Pensacola’s Blue Wahoos, will deliver a check for $491,602 to the Executive Committee of the CMPA.

On Friday, Pensacola’s Blue Wahoos, will deliver a check for $491,602 to the Executive Committee of the CMPA. This payment is in addition to the over $200,000 the team has previously contributed to the CMPA this year, which brings the total revenue paid to the City in 2013 to $699,823.

The operating budget for the CMPA is $820,000, plus a capital reserve of $182,000. The Wahoos check tomorrow is covering 60 percent of the CMPA’s operating budget and also half of the entire CMPA budget. Parking fees should contribute this year another $200,000, based on past collections. Wahoos will write another check next summer for a minimum of $175,000. I estimated the cash coming from the park will be around $866,602.

That leaves the CMPA and the city, who operates the park, to come up with another $135,000 in revenue from other events to cover the balance of the capital reserves.

According to a Wahoo’s press release, only the Birmingham Barons pay more in use fees than the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. The Barons will pay only an estimated $20,000 more than the Wahoos this year, despite having a brand-new, publicly-funded $39 million stadium that seats 10,000 fans and has 26 revenue-producing suites. In comparison, the home stadium of the Blue Wahoos seats just over 5,000 with no suites, and cost $15 million in public money and $3 million in private donations.

When calculated on a per-seat basis, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos pay more per seat than any other team in the Southern League – over three times the league average and almost twice as much per seat as Birmingham.

“This is the most aggressive use agreement for any City in the Southern League, on a per-seat basis,” said Blue Wahoos owner Quint Studer. “The City Administration and CMPA should be commended for bringing this type of agreement to closure just 18 months ago. We are very hopeful that the City and CMPA will be successful with the entire Maritime Park project, from the amphitheater to the private development parcels to special events, and we are doing our part to make this a long-term, ‘win-win’ relationship.”

Studer also noted that the Blue Wahoos, like any business, have a balancing act between expenses like use fees, ticket prices for fans, and quality service from employees.

“Thanks to our fans and sponsors, we have been able to continue to offer family-friendly entertainment, good jobs to our community, and bring thousands of people downtown to shop and eat every game night,” said Studer. “We’ve been recognized as not only a great stadium, but a great, fan-friendly operation, as well as the top community-service ball club in the Southern League. But we have to ensure that we keep our ticket prices low and our attendance high to continue offering this great experience for supporters, ticket holders, non-profit groups and sponsors, as well as providing the CMPA with much-needed revenue.”

The CMPA Executive Committee meeting will be held on Friday, Nov. 8 at 8:30 a.m. at City Hall.

Post Published: 07 November 2013
Author: Rick Outzen
Found in section: Baseball
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Pretty damn impressive. With most of the development lots not even contributing one dime, this puffing that this was a failure finally gets cold hard facts.......135k down this year and in three years that will flip and be 135k up paying the bill for this beautiful waterfront park which has been preserved by people who are actually working for the community.

The private condos did not lock up the waterfront, and those developers who led the charge to be naysayers and make this thing look like some kind of failure need to take their inside connections and cry somewhere else. The park is a huge success with 300k attendance, and where else in America can the public get a beautiful near 40 acre bayfront park and have it paid for by private profits generated on the site. It did prove one thing to me, that a handful of insiders who got their deal squashed could convince a great many people that up is down, and that down is up, but the grandkids.........they will not have to wonder why folks let PB and NB largely be taken from the public.....they will know that good folks like Earl Bowden did it again. Thanks for having the integrity to post this great news and be fair in your presentation. I hope you realize what I have been arguing for 6 years. It has come to fruition.

Seaoat boasts about the attendance....the stadium maximum capacity is 4500. Approximately 3000 of those seats are season ticket holders....public and corporate ticket holders. The rest is basically standing room or berm seating. The stadium has never been filled to capacity. (butts in a seat)

Joanimaroni wrote:Seaoat boasts about the attendance....the stadium maximum capacity is 4500. Approximately 3000 of those seats are season ticket holders....public and corporate ticket holders. The rest is basically standing room or berm seating. The stadium has never been filled to capacity. (butts in a seat)

This is  a fluff piece by Rick O to help his boy
Quint when the City tries to negotiate the wahoos contract.  Most likely It aint going to happen and it all just a show for the rubes. All this money is just to pay the Light bills, Water, Etc.  They have completed a lot of transfers and such to the city so the actual cost can not be known.  But I digress. .  


We are very hopeful (?) that the City and CMPA will be successful with the entire Maritime Park project, from the amphitheater to the private development parcels to special events, and we are doing our part to make this a long-term, ‘win-win’ relationship.”

