Rider Fans asked to help fund new stadium

[Bomber_fanaddict]

http://cjme.com/story/roughriders-looking-fans-fund-stadium-contribution/343514

 

Looks like the Riders are asking their fans and businesses to help them pay for the stadium that the club said they would pay for.  Sounds like on top of the extra $4 per ticket they are charging they are asking for donations and sponsors to step up.  Would Bomber fans have stepped in and donated even more money if we were asked?  I know I wouldn't have.  On top of what I spend on tickets, getting to the game, merch etc and the rising ticket prices I think that's about as much as I can afford.  The Riders have a huge reserve fund so why not pay for t out of there and then start filling it again?

 

Thoughts?

[The Unknown Poster]

How much is their reserve fund?

I think given how much money taxpayers contributed to the stadium, it would have been pretty ballsy of the Bombers to pass the hat around.

[Guest]

IIRC the Rider have around $40 million tied up in investments and in the reserve fund................. or I could be wrong and maybe I'm thinking about Edmonton ?

 

In either case considering how much money the Riders have been making lately and considering how much public funding is going into their new stadium, I'm actually surprised that they're asking for more help. Then again maybe I shouldn't be.

[Fraser]

didn't they do that already by buying worthless shares?

[17to85]

IIRC the Rider have around $40 million tied up in investments and in the reserve fund................. or I could be wrong and maybe I'm thinking about Edmonton ?

 

In either case considering how much money the Riders have been making lately and considering how much public funding is going into their new stadium, I'm actually surprised that they're asking for more help. Then again maybe I shouldn't be.

Rider fans are blind sheep they'll give them a fancy piece of paper for their money and they'll happily keep shovelling it over. 

[JuranBoldenRules]

They've been begging for private investment in the new stadium for years already.  All they've got so far is some diversion of a hotel tax from the hotel association that amounts to $15 million over 10 years or $10 million over 5 years, something like that, basically a drop in a pail.

 

Much like our stadium, the government will end up paying for it.  They might end up recovering more of that investment than we will, but very similar deals, other than the U of M getting some money from the Feds here to build a new facility to replace Frank Kennedy.

[Tracker]

The reality is that a stadium isn't a concrete bowl with seats any more. Fans of all sports have come to demand bells and whistles which were unthinkable back in the 60's and that costs money. And that doesn't even talk about the need for decent facilities for the players and team staff. You just can't build on the cheap any more, and I can't blame the Roughies for trying new ways to finance the new stadium. Good luck to them.

[mbrg]

And an entire province rushed to return their Pilsner empties...

[Stickem]

Why don't they just market a bunch of cereal flakes with all of their players on the box. Seemed to work before with a couple of former guys on their team. Seriously though, the club should have looked at a cheaper stadium for the green guys.That's the suggestion a lot of their fans had for us. Good luck on the money grab. LOL

[road griller]

I heard they were looking at putting a 30% tax on toothbrushes and toothpaste province wide but figured it would only raise about seven bucks annually. 

 

Looks like they are now thinking of introducing a 5 cent flat fee for kissing your cousin.  With this they may have the entire stadium paid off by Thanksgiving.  

[gbill2004]

I heard they were looking at putting a 30% tax on toothbrushes and toothpaste province wide but figured it would only raise about seven bucks annually.

Looks like they are now thinking of introducing a 5 cent flat fee for kissing your cousin. With this they may have the entire stadium paid off by Thanksgiving.

lmao!!! It's funny cuz it's true!

[iso_55]

They've been begging for private investment in the new stadium for years already.  All they've got so far is some diversion of a hotel tax from the hotel association that amounts to $15 million over 10 years or $10 million over 5 years, something like that, basically a drop in a pail.

 

Much like our stadium, the government will end up paying for it.  They might end up recovering more of that investment than we will, but very similar deals, other than the U of M getting some money from the Feds here to build a new facility to replace Frank Kennedy.

They owe $40 million which is less than half the Bombers debt so the Riders have a much better chance to actually pay the debt off. Maybe the Bombers should have had a surcharge on tickets to help pay down their debt as well. I do happen to think that the Riders wanting fans & companies in Saskatchewan to help raise another $40 million in additional revenues to pay off the Riders stadium debt after their surcharge of $8 rising to $12 per ticket is greedy. If I buy tickets to a Rider game as  a casual fan or season ticket holder then I've done enough. No way I'll give more. I bet a lot of individuals & companies will feel the same in Saskatchewan.

