Operator cites RBC red ink

[nccanes]

Please, please, please - economy pick up and Canes have a great season!!!!!


Operator cites RBC red ink
Gale Force puts its losses at $13.9 million in 3 years

By J. ANDREW CURLISS, Staff Writer


RALEIGH -- The private company that runs the RBC Center says it lost $13.9 million in three years of staging NHL hockey, N.C. State University basketball, concerts and other events at the West Raleigh arena, according to records being released for the first time.
Gale Force Sports and Entertainment expects to lose another $2.2 million in the fiscal year that ends June 30.

Although taxpayers paid most of the arena's $167 million construction cost, they are not on the hook for those operating losses.

Instead, Gale Force Sports and Entertainment -- which is run by the Carolina Hurricanes and the hockey team's parent company, Gale Force Holdings -- agreed to absorb the losses as part of its 1999 lease with the arena's owner, the Centennial Authority, a 19-member board appointed by Raleigh, Wake County and the state.

But the public is feeling the arena money crunch in such ways as the increased price of parking and food, the handling of maintenance spending and the push for more advertising inside and outside the arena. Gale Force also has sought more high-priced and profitable concerts recently, bringing in Jimmy Buffett, Paul McCartney, Luciano Pavarotti and others.

Gale Force's chief financial officer, Michael J. Amendola, said the company did not expect to lose money running the arena and had predicted that it would break even or make money on it by now. He said the hope now is that it can break even by 2005.

The company's losses also compound the financial problems of the Hurricanes, who have lost money every year since moving to North Carolina from Hartford, Conn., in 1997. That's because the companies are so intertwined: They are all owned by Compuware software company executive Peter Karmanos and a partner, Thomas Thewes.

Amendola said the hockey club is losing in the range of $10 million to $15 million a year and has lost more than $100 million in North Carolina.

"It can't go on forever," Amendola said this week. "No matter how rich an owner you've got, this is a lot of money for anybody. ... It's safe to say we are not where we want to be at all."

Amendola said Gale Force is pinning its hopes for a financial turnaround on a new collective bargaining agreement between National Hockey League owners and players. Owners hope to limit player salaries, but players oppose a salary cap.

The current labor agreement expires in September 2004.

Bill Mullins, chairman of the Centennial Authority's finance committee, said Thursday that authority members are closely watching Gale Force's finances.

"We view it with concern," said Mullins, who co-owns a Raleigh real estate investment and management firm. "There is no question that down the road, if the losses continue, there's going to be some kind of change."

Asked what he meant, Mullins said: "I suppose the Hurricanes could leave the building."

As a result, Mullins said, the authority is doing what it can to help Gale Force make more money at the arena.

Officials are looking at erecting an advertising marquee along Wade Avenue. This month, the authority approved plans to install a lighted advertising board rimming the inside of the arena. As part of the naming-rights deal with RBC Centura bank, Gale Force received $1.1 million for maintenance over five years.

The arena losses are not unusual, sports business experts say.

The Smith Center at UNC-Chapel Hill lost $1.1 million last fiscal year. The Greensboro Coliseum lost about $1.5 million last fiscal year and $2 million the year before. Charlotte's arena lost about $825,000 last fiscal year.

In those cases, though, taxpayers pick up the tab.

Gale Force has control of the RBC Center for at least the next 20 years, in a lease it signed to control scheduling power and create streams of income other than the hockey club's ticket sales and television revenue.

In exchange, Gale Force pays the Centennial Authority $2.7 million a year in rent. In turn, the authority sends $1.8 million to Raleigh and Wake County as a fee in lieu of property taxes.

"This kind of arrangement, for the taxpayer, is virtually unheard of," Mullins said.

The lease lets Gale Force ask the authority to skip its rent, but Mullins said forgiving rent has not been discussed in depth.

The authority, however, is trimming its spending in case times get worse, he said. It is without an executive director, for example, and doesn't plan to hire one, saving the $120,000-plus annual salary.

Gale Force had said for years that the RBC Center was not profitable, but officials wouldn't disclose a breakdown of expenses and revenue.

The News & Observer filed a lawsuit last year seeking the information. The lawsuit was settled this month and the records released this week.

