By EDWARD HUSAR
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
The Quincy Gems baseball team made a big leap forward in profitability this season.
Preliminary figures released at Wednesday's Civic Center Authority meeting show the Gems earned at least $50,000 more profit than last year.
Rob Ebbing, who serves as general manager of the Gems and executive director of the Oakley-Lindsay Center, said his latest profit-loss report shows the Gems with a tentative $78,712 profit. However, this doesn't take into account some recent expenses for such things as travel and payroll costs.
"It may drop to $50,000," he said.
Even so, that would be a significant gain over the estimated $6,000 profit recorded last year and the $4,885 profit two years ago.
"That's a great sign, and it's a good trend," said Kevin Curran, chairman of the Civic Center Authority. "We hope it continues."
"This has been a great year -- the best ever, I think," said Hubert Staff, chairman of the authority's Finance Committee.
But Staff cautioned he doesn't want people to think the OLC, which manages the Gems, is now "suddenly wealthy" because of the team's good fortune this past season.
"We've got to remember that we spent more on staff this year to make those results come in," Staff said. "It's still worth it, but it's not all clear profit."
Staff was referring to the addition of Dave Comer, who works full time in sales and marketing for the Gems and the OLC. He spend a great deal of time this past year promoting the Gems and helping at games. The profit-loss statement does not reflect OLC staff time devoted to the Gems.
Nevertheless, the financial turnaround from past years -- when losses exceeded $20,000 in fiscal years 2003 through 2005 -- is an encouraging sign, Ebbing said.
The gain in profitability came on several fronts. For example, a $1 hike in ticket prices generated $18,437 more in gate receipts, box seats and preseason ticket sales, according to an informal ledger sheet distributed at Wednesday's meeting.
The Gems also showed an $18,879 improvement in revenue from advertising and special promotions. Another $11,050 gain came from increased corporate night sponsorships and sign sales, while food profits were up $5,182.
The only declines cited on the ledger sheet were in the areas of beer sales, which dropped $1,824, and merchandise sales, which fell $1,020.
Ebbing said the team benefited by having 27 home games this past season, which is three more than last year and four more than in 2006. More home games translate into more profits, he said. The team also benefited from generally good weather, which contributed to strong attendance.
Ebbing told members of the Civic Center Authority he transferred $60,000 in Gems revenue to the OLC in the past month, which helped ease a cash flow problem the center has been facing.
Ebbing said the OLC is still "not totally in the clear" with its cash flow, but the situation is better. "Looking at the budget, we still feel comfortable that the income is going to come. It's just a matter of when it comes," he said.
Also at Wednesday's meeting, Staff commented on a story in Sunday's Quincy Herald-Whig regarding efforts to secure funding to cover the cost for the Early Tin Dusters to use the OLC during the club's annual Street Rod Color Run and Show in October.
Staff said that because the event has such a major impact on the local hotel industry, which produces funding for the OLC through the hotel-motel tax, the OLC should "guarantee" that the costs for the OLC rental will be fully covered even if the Quincy Convention and Visitors Bureau can't provide the $3,644 in assistance it provided last year because of budgetary constraints. Ebbing said he is already trying to seek some donations to help fill the gap.
Ebbing reported that an insurance settlement will cover the $50,865 cost to replace the north half of the roof over the OLC's exhibition hall. The rubberized roof system was damaged during a windstorm in May.
-- ehusar@whig.com/221-3378
