Predators Expecting To Report Slight Profit For '08-09 Season

Predators Predict Profit Of $145,000 For '08-09 Season

Predators Owner David Freeman said that the team is "on target to make money for the second straight season," according to John Glennon of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. The Predators are predicting a profit of $145,000 this season, an indication that the franchise, which reported losses of $70M during former Owner Craig Leipold's tenure from '98-'07, is "weathering current economic hardships." The team claims that average paid attendance for home games at Sommet Center is up about 6% over the '07-08 season, "despite the season-ticket base falling from 9,500 to 8,700." In addition, Predators ownership said that sponsorship and suite revenues have increased about 6% from last season. The team declined to present "tangible data to support the increased revenue reports." While team ownership has discussed purchasing tickets at Sommet Center in order to reach the NHL's revenue-sharing benchmark of 14,000 in average paid attendance, Predators President of Business Operations Ed Lang said that the team believes it "will top the 14,000 mark without the owners opening up the wallets." Freeman said, "We're healthy. Even this year, with all the questions about economy and attendance and sponsorships, and our (team's) slide, we're encouraged by our estimates on where we'll end up at the end of the year." Lang said that the Predators "haven't felt the full brunt of the recession yet." Lang: "Have we seen some impact? Sure. Obviously we were hurt by the U.S. industries, their decline. We lost some sponsors with the U.S. autos. But on the other hand, we picked up a new sponsor with Nissan. So we found some new opportunities to offset some opportunities we lost." Lang said that he credits ownership's "local ties with the increase in sponsorship and suite revenues." Lang: "They've been able to introduce us to a lot of new people and a lot of new fans" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 2/3).

SEASON	PLAYER SALARIES	PROFIT	ATTENDANCE
05-06	$31.26M	-$12.22M	12,513
06-07	$39.44M	-$17.0M	13,589
07-08	$32.32M	$1.83M	13,429
08-09	$43.7M	$145,000	N/A