The financial statements list nine sources of income for the arena and 21 categories of expenses. Gale Force does not provide the authority a more detailed breakdown of the spending, though Mullins said he has visited the Gale Force office to inspect the books.

"There were no questions in my mind about what they are showing," he said.

The broad breakdown shows that the arena makes a profit on the $7-per-car parking at the RBC Center and also on concessions. The parking price has increased from $6 since the building opened, and concession prices also have risen. Last fiscal year, buoyed by the Canes' run to the Stanley Cup finals, the profit on food and beverages was $2.4 million. The year before, it was $1.4 million.

Gale Force also posted a $300,000 profit in 2001-02 on merchandise sales, its first on such items.

But those profits, plus sales of advertising and luxury suites and rentals to singers, the circus and ice shows, do not cover the bills.

Gale Force listed $1.8 million in expenses on administration and accounting in each of the past three years. It also spent nearly $3 million last year on "event services" and "event expenses" and another $2.9 million on utilities and other facility costs.

Jeffrey Citron, a Toronto lawyer who is an expert on the business of hockey, said it's hard to evaluate Gale Force's management by looking at such broad categories. "You would have to see more to make a better judgment as to those operating losses," he said.

But, he said, there are plenty of hockey markets where teams and arenas can't make a profit.

[Stormbringer]

:eek: Holy crap...I knew Gale Force was losing money, but not to the point where the possibility of the Canes leaving Raleigh was already a possibility. I definitely don't place the blame of the losses on lack of fans/attendance, because supposedly average attendance was a little higher this season. If anything, it's just further proof of how damaging the HORRIBLE economy since 9/11 has been and still is. :crazy:

[nccanes]

:eek: Holy crap...I knew Gale Force was losing money, but not to the point where the possibility of the Canes leaving Raleigh was already a possibility. I definitely don't place the blame of the losses on lack of fans/attendance, because supposedly average attendance was a little higher this season. If anything, it's just further proof of how damaging the HORRIBLE economy since 9/11 has been and still is.

Well, I'm not really worrying - yet. Since this is the first article in the post-open-the-books-lawsuit, I presume some of these quotes are posturing. Mullins is from the Centennial Authority, so it's not like someone from Gale Force/Hurricanes is saying that.

[tommy]

"We view it with concern," said Mullins, who co-owns a Raleigh real estate investment and management firm. "There is no question that down the road, if the losses continue, there's going to be some kind of change."

Asked what he meant, Mullins said: "I suppose the Hurricanes could leave the building."

You've gotta be s***ting me!!! The Canes and/or the economy are gonna have to kick it up a notch soon! That's really distressing.

[Jeff O Rocks]

OMG..the Canes can NEVER leave Raleigh!! What would we all do?? We can barely stand it during the off season!! :sad: The arena needs more concerts....there is really nothing planned the entire summer, except the American Idol tour, which is a sell-out! :roll:

[caniac369]

I can't believe they aren't turning a profit with the concerts they've been having. I've been to two this past spring- George Strait and Tim McGraw. Our tickets for Tim McGraw alone were, including services charges, $74! I have noticed that tickets for concerts, etc. at the RBC are generally more expensive than at Alltel Pavillion, and those tickets even include a parking fee ($3 a ticket I think).

[Jeff O Rocks]

I don't get it...I buy enough stuff at The Eye to keep the team afloat!! :D ;)

[1Irbegirlforever]

OH MY GOODNESS...if we were to ever lose the Canes to another city or another state....i don't think i could take that... :sad: Surely it sounds worse than it really is....

[Shell]

'We draw well for what we do'
Arena finds big ticket sales, success in Southwest Florida
By JULIAN BENBOW, benbow@naplesnews.com
July 19, 2004

When it first opened its doors six years ago as Everblades Arena, it was big news for an area that's a good road trip away from the other entertainment hot spots in Southwest Florida.

When the Florida Everblades packed that arena with 222,978 people in its first season, it was good news for KTB Sports, the triumvirate that owns the hockey team and the arena.

But when the team drew as many fans for the next five seasons, even team president and general manager Craig Brush began to think of the overwhelming sales as "old news."

