Pacers' Revenue Boost Under New CBA Likely Not Enough For Team To Turn Profit

The NBA's most recent CBA will "dramatically boost the amount of money the Indiana Pacers get from the league, but it won't be enough to put the team in the black," according to Anthony Schoettle of the INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL. The Pacers are projected to receive about $20M from shared league revenue this year, "four times the amount the team received under the old arrangement." Recent estimates by Forbes magazine state that the new contribution from the league "accounts for about 20 percent of the team's annual revenue." Forbes also stated that the team has "lost money each of the last six years." Forbes estimates that the Pacers during last two full seasons "lost a combined $32.6 million." During the lockout-shortened '11-12 season, the Pacers "lost $10.5 million." Team execs have said that those estimates "are low, that losses for a recent single season have been as high as $30 million." Schoettle writes it is not clear how the additional cash "will affect negotiations with the Capital Improvement Board, the public entity that owns the city's sports and convention facilities." League sources said that the Pacers will not be profitable but "they'll be close to covering basketball operating expenses, which doesn't include the cost" of operating Bankers Life Fieldhouse. SportsCorp President Marc Ganis said, "This deal may help (the Pacers) be more competitive and financially sustainable, but only with excellent management. With this new deal, the best-case scenario is break-even" (INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 11/26 issue).