Average operating costs of a team?

This has always been one of the great unknowns about MLS. There have been a lot of threads on this over the years. My guess is somewhere around $10 million a year - give or take a couple mill.

One thing you can start with is player salaries, and often the lease arrangements are known. Salaries are $1.75 million per team and leases vary. I think the Metros pay the most - $100,000 per match, or so.

However, there are a host of other items - travel, insurance, front office salaries, fringe benefits, office and pracitce field rents, etc.

 

As they say, if you have to ask, you can't afford it.

 

Ahh, that changes the question a bit, because its not just about decreased operating costs, but about increased revenues as well. The HDC changes the equation in so many ways. First, the team no longer pays rent, but instead is paying off the mortage on the facility. I'm sure there are accountants out there who can describe the corporate tax and ROI advantages.

But even more importantly, AEG gets all sorts of ancilliary revenues - There is a really nice AEG-owned gift shop next to the entrance. AEG also gets all (or most) of the parking revenues, all the money from beer and hot dogs goes to AEG (BTW, this is a good place to comment on the surprisingly crappy food selection at the HDC), and rental money from other folks who rent out the stadium (concerts, rugby matches, etc).

Then there is the not so small matter of advertisting revenue. Home Depot paid a lot of money for the right for the naming rights - including a huge sign on the 405 directing folks to HDC events. Besides Home Depot, a whole host of other advertisers give their money to AEG first and foremost - not the Rose Bowl Authority.

But I'm not done with the revenues - there are other items like luxury boxes and premium seats and overall higher ticket prices that allow AEG to collect lots more money than ever. (As another side note, Kudos to the Galaxy for scheduling an exhibition against Iran at the Rose Bowl. They know that attendance will probably top 50K, so milk as much ticket money from the endeavor as possible.)

Finally - and this is specific to the HDC - AEG has integrated all sorts of other money-making ventures at the HDC: Olympic training, a major tennis center, Summer training home of the San Diego Chargers. I don't think this can be replicated all around the country, but the HDC is making oodles of cash.

If the Galaxy are "reporting" a profit of $175,000K, my special bat radar tells me that Uncle Phil really pocketed ten times that amount last last year, accounting gimmickery aside.

 

The Galaxy DID/DOES pay rent to AEG. I know it's somewhat silly, but according to the books that's what happened. Also, AEG netted those additionally revenues delineated above, not the Galaxy. So Revolt is wrong: AEG prolly netted about 30-40 times the $175K.

Just my 2 pesos...

 

And the luxury boxes and club seats are leased from Home Depot Center, not L.A. Galaxy. All that revenue goes to AEG, but not to LAG.

 

Excellent points above about the LAG-AEG split. This is one of those BIG things that makes me laugh when I read that MLS has lost hundreds of millions of dollars since inception.

Anyways, this was in today's Wash Post:

"United would like its own stadium to improve game-day atmosphere, create a demand for tickets and have more control over revenues. Under its current agreement with the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, United pays between $65,000 and $70,000 per game for use of RFK and receives only a portion of concession and parking revenue."

 

So, here's a question for those in the know. When DCU shells out $70K for a match, what do they get for that? I mean does DCU also have to pay for security, ticket takers, concessions, electricity, etc - all of the things and people needed to pull off the event? TIA.