Despite success at the ticket booth in the six years since he and his business partners opened the arena, Brush is tight-lipped about the day-to-day operations of the $25 million sports and entertainment center. He won't talk about the staff shakeups in the past year, changes in the corporate structure at KTB Sports or his business ties to a hockey team in North Carolina that may be causing him financial headaches. Though arena managers in other parts of the country speculate that he's turning a profit in Estero, Brush won't comment on the financial status of his business since it opened.

"Just like any private business," Brush said, "we just don't."

Instead, Brush will point to the attendance figures — not just the ECHL-leading 2.9 million fans in the past four seasons, but the 514,905 tickets sold in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003. Ticket manager Sammy Wallace said he expects to see a 20 percent increase this year in ticket sales for all events at the newly renamed Germain Arena.

"We draw well for what we do," Wallace said.

What he couldn't say was how well they do in dollar amounts.

Wallace, like Brush, will show you the arena's calendar and the 100 or so dates it has marked off. He can tell you about the Everblades' 38 hockey games, the Florida Firecats' eight arena football dates and the 28 openings that Florida's National Basketball Developmental League team will add to his schedule this year.

He can tell you that for its size, the 7,082-seat venue has been one of the top draws in the country for special shows like Yanni, Cher and "Stars on Ice." Wallace just can't put a dollar sign on what those ticket sales mean.

"I don't really know enough," he said.

Other arena employees, such as vice president Steve St. John, are just as quiet, and former employees contacted for this story said they are muzzled by confidentiality agreements.

Most arenas across the country rarely make money, said Jonathan Seals, who runs the Nutter Center, a 9,950-seat arena in Dayton, Ohio.

"We don't do too well," he said of his arena, which he says gets most of its revenue from parking, food and beverages during Wright State University and Dayton Bombers hockey games, or from its shows and concerts.

Still, officials across the ECHL say they think Brush may be turning a profit in Estero. It's his business ties to a hockey team in North Carolina that may have him more concerned. According to an audit completed earlier this year, Gale Force Holdings, the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes and parent company of KTB Sports, has lost more than $13 million since 1999.

Behind the books
The only people who can talk about the financial status of the local arena besides Craig Brush are a couple of businessmen in Michigan.

Peter Karmanos Jr. and Thomas Thewes, corporate executives for software giant Compuware Inc., which trades on Nasdaq under the symbol CPWR, make up the other two-thirds of KTB Sports. They also are the two principals of Gale Force Holdings.

Neither could be reached for this story.

Gale Force has tried to keep its books closed to the public in Raleigh, N.C., too.

The difference, though, is that Karmanos and Thewes didn't own the building the Hurricanes played in. While Gale Force pumped $36 million into the construction of the RBC Center, the rest of the money for the $158 million center the company leases came from the tax dollars of North Carolina residents.

Gale Force leases the 20,000-seat venue from the Centennial Authority, the government-appointed volunteer board that monitors the arena for taxpayers. The authority can demand to see financial records from Gale Force at any time. A year ago, the authority did just that, meeting with Gale Force briefly to go over its financial status for the arena.

But the authority wasn't satisfied with the information it received and in November it hired Ernst & Young to audit Gale Force's financial records to "make sure Gale Force was meeting their contractual obligations," said Cam Frazier, the authority's chief financial officer.

He said authority members were not allowed to take any copies of the financial statements out of the meeting room when they sat down with Gale Force a year ago.

Their problem, Frazier said, was that no one from the authority could fully understand the records. So that's why they turned to Ernst & Young.

Frazier said Gale Force combined its financial statements with those of the arena, but the authority needed to see the two separately.

"They gave us consolidated reports," Frazier said. "I'm not an expert on NHL operations and hockey operations. I didn't know what I was looking at."

As Ernst & Young reviewed Gale Force's reports, The Raleigh News & Observer, a regional newspaper in North Carolina, went to great lengths to make the financial statements public information, filing a lawsuit in August 2003 before being able to report that the company lost $13.9 million in the three years it operated the RBC Center from 1999 to 2002.

When the Ernst & Young finished its assessment in March, Clyde Holt, attorney for the Centennial Authority, said Gale Force was in compliance.

"Gale Force at all times makes its financial records available to us for inspection by the Centennial Authority," Holt said in a written statement. "Gale Force is sensitive about the distribution of trade information that could place the organization at a competitive disadvantage with private entities, as it has every right to be."

