CBA:

Last week we took a look at the debate over how the NHL defines revenues, especially when it came to the numbers used for the Levitt Report. This week we look at a different set of financial numbers for the same season analyzed by Levitt.

These numbers comes from Forbes Magazine, which provides annual financial numbers on each NHL team. A couple of notes. Remember that Levitt and the NHL make a distinction between hockey related and non-hockey related revenue and expenses. Forbes does not note any such distinction. Also, Levitt provides a much more detailed breakdown of the various categories.

NHL teams have disputed the numbers from Forbes. In 2001-02, for example, Forbes reported the Los Angeles Kings had a profit of $7 million dollars. The Kings publicly disputed the report, saying the team had actually $6.5 million.

The Kings opened their books to a fan who happened to be a financial expert. The fan backed the Kings' claim and said it was even worse when you threw in interest payments and deferred compensation.

The question is whether that fan and financial expert was given access to just the hockey related revenues and expenses or the entire picture of the Kings' finances?

In fact, Los Angeles was one of the teams that the NHLPA examined a few years back. The union claimed to have found revenues that were not reported in the team's Unified Report of Operations. Those were the so-called non-hockey revenues.

Something that gives the Forbes numbers some credibility is the case of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2002-03. Team chairman Ed Snider said the Flyers were one of the 19 teams the Levitt report said lost money that season based on hockey related revenues and expenses. But the team president said when all financial factors were taken into account, the team did not lose money. According to the Forbes numbers for 2002-03, the Flyers did turn a profit.

Here's a look at what Forbes reported on combined revenues and expenses of the 30 NHL teams for 2002-03 and what the Levitt Report found in its study that was released earlier this year.

Revenues		Levitt	Forbes
	Gate Revenue	$1.047 billion	$965 million
	Other Revenue	$949 million	$1.129 billion
Total Revenues		$1.996 billion	$2.094 billion

Expenses		Levitt	Forbes
	Player Expenses	$1.494 billion	$1.389 billion
	Other Expenses	$775 million	$829 million
Total Expenses		$2.269 billion	$2.218 billion

NHL Operating Income		Levitt	Forbes
		-$273 million	-$124 million

There are some big differences in the numbers. The biggest is in revenues. The Forbes figures, which probably include all revenues and not just hockey revenues, are $98 million higher. The Levitt expense numbers are $51 million million higher. Add the two together and you get the $149 million difference in what the two studies say the 30 teams lost in 2002-03.

Here is what Forbes reported for each individual team. Individual team information was not released in the Levitt Report. Teams are ranked based on total revenues.

**(Source: Forbes Magazine/Figures in Millions of Dollars)**
Team	Gate Revenue	Other Revenue	Total Revenue	Player Expenses	Other	Total Costs	Operating Income
New York Rangers	42	71	113	79	40.9	119.9	-6.9
Dallas Stars	56	52	108	68	34.4	102.4	5.6
Toronto Maple Leafs	49	56	105	62	29.2	91.2	13.8
Philadelphia Flyers	55	46	101	62	35.5	97.5	3.5
Detroit Red Wings	42	47	89	70	32.7	102.7	-13.7
Colorado Avalanche	52	36	88	65	26.9	91.9	-3.9
Boston Bruins	36	48	84	43	38.2	81.2	2.8
Chicago Blackhawks	24	50	74	45	28.0	73.0	1.0
Los Angeles Kings	32	46	78	46	30.4	76.4	1.6
Montreal Canadiens	27	44	71	50	26.4	76.4	-5.4
Minnesota Wild	39	40	79	28	30.9	58.9	20.1
New York Islanders	23	33	56	44	22.9	66.9	-10.9
St Louis Blues	32	35	67	68	28.4	96.4	-29.4
New Jersey Devils	45	28	73	58	24.4	82.4	-9.4
Columbus Blue Jackets	32	34	66	33	29.4	62.4	3.6
San Jose Sharks	30	35	65	47	26.6	73.6	-8.6
Tampa Bay Lightning	22	43	65	33	32.7	65.7	-0.7
Washington Capitals	30	32	62	54	29.0	83.0	-21.0
Vancouver Canucks	55	11	66	38	27.3	65.3	0.7
Phoenix Coyotes	20	23	43	45	19.1	64.1	-21.1
Ottawa Senators	24	35	59	35	26.0	61.0	-2.0
Pittsburgh Penguins	28	29	57	32	20.5	52.5	4.5
Florida Panthers	19	38	57	32	34.2	66.2	-9.2
Anaheim Mighty Ducks	27	32	59	46	23.8	69.8	-10.8
Atlanta Thrashers	23	34	57	32	25.9	57.9	-0.9
Carolina Hurricanes	20	37	57	40	30.0	70.0	-13.0
Nashville Predators	19	27	46	30	18.8	48.8	-2.8
Calgary Flames	19	32	51	37	19.8	56.8	-5.8
Buffalo Sabres	20	30	50	33	22.3	55.3	-5.3
Edmonton Oilers	23	25	48	34	14.1	48.1	-0.1
Totals	965	1,129	2,094	1,389	828.7	2,217.7	-123.7

Forbes found that 20 teams lost money in 2002-03, while Levitt found that 19 teams did. The difference was the amount of losses. Levitt said four teams lost $30 million or more, but on the Forbes list the biggest loser was St. Louis at $29.4 million.

NHL Team Losses

Amount	Levitt	Forbes
$30 million or more	4	0
$20 million to $29.9 million	2	3
$10 million to $19.9 million	6	4
$5 million to $ 9.9 million	6	7
Less than $5 million	1	6

NHL Team Profits

Amount	Levitt	Forbes
$20 million or more	0	1
$10 million to $19.9 million	2	1
$5 million to $ 9.9 million	4	1
Less than $5 million	5	7

CBA: A different set of numbers

Sunday, August 01, 2004