[JuranBoldenRules]

 

They've been begging for private investment in the new stadium for years already.  All they've got so far is some diversion of a hotel tax from the hotel association that amounts to $15 million over 10 years or $10 million over 5 years, something like that, basically a drop in a pail.

 

Much like our stadium, the government will end up paying for it.  They might end up recovering more of that investment than we will, but very similar deals, other than the U of M getting some money from the Feds here to build a new facility to replace Frank Kennedy.

They owe $40 million which is less than half the Bombers debt so the Riders have a much better chance to actually pay the debt off. Maybe the Bombers should have had a surcharge on tickets to help pay down their debt as well. I do happen to think that the Riders wanting fans & companies in Saskatchewan to help raise another $40 million in additional revenues to pay off the Riders stadium debt after their surcharge of $8 rising to $12 per ticket is greedy. If I buy tickets to a Rider game as  a casual fan or season ticket holder then I've done enough. No way I'll give more. I bet a lot of individuals & companies will feel the same in Saskatchewan.

 

 

Plus a $100 million dollar loan taken out by the City of Regina that will be paid through the $12 facility fee on Riders tickets, which would work out to needing to sell about 465,000 give or take a few thousand tickets to events at the stadium to make the yearly payments.  11 Rider games (if they make the playoffs) x 33,000 (assuming they sell out every game for 31 years) leaves them about 100,000 short.  Who knows, maybe they'll draw 3 summer concerts that bring 100,000 into the stadium, every year for 31 years.

 

It's very similar to IGF, just that the city is more involved than the province, but the ability to meet long-term debt obligations as the deal proposes is lacking in both cities.

[BlueBall]

http://cjme.com/story/roughriders-looking-fans-fund-stadium-contribution/343514

 

Looks like the Riders are asking their fans and businesses to help them pay for the stadium that the club said they would pay for.  Sounds like on top of the extra $4 per ticket they are charging they are asking for donations and sponsors to step up.  Would Bomber fans have stepped in and donated even more money if we were asked?  I know I wouldn't have.  On top of what I spend on tickets, getting to the game, merch etc and the rising ticket prices I think that's about as much as I can afford.  The Riders have a huge reserve fund so why not pay for t out of there and then start filling it again?

 

Thoughts?

The Bombers do the same thing. Raise ticket prices every year and charge $20.00 to park for one game (and just wait...that'll go up too!). They just haven't started asking for donations yet. As for selling shares like the Riders, we'll get there too eventually I believe. Once the team has exhausted all other possible ways of generating income via the fans, they'll start selling the imaginary "shares" in the team. The problem in Saskatchewan is that they're planning on building a stadium they have no way of funding without government money. Rumour has it that the team had hired the firm used to build the Dallas Cowboys stadium. That can't be cheap. If that's the way they want to go then reserve or no reserve, they need the taxpayer's $$ just like we did. Now that the hype of a new stadium being built has died down, Rider fans are waking up to the reality that they'll have to pay for most of it. How that new revelation affects the final design/build of their stadium remains to be seen.

[Jacquie]

Maybe the Bombers should have had a surcharge on tickets to help pay down their debt as well.

They already do but it's about half what the Riders will be charging.

[iso_55]

The new program to raise $40 million isn't going over very well on Riderfans. Some fans think the Riders make too much money now as it is & claim they have over $20 million in assets & money in the bank. They want to know what all that $$$ is being used for as it is a community owned team. Others like bigsexydawg (Yep, that's his handle) is very vocal worrying that this will turn into a seat licensing grab by the Riders pushing long term season ticket holders out to be replaced by companies & younger hip fans. Others say that their taxes are high enough so they won't give a penny. Still others are just resigned to paying more for their tickets every year. On the flip side, some Rider fans are all for doing this program if it means their name's on a brick in the new stadium. Most just won't give their $$$ without something tangible in return. I'd say 80/20 against.

[iso_55]

 

Maybe the Bombers should have had a surcharge on tickets to help pay down their debt as well.

They already do but it's about half what the Riders will be charging.

 

I didn't know that there was a surcharge to service the debt on the new stadium tied in with ticket prices.

[Tracker]

 

I heard they were looking at putting a 30% tax on toothbrushes and toothpaste province wide but figured it would only raise about seven bucks annually.

Looks like they are now thinking of introducing a 5 cent flat fee for kissing your cousin. With this they may have the entire stadium paid off by Thanksgiving.

lmao!!! It's funny cuz it's true!

 

Look at the bright side of that- people don't have to go very far for compatible organ donors.