Bill Mullins, the Centennial Authority's assistant treasurer, said communication with the company "really has improved dramatically" in the past three months.

Frazier said he thought Gale Force got a "bum wrap" as local media asked questions about the company's book-keeping habits.

"As a public reporter it does raise eyebrows," he said. "But it's proprietary. They are a private entity. I don't believe there are any public filing obligations."

Peas in a pod
As a division of Gale Force Holdings, KTB Sports has mimicked the business history of its parent company in many ways.

Both began as corporations.

KTB started out in 1997 as KTB Florida Development Corporation before having its certification revoked for failing to turn in an annual report.

Gale Force was formed in 1993 as Gale Force Inc., and then faced a revenue suspension in 1995 after being administratively dissolved in 1994 by the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, state records show.

Kim Brooks, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Revenue, said the revenue suspension was most likely over a certificate of tax liability.

"It's a legal step saying the government is trying to collect from the taxpayer," she said "It's sort of a last resort."

Both companies were also partnerships.

According to state records, KTB Florida Sports Limited Partnership, also formed in 1997, was dissolved in September 2000 for not filing its annual report.

Jay Kasses, director of incorporations for the Florida Department of the State, said its not unusual for companies to stop filing annual reports. Many corporations allow the department to revoke their certifications to avoid paying the $35 fee to withdraw, he said, but that theory applies mostly to smaller companies.

"Thirty-five dollars is nothing to people with that much money," he said. "They own stadiums. Maybe they just lost interest in that company. Maybe they were losing money."

Brush could not be reached to comment on why the partnership was dissolved.

KTB Sports Arena and Gale Force Sports and Entertainment are now both active limited liability companies.

All the changes, said Jim Evers of the Florida Department of Revenue, are for tax reasons.

As a limited liability company, Gale Force and KTB Sports reap the tax benefits of a partnership and get the liability protection of a corporation.

Instead of paying federal corporate taxes, the companies' gross incomes flow down to the partners, called "members," based on their shares in the partnerships. The members then pay their individual income taxes.

Mullins, with the Centennial Authority, said he didn't think there was any question that Gale Force was still operating at a loss.

"The big question," he said, "is what are they going to do now." Because Gale Force has lost so much money for such a long period of time, even other owners across the ECHL say Craig Brush's operation has to be taking a hit.

Carl Scheer owns the ECHL's Charlotte Checkers and says he knows from league meetings and his dealings with Brush that the Everblades are a profitable operation.

"If there's a healthy franchise in the 30-team league, it's the Fort Myers club," Scheer said. "If they're having problems it's at the Carolina level. I know Craig has to deal with that, and that's not pretty."

Scheer said there are struggling GMs in the league, he just doesn't believe Brush is one of them.

"I would swap franchises in a flat second without looking at a balance sheet," he said.

In January 2003, Brush tried to make a swap of his own.

With Everblades attendance for the 2002-2003 season (224,893) down 5.6 percent from 2001-2002 (238,296), Brush approached Lee County manager Donald Stillwell and offered the county his arena.

Stillwell said the pitch was more "exploratory" than anything else. He said he told Brush to come back with some numbers, but he never did.

Stillwell said the deal "never took the next step."

Since then, things have changed in Estero.

The Everblades won the Eastern Conference last season before losing 3-1 to the Idaho Steelheads in the Kelly Cup Finals, the ECHL's version of the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup. During the finals, the team took the ice to sell-out crowds. Fans were quick to snatch up souvenir shirts for a piece of local history.

Still, Everblades attendance has declined each year since it peaked at 255,123 in the 2000-2001 season, according to league attendance figures. While the 223,732 fans that filled the arena this season for the team's playoff run was tops in the ECHL, it was the building's lowest total since it opened.

Changing times
In the past year, Brush's arena has had a few shakeups, from the front office to the front door.

Steve St. John replaced Frank Lapsley as vice president a little more than a year ago, and Sammy Wallace took over as sales manager around the same time.

Two months ago, TECO Energy, the publicly-traded company that agreed to pay $7 million over 20 years to have its name and logo on the building, backed out of that deal and handed the remaining $4.9 million to the Germain family. TECO secured the naming rights in 1999.

