By Jimmy Nesbitt, Evansville Courier & Press
Roberts Stadium earned record high revenues in 2006, but its profit margin has steadily decreased since the late 1990s.
"There were a lot of things touring-wise that were just working" in 2006, said Todd Denk, general manager of SMG.
The stadium saw gross revenue of $3,799,667 that year and brought in 118 events, more than double the income in 1996 when it attracted the same number of events, according SMG financial records. The records included information from 1992 through 2006.
But the stadium had a greater profit margin in 1996, when it earned $250,941 compared with $170,776 in 2006.
Why the difference? Part of the reason has to do with the increase in expenses, which, like revenues, have climbed since the early 1990s. Increases in the minimum wage and utilities have driven up the cost to run the stadium, Denk said.
SMG has 36 full-time employees and 300 part-time employees who are shared with all of the facilities that SMG manages - the stadium, Mesker Amphitheatre and The Victory.
But soaring utilities have driven up costs.
Operational repairs to fix flooding, the roof and other parts of the 52-year-old building that have broken down have also drive up costs.
Roberts Stadium amassed a net loss three times during the 15 years, the largest coming in 2003 when it was $103,322 in the red.
What makes a bad or a good year can be somewhat of a crapshoot, depending on what acts are touring or how much money they're demanding, Denk said.
"We've got really good relationships with promoters who come to us pretty consistently," he said. "They're usually pretty open and honest with us."
Consultants studying the stadium have estimated net profit from a new stadium to be $699,000 annually with the biggest operating revenues being ticket sales and rent, concessions, parking and luxury suites. The most profit the stadium has made since 1992 was $557,117 in 1997, when it had an attendance high of 610,204.
One of the criticisms of Roberts from the consultants has been its concourse area, which they say is too small and thus drains revenue potential from concessions.
But concession and catering revenues have increased consistently since the early 1990s reaching $1,194,688 in 2006 compared to $393,711 in 2001. They've increased each of the last five years.
"We do well with concessions," Denk said. "Obviously, there are some obstacles that we have to overcome. We'd really like to be able to prepare (food) fresh in the stands and do things of that nature, but since there's no ventilation system for doing that" we can't.
None of the concession stands have kitchens. Denk says the stadium could make even more money if it had more room for concessions or an expanded kitchen area.
Although it's early, Denk expects 2008 to be a solid year. The stadium has already kicked off a tour for Martina McBride and Kid Rock. Carrie Underwood is scheduled to perform March 26.
"It's looking pretty promising," Denk said.