Interesting Q&A on Isles Finances from NY Times

Jeff Z Klein has a blog post on the effects on the Isles finances from the Brooklyn move.

You can find the entire post here: http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/25/islanders-brooklyn-move-raises-complex-issues/

Here's a particularly interesting set of numbers:

<<Q. Why would the Islanders move from the Coliseum, where they are tenants, to Barclays, where they will still be tenants?

A. The short answer: $35 million in extra revenue per year. That goes a long way toward wiping out the club's current operating deficit, estimated at $8 million per year.

The main benefit in this move "is not in the increased revenue the Isles will get from the average fan; it's in the huge increase they'll get from selling luxury suites and premium club seats," said Tony Knopp, chief executive officer of Spotlight TMS, a company that manages corporate tickets at Barclays Center and other sites around the country.

The Coliseum, built in 1972 and barely renovated since, has 31 luxury suites and a relatively small number of high-priced premium seats. Knopp estimates that the suites generate about $3 million a year and the premium seats about $16 million.

Barclays Center, which is far more geographically convenient to corporate customers than the Coliseum, has 104 luxury suites. Knopp estimated that those suites would generate about $21 million for the Islanders, while premium seating would generate an additional $33 million. That comes to $54 million from suites and premium seats — $35 million more per year than what the Islanders generate at the Coliseum.

"I'd happily ride the train for another 25 minutes to watch $35 million more in talent on the ice," Knopp said.

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Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick