt a ton of cost goes in to hosting each of these games and making sure they run smoothly.

[davearm2]

Yes, because paying the park employees is the primary cost of hosting a baseball game.

What is the primary cost of hosting a baseball game?

 

Better yet, give us the top three, and an estimate of the dollars for each.

[Sammy Sofa]

No idea and no idea.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Just so we have some kind of vague starting point, here's an article referencing the 2004 Yankees that put non-gate revenues at about 60% of gate revenues:

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1737334

 

We'll push that down to 50% because St. Louis isn't New York.

 

So let's just say the Cardinals made $12 million in non-gate revenues for the sake of argument (it was probably much higher than that, because that 50% total is based on gross gate revenue, not just the owners' take).

 

In order to get that $36 million in total revenue down to $14 million in profits, you'd have to believe that the operating costs of 7 playoff games was about $22 million. We'll round that down to $3 million per game.

 

Even if a playoff game cost twice as much as a regular season game to operate, you'd have the 81-game major league home schedule costing the team $120 million in operating expenses, more than the entire team payroll. That's absurd and at least one entire order or magnitude off.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'm confused; I wasn't arguing $36 million down to $14 million. I was arguing $24 million down to $14-$15 million.

 

My argument is that I'm guessing that hosting a playoff game would cost around $1-1.5 million. I think that's different (obviously) than what it costs to host a regular season game.

Edited October 31, 2011 by Sammy Sofa

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I'm confused; I wasn't arguing $36 million down to $14 million.

 

You estimated that the Cardinals' net profit from the playoffs was $14 million.

 

We're operating under the estimate of $24 million for gate revenues, and I posted why $12 million is a good estimate for non-gate revenues. That takes us from $36 to $14.

 

In order to believe that non-gate revenues are cancelled out by operating expenses, you'd have to believe that it a major-league game carries with it a seven-figure operating cost. There's just no way you can justify that.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

My argument is that I'm guessing that hosting a playoff game would cost around $1-1.5 million. I think that's different (obviously) than what it costs to host a regular season game.

 

Why would a playoff game cost significantly more?

[Sammy Sofa]

I'm confused; I wasn't arguing $36 million down to $14 million.

 

You estimated that the Cardinals' net profit from the playoffs was $14 million.

 

We're operating under the estimate of $24 million for gate revenues, and I posted why $12 million is a good estimate for non-gate revenues. That takes us from $36 to $14.

 

In order to believe that non-gate revenues are cancelled out by operating expenses, you'd have to believe that it a major-league game carries with it a seven-figure operating cost. There's just no way you can justify that.

 

I thought that $24 million was for all revenues. My mistake.

[Sammy Sofa]

My argument is that I'm guessing that hosting a playoff game would cost around $1-1.5 million. I think that's different (obviously) than what it costs to host a regular season game.

 

Why would a playoff game cost significantly more?

 

Because it would be.

 

Extreme example: do you think it costs significantly more to host the Super Bowl than a regular season NFL game?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

My argument is that I'm guessing that hosting a playoff game would cost around $1-1.5 million. I think that's different (obviously) than what it costs to host a regular season game.

 

Why would a playoff game cost significantly more?

 

Because it would be.

 

Extreme example: do you think it costs significantly more to host the Super Bowl than a regular season NFL game?

 

Yes. But a conference championship game probably carries with it similar operating costs to a regular-season game, and I missed the World Series halftime show featuring a popular musical act.

[davearm2]

No idea and no idea.

If you have no idea, then how are you coming up with your figures?

[Sammy Sofa]

No idea and no idea.

If you have no idea, then how are you coming up with your figures?

 

Like I said several times, spitballing. I'm just guessing.

Edited October 31, 2011 by Sammy Sofa

[davearm2]

My argument is that I'm guessing that hosting a playoff game would cost around $1-1.5 million. I think that's different (obviously) than what it costs to host a regular season game.

 

Why would a playoff game cost significantly more?

 

Because it would be.

 

Extreme example: do you think it costs significantly more to host the Super Bowl than a regular season NFL game?

Putting on a postseason game won't cost THE CARDINALS any more than a regular season game.

 

All the extra fanfare and hoo-ha, folks like Fox Sports and MLB foot the bill for.

[davearm2]

No idea and no idea.

If you have no idea, then how are you coming up with your figures?

 

Like I said several times, spitballing. I'm just guessing.

Spitball for me how many beers you think they sell at a Cardinals game.

[Guest]

No idea and no idea.

If you have no idea, then how are you coming up with your figures?

 

Like I said several times, spitballing. I'm just guessing.

Spitball for me how many beers you think they sell at a Cardinals game.

 

42,000

[Sammy Sofa]

My argument is that I'm guessing that hosting a playoff game would cost around $1-1.5 million. I think that's different (obviously) than what it costs to host a regular season game.

 

Why would a playoff game cost significantly more?

 

Because it would be.

 

Extreme example: do you think it costs significantly more to host the Super Bowl than a regular season NFL game?

 

Yes. But a conference championship game probably carries with it similar operating costs to a regular-season game, and I missed the World Series halftime show featuring a popular musical act.

 

Good point about the halftime show; I forgot about that. Like I said, I'm just assuming that the cost for things like maintenance and groundskeeping and security and supplies (hell maybe city costs like fees and [expletive]; I have no idea) goes way up when you're hosting something that "big." Like in that "we need to go out of our way to cover our asses" sort of way. I could easily be wrong; that's just hoe I've always assumed it went down.

[SouthSideRyan]

I imagine there are a lot more comps with a world series game than a regular season game.

[Sammy Sofa]

No idea and no idea.

If you have no idea, then how are you coming up with your figures?

 

Like I said several times, spitballing. I'm just guessing.

Spitball for me how many beers you think they sell at a Cardinals game.

 

No idea. Probably 50,000-60,000, I guess? I don't have a clue.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Good point about the halftime show; I forgot about that. Like I said, I'm just assuming that the cost for things like maintenance and groundskeeping and security and supplies (hell maybe city costs like fees and [expletive]; I have no idea) goes way up when you're hosting something that "big." Like in that "we need to go out of our way to cover our asses" sort of way. I could easily be wrong; that's just hoe I've always assumed it went down.

 

I'm sure they bring in extra security and some extra Roasts, but that's all I can think of. The operating costs for a game like that have got to be in the low-six figures at best.

[davearm2]

No idea and no idea.

If you have no idea, then how are you coming up with your figures?

 

Like I said several times, spitballing. I'm just guessing.

Spitball for me how many beers you think they sell at a Cardinals game.

 

42,000

42,000 beers

x $5 margin

x 9 postseason games

================

$1.9 million

[jersey cubs fan]

Good point about the halftime show; I forgot about that. Like I said, I'm just assuming that the cost for things like maintenance and groundskeeping and security and supplies (hell maybe city costs like fees and [expletive]; I have no idea) goes way up when you're hosting something that "big." Like in that "we need to go out of our way to cover our asses" sort of way. I could easily be wrong; that's just hoe I've always assumed it went down.

 

I'm sure they bring in extra security and some extra Roasts, but that's all I can think of. The operating costs for a game like that have got to be in the low-six figures at best.

 

I'm with Kyle on this one. The operating costs of running a stadium for a year are big, but simply adding playoff/world series games to the calender does not add that much cost.