Of the Braves' $182M in revenue from April-June, $172M came from baseballgetty images
The Braves' financial results for the first three months of the MLB season showed a "modest increase in revenue and a surge in profit," according to Tim Tucker of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. The team posted revenue of $182M for Q2, up from $176M in the same quarter last year. The Braves' quarterly profit after depreciation and amortization was $37M, "up from a loss" of $1M in the corresponding period in '17. Braves owner Liberty Media said the increased profits were "primarily driven by higher revenue and reduced operating expense from lower player salaries due to the acceleration of player salary expense in previous quarters as a result of released and injured players." That is a reference to the combined $37.5M that the Braves are "paying released players" 1B Adrian Gonzalez and P Scott Kazmir this season. Those expenditures were "fully accounted for in previous quarters' financial reports." Of the $182M in revenue during the April-June quarter, Liberty attributed $172M to baseball and $10M to development. The Braves had "three fewer home games" in Q2 of '18 than in the same period last year, and because of that, baseball revenue "decreased slightly," from $173M to $172M. Meanwhile, "average revenue per home game increased" from $4.3M to $4.6M (AJC.com, 8/8). The Braves "still have a lot of debt." Liberty said that debt "attributable to the Braves rose" to $625M from $599M on March 31, 2017 (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/8).
BATTERY AT 90%: In Atlanta, Ben Brasch notes a 140-room hotel is "coming to The Battery." Aloft Hotels, which is owned by W Hotels, is "set to open" in '20. It will join the 264-room Omni hotel that "opened in the shadow" of SunTrust Park in January. The Braves' announcement said that the new Aloft hotel means 90% of The Battery is "leased." Brasch notes there were "always plans to expand" The Battery, including "adding possibly a small grocery store" on the edge of the development (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 8/9).
