The Lightning are "eliminating 30 positions throughout the organization," according to Eduardo Encina of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. The position eliminations are "effective immediately." There were "no furloughs or pay cuts." The Lightning "endured significant losses" in '19-20, despite winning the Stanley Cup, and "expect to do so again this upcoming season." The cuts "eliminate just under" 10% of the full-time workforce of Vinik Sports Group. There are "no plans for any further cuts" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 11/17). In Tampa, Ashley Gurbal Kritzer reported every position "will receive a severance package, including access to their health insurance through COBRA." Vinik Sports Group has been "without ticket revenues since March 11." The news comes days after Strategic Property Partners, the development company controlled by Lightning Owner Jeff Vinik, said that it was "reshuffling its workforce and eliminating a 'limited' number of positions." SPP said that those positions "were not tied to financial losses," and were instead the result of the "evolution of Water Street Tampa's first phase" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 11/16). The AP wrote the cuts are "a sign that even winning a championship does not spare a team from the effects of the coronavirus" (AP, 11/16).
