Braves Owner Liberty Media yesterday said that team "revenue dropped" by $10M in Q3 to $109M compared to the same period last year, according to Tim Tucker of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Liberty said that the Braves’ operating profit before depreciation and amortization decreased by $14M in the quarter to $16M. The company attributed the decreases to a "decline in ticket sales and broadcast revenue" as a result of having 35 home games in Q3 compared to 42 in Q3 last year. The Braves' total attendance number in '16 was 2.02 million fans, which was "up very slightly from the year before (2,001,392) but was still the team’s second lowest in 26 years" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 11/9). In Atlanta, Mark Meltzer noted the Braves lost 93 games in '16 after losing 95 in '15, but "finished strong and is expected to be more competitive" in '17, when the club will open up SunTrust Park. Liberty said that as of Sept. 30, approximately $496M had been "spent on the team's new ballpark," of which approximately $373M of funding was provided by Cobb County and related entities and $123M provided by the Braves (BIZJOURNALS.com, 11/8).