Despite cutting ties with Brush's building, TECO still has its name attached to a couple of professional sports franchises.

It is the official energy provider for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League, the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League.

TECO spokesman Lance Horton said the company's decision to drop the arena in Estero had nothing to do with the finances of the arena, or how it's run.

"The arena served us well," Horton said. "We just felt it was time to shift gears."

Brush hasn't made any sales pitches to Lee County lately, Stillwell said.

County Commissioner John Albion doesn't see many options for Brush if he still wants to sell Germain Arena. The county isn't interested, Albion said. He can't think of any buyers in the private sector either.

One option, Albion said, would have been trying to lure the growing Florida Gulf Coast University in Estero into taking over the arena. But two years ago the school built a sports center for its men's and women's basketball teams, Alico Arena, which then snatched the 2003 Lee County high school graduation ceremonies from Brush's building.

"That takes away the most logical possibility," Albion said.

[Shell]

'We draw well for what we do'
Arena finds big ticket sales, success in Southwest Florida
By JULIAN BENBOW, benbow@naplesnews.com
July 19, 2004

When it first opened its doors six years ago as Everblades Arena, it was big news for an area that's a good road trip away from the other entertainment hot spots in Southwest Florida.

When the Florida Everblades packed that arena with 222,978 people in its first season, it was good news for KTB Sports, the triumvirate that owns the hockey team and the arena.

But when the team drew as many fans for the next five seasons, even team president and general manager Craig Brush began to think of the overwhelming sales as "old news."

Despite success at the ticket booth in the six years since he and his business partners opened the arena, Brush is tight-lipped about the day-to-day operations of the $25 million sports and entertainment center. He won't talk about the staff shakeups in the past year, changes in the corporate structure at KTB Sports or his business ties to a hockey team in North Carolina that may be causing him financial headaches. Though arena managers in other parts of the country speculate that he's turning a profit in Estero, Brush won't comment on the financial status of his business since it opened.

"Just like any private business," Brush said, "we just don't."

Instead, Brush will point to the attendance figures — not just the ECHL-leading 2.9 million fans in the past four seasons, but the 514,905 tickets sold in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003. Ticket manager Sammy Wallace said he expects to see a 20 percent increase this year in ticket sales for all events at the newly renamed Germain Arena.

"We draw well for what we do," Wallace said.

What he couldn't say was how well they do in dollar amounts.

Wallace, like Brush, will show you the arena's calendar and the 100 or so dates it has marked off. He can tell you about the Everblades' 38 hockey games, the Florida Firecats' eight arena football dates and the 28 openings that Florida's National Basketball Developmental League team will add to his schedule this year.

He can tell you that for its size, the 7,082-seat venue has been one of the top draws in the country for special shows like Yanni, Cher and "Stars on Ice." Wallace just can't put a dollar sign on what those ticket sales mean.

"I don't really know enough," he said.

Other arena employees, such as vice president Steve St. John, are just as quiet, and former employees contacted for this story said they are muzzled by confidentiality agreements.

Most arenas across the country rarely make money, said Jonathan Seals, who runs the Nutter Center, a 9,950-seat arena in Dayton, Ohio.

"We don't do too well," he said of his arena, which he says gets most of its revenue from parking, food and beverages during Wright State University and Dayton Bombers hockey games, or from its shows and concerts.

Still, officials across the ECHL say they think Brush may be turning a profit in Estero. It's his business ties to a hockey team in North Carolina that may have him more concerned. According to an audit completed earlier this year, Gale Force Holdings, the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes and parent company of KTB Sports, has lost more than $13 million since 1999.

Behind the books
The only people who can talk about the financial status of the local arena besides Craig Brush are a couple of businessmen in Michigan.

Peter Karmanos Jr. and Thomas Thewes, corporate executives for software giant Compuware Inc., which trades on Nasdaq under the symbol CPWR, make up the other two-thirds of KTB Sports. They also are the two principals of Gale Force Holdings.

Neither could be reached for this story.

Gale Force has tried to keep its books closed to the public in Raleigh, N.C., too.

