The Dodgers earned $119.74M in revenue during the first six months of this year, according to documents filed Friday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, a sum that is well below what the club generated in the prior two calendar years. If the current pace of revenue earning is maintained, the club would end '11 with $239.48M, 9.6% below the $265.04M listed for '10, and 15% below the $281.8M listed for '09. That pace, however, is unlikely to hold up as MLB teams typically take in the bulk of their revenue, particularly from advance ticket sales, media rights and sponsorship fees, early in the year. In addition, Dodger Stadium attendance continues to fall off sharply this season as the team has languished on the field and fans have grown more upset with Owner Frank McCourt. Additionally, the latest batch of filings from the club showed it still owes severance payments of $1.025M to former Exec VP/Communications Charles Steinberg and $254,803 to former President Dennis Mannion. The Dodgers are seeking to withhold the severance pay of Steinberg until they investigate whether he "took any actions while an MLB employee that were adverse" to the club. Steinberg now is a Senior Public Affairs Advisor to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. The Dodgers said they have paid $324,946 to Kroll Associates Inc., the N.Y. consulting firm chaired by former LAPD and NYPD chief William Bratton and hired to develop a security plan for the Dodger Stadium property following the April beating of Giants fan Bryan Stow (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).
TRYING TO LIMIT THE DAMAGE: In L.A., Kim & Mather reported attorneys for the Dodgers and McCourt "have asked a judge not to allow" Stow's children to "sue over their father's injuries." The attorneys also asked that "references to drinking at the stadium and to McCourt's wealth be thrown out, saying they were irrelevant to the case." McCourt's legal team also "wants descriptions of the March 31 beating as 'brutal and vicious' removed." The lawyers are "trying to significantly reduce the scope of the lawsuit." The Stow family "sued McCourt and 13 other Dodger-related entities in May alleging that security cutbacks, free-flowing alcohol and antiquated facilities -- such as outdated light fixtures in the parking lot -- contributed to the beating" (L.A. TIMES, 8/13).
LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE: Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, when asked how he sees the team's ownership situation playing out, said, "I don't have any idea. I don't even have an idea what tomorrow will bring." He added, "There's a lot of dynamics that are going to have an impact on us one way or another." When asked if getting free agents to come to the Dodgers would be more difficult this offseason, he said, "I'm sure agents will use it as a way to increase the free-agent spending. 'You know, we're a little apprehensive about coming out there.' Nobody should be apprehensive about becoming a Dodger or coming to this city" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 8/14).
