Feeling Hot: Braves' Owner Reports $23M In Cash Flow In '07

Filing Shows Braves Generated $23M In Cash Flow Last Season

An SEC filing shows Braves owner Liberty Media in '07 "generated $23[M] in cash flow, a key measure of financial performance," according to Tim Tucker of the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION. Liberty said that the team "generated revenue of $159[M] and operating cash flow of $38[M] from mid-May," '07 when they acquired the team, through the end of the year, and noted that the Braves' cash flow "was greater for that period than for the full year." Braves Chair Terry McGuirk, who was unavailable for comment yesterday, said in an interview after last season that '07 was a "better year than we had budgeted, attributing that largely to an attendance increase of almost 200,000." McGuirk also said that the Braves would "spend 'many millions more' on players for 2008." The Braves started '07 with an $81M payroll and are projected to start '08 "with a payroll slightly above $90[M]." Liberty did not reveal the Braves' net profit, which "would be smaller than operating cash flow," and declined further comment on the team's financial performance (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/4).