Mariners in financial turmoil

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

In an attempt to dispel rumors and set the record straight on the team's financial position, members of the ownership board for the Yarmouth Mariners are speaking out.

The news is not good.

Several weeks ago the team bought an ad in The Vanguard advising the pubic that the team needs to be supported if it is to remain the community's team and, for that matter, remain in the community at all.

In an interview with The Vanguard, Ray Jacquard, the team's president, and Greg Shay, the team's treasurer and secretary, said they felt the move was necessary to let people know exactly what the situation is.

"It's pretty dire right at the moment," said Shay. "I'm concerned that we're going to make it to Christmas."

The ownership group, which is comprised of a group of local business people, formed at about this time last year when the previous owner found himself extended as far as he could go financially. Shay said they took on the team because they didn't want to see it leave the community.

"(About) a year ago this team was basically headed for financial self destruction," he said. "Last year this was gone, it was toast. And some guys stepped in and we did what we thought we could do to salvage it and keep it here. But it's got to sustain itself."

As the new group has moved forward, they've endeavored to balance the books and make the operation sustainable — not one that will make them a lot of money, but one that will not require them to constantly be writing checks. So far this has been a difficult task for two reasons, said Jacquard. The first is the large debt they inherited from the previous owner. Deals and agreements were made before the local group took on the team and those had to be honoured.

"We basically kind of had to live with them and we struggled with them over the course of the season last year," said Shay.

The other problem is that ticket sales and sponsorship of the team is not where the group hoped it would be or where they need it to be. It costs about $400,000 to run a junior A hockey club — a figure Jacquard said is in line with other teams in the league — and the bulk of that money comes from ticket sales and sponsors. The math is pretty simple: no bums in the seats, no logos on the ice, no money to run the hockey club.

"On the whole, we're going to live and die with the gate receipts and sponsorships," said Shay. "They're going to count for 85-90 per cent of our budget."

"We want to reinforce the fact that we're a community-based team but we certainly need the support of the community to keep the team here and keep the team strong," said Jacquard.

Naturally with talk about financial instability it is easy for fans to look at the team's most recent moves — trading veterans Matt Duff and Steve Pearson — and worry that a fire sale may be about to take place. But Jacquard said that isn't happening. He's said in the past and continues to say that the ownership group leaves the hockey operations of the team to Mark Cole, the team's general manager.

Jacquard said both trades were moves Cole wanted to make because he believed they were in the best interest of the club.

"It's not a situation, certainly by any means, where we told Mark to go out and sell players. And in fact, I only found out about these moves after the fact."

For Cole's part, he is on record as saying that while he wants a competitive team on the ice each season — and that's exactly what the Mariners are this year — he has eyes towards the future and building a program that is sustainable and can win for years to come.

Asked if the process of recouping funds should be expected to take time, Shay said the group was prepared to except that, with some shareholders projecting it would be five years or more before they were able to cover their investment. However because of the financial strain they inherited from the previous owner, Shay said it makes it difficult to carry such a debt load while trying to deal with banks and credit lines.

"We're right now having a problem just balancing this year's operating budget," he said.

To this end, the team is making a public appeal for support. They want people in the seats and the want local businesses supporting the team. They see going to a Mariners game as being the same as shopping at a local business. The benefit for those businesses, said Shay, is the good will that comes from being seen as a sponsor, as well as more advertising than you could generate any other way for the same amount of money.

This idea of support also extends to local government. The team approached the Town of Yarmouth and the municipalities of Yarmouth and Argyle for support in the form of platinum sponsorship.

When the team's request for support from the Town of Yarmouth was turned down, it caused some people to ask questions. From council's perspective, they have a policy that says they don't give money to businesses, which the Mariners are in a sense.

But Jacquard said the request wasn't for a handout or donation. He said he viewed the request as the same as when a special event asks the town for support. The spinoffs the team creates for the community through things such as room nights and food sales, not to mention the rent Mariners Centre receives, should be more than enough to justify an investment of $4,100, the cost of a platinum sponsorship, said Jacquard.

"We're a quasi business," said Shay. "We're not a true business. It's a limited company, that's for sure and there's private shareholders, but the objective is not profit taking. The objective is for the community to have (the team) here."

The Mariners are indeed a local operation in just about every sense of the word. That sentiment even extends to the ice this year with no fewer than five players with ties to the tri-counties. But unless the team sees an increase at the gate in the coming month or two and a renewed interest from area businesses, Jacquard and Shay fear the biggest component of the team being local — it residing in Yarmouth — could soon come to an end.

"We don't have endless pockets," said Shay. "We can't keep bailing this out. It's got to be a community-supported franchise."