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The Saskatchewan Roughriders saw success on the field and in the chequebook last season.
The CFL club returned to the playoffs and also returned to making a profit in the first season under head coach Corey Mace.
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The Riders recorded a net operating profit of $2,087,770 from the financial year ending March 31, 2025. The club recorded an EBIDA (Earnings before Interest, Depreciation and Amortization expenses) of $4,673,068.
Those figures were shown to shareholders at the team’s annual general meeting Tuesday night.
It’s a turnaround from the $1.1 million loss the club reported last season.
“It was a good year financially, I think. It was a bounce-back year on the field. Any time you’re able to have every major revenue item grow and manage your expenses, you tend to have a very good financial year,” Riders’ president and CEO, Craig Reynolds, said.
Single game ticket sales rise
The Riders’ gate receipts increased to $14,358,495, which the club attributed to what it called “record setting single game tickets, including breaking the new Mosaic Stadium’s single-game attendance record for the Labour Day Classic.”
Those increases in single game tickets were offset by a decrease in season ticket sales.
“That is a bit of a trend we’re seeing,” Reynolds said. “We certainly saw season ticket churn higher than normal since the pandemic … It is certainly a trend — last-second buying, single-game buying. One of the things we do hear consistently from the season ticket holders we’ve lost is the time commitment, the commitment to 10 games.
“We’re responding to that with packs and flex packs and two-game and three-game packs and those types of things to try and counter that. Certainly the trend in live events is last-second buying.”
That has bounced back this season, with the loss of season ticket holders returning to a more normal pace and seeing a 78 per cent jump in new season ticket buyers from last year.
“Overall growth was marginal over last year but we did see growth, which is reversing a trend we have seen since the pandemic which is positive,” Reynolds said.
Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker A.J. Allen returns an interception for a touchdown in front of a packed crowd against the B.C. Lions in 2024. (Saskatchewan Roughriders)
Positive trend in attendance numbers
Reynolds also said the club isn’t worried about attendance numbers.
“I think we’re seeing some positive trends, which is nice because I think over the past couple of years we had seen some declines in season tickets and then you’re more susceptible to things like the schedule, the weather and single-game purchasing habits,” Reynolds said. “I’m fairly confident we will see some attendance growth this year.”
Reynolds said this weekend’s game against the B.C. Lions is trending in the right direction. Also, when comparing things to this point last season, the club has sold 7,000 more tickets.
During the 2023-24 season, the Riders posted $14,037,247 from gate receipts.
The Riders’ operating expenses increased to $38,680,532 from $36,681,948 the year prior.
Saskatchewan hosted a playoff game for the first time since 2021, which also helped the team financially, but Reynolds said the club still would have posted a profit even without it.
“The home playoff game certainly helps because you get the gate, you get all the spin-off with concessions, merchandise sales and those types of things,” Reynolds said.
Sales from concessions saw a big jump, increasing to $1,053,276 from $579,038.
Reynolds said one of the ways they are helping reach out to new fans is through school programs, as well as engaging new Canadians in the sport and getting them interested in it.
The team has been focusing on youth and families.
“We believe that is going to pay dividends down the road. The reality is our fan base is aging so we need to replace our aging fan base with new fans. We believe the path to do that is largely through families and youth,” Reynolds said.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders unveiled a new obsidian green jersey for the 2024 season. (Saskatchewan Roughriders)
Largest merchandise sales since 2018
Merchandise sales also saw a bump from the previous season, increasing to $6,499,944 from $4,057,400 the previous year. That’s the largest amount from merchandise sales since 2018.
A big part of that jump was the team’s new Obsidian green jerseys and alternate logo.
“It vastly exceeded our expectations. We were reasonably confident it would resonate with our fans but I don’t think we had any idea how much it would resonate and I think we saw that from the launch and day one and the days following, we quickly realized we were going to blow past our projections,” Reynolds said.
The team’s stabilization fund has increased to $10,420,275 — also its highest point since 2018.
The Riders are off to a 3-0 start to begin the season and will look to improve that on Saturday against the Lions. Kickoff for the game is set for 5 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 3 p.m.
“(The good start) helps,” Reynolds said. “Sports is a complicated business but it also sometimes can be a simple business and you do see spikes after you win a football game, you see spikes immediately.
“We felt pretty good in terms of momentum this year going into the season so when you start off 3-0, you just build on that so it’s certainly positive.”
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