The difference, though, is that Karmanos and Thewes didn't own the building the Hurricanes played in. While Gale Force pumped $36 million into the construction of the RBC Center, the rest of the money for the $158 million center the company leases came from the tax dollars of North Carolina residents.

Gale Force leases the 20,000-seat venue from the Centennial Authority, the government-appointed volunteer board that monitors the arena for taxpayers. The authority can demand to see financial records from Gale Force at any time. A year ago, the authority did just that, meeting with Gale Force briefly to go over its financial status for the arena.

But the authority wasn't satisfied with the information it received and in November it hired Ernst & Young to audit Gale Force's financial records to "make sure Gale Force was meeting their contractual obligations," said Cam Frazier, the authority's chief financial officer.

He said authority members were not allowed to take any copies of the financial statements out of the meeting room when they sat down with Gale Force a year ago.

Their problem, Frazier said, was that no one from the authority could fully understand the records. So that's why they turned to Ernst & Young.

Frazier said Gale Force combined its financial statements with those of the arena, but the authority needed to see the two separately.

"They gave us consolidated reports," Frazier said. "I'm not an expert on NHL operations and hockey operations. I didn't know what I was looking at."

As Ernst & Young reviewed Gale Force's reports, The Raleigh News & Observer, a regional newspaper in North Carolina, went to great lengths to make the financial statements public information, filing a lawsuit in August 2003 before being able to report that the company lost $13.9 million in the three years it operated the RBC Center from 1999 to 2002.

When the Ernst & Young finished its assessment in March, Clyde Holt, attorney for the Centennial Authority, said Gale Force was in compliance.

"Gale Force at all times makes its financial records available to us for inspection by the Centennial Authority," Holt said in a written statement. "Gale Force is sensitive about the distribution of trade information that could place the organization at a competitive disadvantage with private entities, as it has every right to be."

Bill Mullins, the Centennial Authority's assistant treasurer, said communication with the company "really has improved dramatically" in the past three months.

Frazier said he thought Gale Force got a "bum wrap" as local media asked questions about the company's book-keeping habits.

"As a public reporter it does raise eyebrows," he said. "But it's proprietary. They are a private entity. I don't believe there are any public filing obligations."

Peas in a pod
As a division of Gale Force Holdings, KTB Sports has mimicked the business history of its parent company in many ways.

Both began as corporations.

KTB started out in 1997 as KTB Florida Development Corporation before having its certification revoked for failing to turn in an annual report.

Gale Force was formed in 1993 as Gale Force Inc., and then faced a revenue suspension in 1995 after being administratively dissolved in 1994 by the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, state records show.

Kim Brooks, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Revenue, said the revenue suspension was most likely over a certificate of tax liability.

"It's a legal step saying the government is trying to collect from the taxpayer," she said "It's sort of a last resort."

Both companies were also partnerships.

According to state records, KTB Florida Sports Limited Partnership, also formed in 1997, was dissolved in September 2000 for not filing its annual report.

Jay Kasses, director of incorporations for the Florida Department of the State, said its not unusual for companies to stop filing annual reports. Many corporations allow the department to revoke their certifications to avoid paying the $35 fee to withdraw, he said, but that theory applies mostly to smaller companies.

"Thirty-five dollars is nothing to people with that much money," he said. "They own stadiums. Maybe they just lost interest in that company. Maybe they were losing money."

Brush could not be reached to comment on why the partnership was dissolved.

KTB Sports Arena and Gale Force Sports and Entertainment are now both active limited liability companies.

All the changes, said Jim Evers of the Florida Department of Revenue, are for tax reasons.

As a limited liability company, Gale Force and KTB Sports reap the tax benefits of a partnership and get the liability protection of a corporation.

Instead of paying federal corporate taxes, the companies' gross incomes flow down to the partners, called "members," based on their shares in the partnerships. The members then pay their individual income taxes.

Mullins, with the Centennial Authority, said he didn't think there was any question that Gale Force was still operating at a loss.

"The big question," he said, "is what are they going to do now." Because Gale Force has lost so much money for such a long period of time, even other owners across the ECHL say Craig Brush's operation has to be taking a hit.

Carl Scheer owns the ECHL's Charlotte Checkers and says he knows from league meetings and his dealings with Brush that the Everblades are a profitable operation.

