Packers President Bob Harlan said that the team faces
the "prospect of folding" if it can't generate revenues to
compete financially in the NFL, according to Content & Perry
of the Green Bay PRESS-GAZETTE. Harlan said at a news
conference in which he presented a study on the team's
economic impact on Brown County, "The future's very, very
bleak. There's no doubt about it. The way things are going
right now, ... I would say in eight years, the franchise is
in dire trouble." The study showed the Packers' direct
economic impact to be $90M per year, with the "total
economic influence pegged at" $144M. Harlan said the team
will use the data to try and educate WI residents "before a
referendum on some form of taxation" that will help fund
either a new stadium or Lambeau Field renovations. The team
will announce its stadium financing plans "by the end of the
month." Harlan: "Basically what we are trying to do now is
tell a story about what the Green Bay Packers are doing ...
and where we are headed. ... [By 2003 or 2004] we will have
sunk to the bottom of the league, and the chances of escape
are very slim" (Green Bay PRESS-GAZETTE, 1/11).
INSIDE THE NUMBERS OF THE STUDY: The study showed that
the team generates $144M in total spending and $9.6M in tax
revenue for local and state government every year. The
economic impact study was conducted by
PricewaterhouseCoopers and CSL Int'l. It showed that about
1,620 full- and part-time jobs are generated by the
franchise. The Packers commissioned the study "with help
from" the Green Bay Area Visitor & Convention Bureau and
Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. Researchers questioned
"more than 560 Packers fans by telephone," trying to discern
information about fans' "spending patterns." Six hundred
fans were also surveyed "before and after" Packers' home
games, 20% of whom were not from WI (PRESS-GAZETTE, 1/10).