"If there's a healthy franchise in the 30-team league, it's the Fort Myers club," Scheer said. "If they're having problems it's at the Carolina level. I know Craig has to deal with that, and that's not pretty."

Scheer said there are struggling GMs in the league, he just doesn't believe Brush is one of them.

"I would swap franchises in a flat second without looking at a balance sheet," he said.

In January 2003, Brush tried to make a swap of his own.

With Everblades attendance for the 2002-2003 season (224,893) down 5.6 percent from 2001-2002 (238,296), Brush approached Lee County manager Donald Stillwell and offered the county his arena.

Stillwell said the pitch was more "exploratory" than anything else. He said he told Brush to come back with some numbers, but he never did.

Stillwell said the deal "never took the next step."

Since then, things have changed in Estero.

The Everblades won the Eastern Conference last season before losing 3-1 to the Idaho Steelheads in the Kelly Cup Finals, the ECHL's version of the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup. During the finals, the team took the ice to sell-out crowds. Fans were quick to snatch up souvenir shirts for a piece of local history.

Still, Everblades attendance has declined each year since it peaked at 255,123 in the 2000-2001 season, according to league attendance figures. While the 223,732 fans that filled the arena this season for the team's playoff run was tops in the ECHL, it was the building's lowest total since it opened.

Changing times
In the past year, Brush's arena has had a few shakeups, from the front office to the front door.

Steve St. John replaced Frank Lapsley as vice president a little more than a year ago, and Sammy Wallace took over as sales manager around the same time.

Two months ago, TECO Energy, the publicly-traded company that agreed to pay $7 million over 20 years to have its name and logo on the building, backed out of that deal and handed the remaining $4.9 million to the Germain family. TECO secured the naming rights in 1999.

Despite cutting ties with Brush's building, TECO still has its name attached to a couple of professional sports franchises.

It is the official energy provider for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League, the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League.

TECO spokesman Lance Horton said the company's decision to drop the arena in Estero had nothing to do with the finances of the arena, or how it's run.

"The arena served us well," Horton said. "We just felt it was time to shift gears."

Brush hasn't made any sales pitches to Lee County lately, Stillwell said.

County Commissioner John Albion doesn't see many options for Brush if he still wants to sell Germain Arena. The county isn't interested, Albion said. He can't think of any buyers in the private sector either.

One option, Albion said, would have been trying to lure the growing Florida Gulf Coast University in Estero into taking over the arena. But two years ago the school built a sports center for its men's and women's basketball teams, Alico Arena, which then snatched the 2003 Lee County high school graduation ceremonies from Brush's building.

"That takes away the most logical possibility," Albion said.

[talkingcanes]

I can't believe they aren't turning a profit with the concerts they've been having. I've been to two this past spring- George Strait and Tim McGraw. Our tickets for Tim McGraw alone were, including services charges, $74! I have noticed that tickets for concerts, etc. at the RBC are generally more expensive than at Alltel Pavillion, and those tickets even include a parking fee ($3 a ticket I think).

I don't know for sure, but I would think Gale Force doesn't get much of the ticket revenues. The entertainers, ticket master, (or whoever sells the tickets), etc. have to get part of that too. Then GFH has to pay the expenses of running the building. It's always been my understanding (and it could be way off) that to keep a building profitable requires that it stay busy. It's not a concert here and there that can keep it afloat. Alltel Pavalion has a much lower overhead than a building.

I think if things don't improve, there will have to be changes, but I'm not going to fret about it just yet.

[talkingcanes]

I can't believe they aren't turning a profit with the concerts they've been having. I've been to two this past spring- George Strait and Tim McGraw. Our tickets for Tim McGraw alone were, including services charges, $74! I have noticed that tickets for concerts, etc. at the RBC are generally more expensive than at Alltel Pavillion, and those tickets even include a parking fee ($3 a ticket I think).

I don't know for sure, but I would think Gale Force doesn't get much of the ticket revenues. The entertainers, ticket master, (or whoever sells the tickets), etc. have to get part of that too. Then GFH has to pay the expenses of running the building. It's always been my understanding (and it could be way off) that to keep a building profitable requires that it stay busy. It's not a concert here and there that can keep it afloat. Alltel Pavalion has a much lower overhead than a building.

I think if things don't improve, there will have to be changes, but I'm not going to fret about it just yet.

[sparkyzsportz]

The venue competition is probably not seen between the RBC and Altell Pavillion, but if you take away the Pavillion, look at how many more concerts you have at the RBC. How many other towns, with large arenas, also sport a top notch outdoor ampitheatre? Granted, the Parrotheads now invade the RBC instead of Altell, but most of the "Headline" concerts take place outdoors during the summer when RBC could be raking them in. I love the Creek just as much as anyone, but I'd rather see hockey. RBC needs to somehow lure the Kenny Chesney's (2 sold out shows this weekend), Alan Jacksons, and so on to the RBC.

sparkyz

[sparkyzsportz]

The venue competition is probably not seen between the RBC and Altell Pavillion, but if you take away the Pavillion, look at how many more concerts you have at the RBC. How many other towns, with large arenas, also sport a top notch outdoor ampitheatre? Granted, the Parrotheads now invade the RBC instead of Altell, but most of the "Headline" concerts take place outdoors during the summer when RBC could be raking them in. I love the Creek just as much as anyone, but I'd rather see hockey. RBC needs to somehow lure the Kenny Chesney's (2 sold out shows this weekend), Alan Jacksons, and so on to the RBC.

sparkyz

[goalie33]

I love the Creek just as much as anyone, but I'd rather see hockey.

So you're saying you hate the Creek?

RBC needs to somehow lure Kenny Chesney to the RBC.

How about we lure him into a bottomless pit instead, and put a country singer in his place?

[goalie33]

I love the Creek just as much as anyone, but I'd rather see hockey.

So you're saying you hate the Creek?

RBC needs to somehow lure Kenny Chesney to the RBC.

How about we lure him into a bottomless pit instead, and put a country singer in his place?

[puck_it]

IMO walnut creek gets the best concerts which leaves the RBC for those who dont want to go outside. Does the Centenial Authority run Carter Finley too?? They could hold concerts there. They have at Keenan before

[puck_it]

IMO walnut creek gets the best concerts which leaves the RBC for those who dont want to go outside. Does the Centenial Authority run Carter Finley too?? They could hold concerts there. They have at Keenan before

[Captain Slack]

They've held concerts at Carter-Finley before. I saw Pink Floyd there back in '88.

[Captain Slack]

They've held concerts at Carter-Finley before. I saw Pink Floyd there back in '88.

[StormShaman]

I love the Creek just as much as anyone, but I'd rather see hockey.

So you're saying you hate the Creek?

Walnut Creek is owned by Clear Channel Communications' entertainment arm--no way would I give them my money.


Except for the $70 I spent when Rush came to town in 03. BECAUSE IT WAS RUSH, DAMMIT!

[StormShaman]

I love the Creek just as much as anyone, but I'd rather see hockey.

So you're saying you hate the Creek?

Walnut Creek is owned by Clear Channel Communications' entertainment arm--no way would I give them my money.


Except for the $70 I spent when Rush came to town in 03. BECAUSE IT WAS RUSH, DAMMIT!

[AbNormal27]

OMG..the Canes can NEVER leave Raleigh!! What would we all do?? We can barely stand it during the off season!! :sad: The arena needs more concerts....there is really nothing planned the entire summer, except the American Idol tour, which is a sell-out! :roll:

Wha? Huh? Wait a minute! When did the re-emergence of JOR happen, Mona?

Aaryn

[AbNormal27]

OMG..the Canes can NEVER leave Raleigh!! What would we all do?? We can barely stand it during the off season!! :sad: The arena needs more concerts....there is really nothing planned the entire summer, except the American Idol tour, which is a sell-out! :roll:

Wha? Huh? Wait a minute! When did the re-emergence of JOR happen, Mona?

Aaryn

[SouthernHockeyChick]

Pssst, Aaryn, that's a post from May 31. Someone just revived this thread. :beatup:

[SouthernHockeyChick]

Pssst, Aaryn, that's a post from May 31. Someone just revived this thread. :beatup:

[AbNormal27]

DOH, my bad. :butt:

Aaryn

[AbNormal27]

DOH, my bad. :butt:

Aaryn