Studer also noted that the Blue Wahoos, like any business, have a balancing act between expenses like use fees, ticket prices for fans, and quality service from employees.  Meaning'  I aint coming off the billfold.

Wait to someone gets the sales tax data........the profit that is being made on this venture is borderline obscene. The good news is the initial contract will eventually expire, and the public will finally get their fair share, but when the naysayers were saying this thing was going to fail, they paved the way for a complete one sided contract. I argued this five years ago, and people made fun of me........that a minor league team would come, and that it would be highly profitable.......in the process the negotiators bought into this thing failing, and left way too much on the table. All clearly predictable. However, it still appears that folks do not understand how profit is made in a sports franchise........and think it is random butts in the seats.....nope.......this entire thing has been planned by people who knew what they were doing, and this has succeeded beyond even my optimistic projections.....but people are going to be pissed when they see the sales tax revenues.....I argued that concessions should never be ceded entirely to the team.....deaf ears when folks thought this was going to have 50k attendance.

Naysayers were saying this thing was going to fail, they paved the way for a complete one sided contract.

I mean God Damn  Seaoats  Get a grip  You know damn well that is not how it works....The Major and his pal negotiated the damn contract at night at the Fish House.   Blaming ones incompetence on someone who disagrees is ludious.  Where was their feasibility Study?  What parameters did they use to negotiate the contract?  Surely to God they did not meet and say "Well the naysayers says this not going work so we will just give you all concessions and anything else you need"  I know you  think many us as sub intellect  creatins that some how are able to post.  Please dont continue to repeat the same old shit over and over and over.

.I argued that concessions should never be ceded entirely to the team.....deaf ears when folks thought this was going to have 50k attendance.

The Mayor and the negotiators  thought there was only going to be 50,000.?Why did they build the damn thing if that was true.  No way 50,000 people could pay the expenses in operating a stadium.  You Gloat with the 50k numbers that like it is Gospel.  Can  you show me where one out the city leaders stated that number?  Or was it just the rambling of  a anonymous forum member.   Just give me the name of the City person and I will email them and ask if it was a factor in the settlement  in the Blue Wahoo Contract.

This 50k shit is just beyond me , I quit.. going to bed..................

It was not beyond Skipper, X, and ten other naysayers and the developers who lost the condo deal as they pumped up failure, so that they could kill the people's park and put ownership of the same in private hands where forever the bayfront would be cut off from development. The truth is that the original campaign against this park was not disgruntled citizens, but disgruntled developers who did not get a chance to do to this bayfront property what they did to PB and NB. Earl was right. People will be able to walk along that wide southern walkway and simply enjoy the beautiful bayfront, and not have a locked gate with a security guard letting only owners of the condos in.............You were never in the early debates on the PNJ unless you had a sock you have not disclosed, and now you want to convince me that the beautiful public park is bad, and that you tried to stop the condos on PB as a kid.........come on now.......you know this thing is great despite your hate of Studer.

I have admited my failures to do more to stop development of the beaches many times.  It was a different era. Even in this day and age how effective were people in stopping Portonfino? But what I said would happen, has. that you can not deny. It is a moot point and even though I tried, I failed miserably.  Your lack of knowledge of the trillium property causes you to form some invalid  conclusions.    We have discussed this many many times.
You did not answer the question I poised.


You Gloat with the 50k numbers that like it is Gospel.  Can  you show me where one out the city leaders stated that number?  Or was it just the rambling of  a anonymous forum member.   Just give me the name of the City person and I will email them and ask if it was a factor in the settlement  in the Blue Wahoo Contract.

http://www.cityofpensacola.com/sites/cityofpensacola.com/files/page_documents/Remedial%20Action%20Plan%20Trillium%20Property%20Pensacola,%20Florida_0.pdf

The blue Wahoos had an easy negotiation with the public bodies.......the developers who lost their condo deal were paying for big full page ads in the paper how the baseball would never have anymore attendance than the Pelicans. When I argued with them and their shills that a minor league team would locate in Pensacola, I was called a studerite, and because I was over in Santa Rosa, I was chastized for the same when I said that folks for fifty miles would be attending games.

In this environment.....when the only context was the Pelicans attendance records, the city let the concessions go, and did not keep a part of it. I posted in thread after thread how profitable the concessions were and that no stadium should be built without the public keeping half of the same, but nooooooooooo, the naysayers said nobody would come and there would be no profit. The money was left on the table because they did not see the success. I gave example after example of the Kane County Cougars and the multi millions the public reaped from those operations.......but no......the naysayer mentality left the money on the table, and in their support of the developers who lost the condo project, almost forever closing the door on the Bay to the public.....no Earl was right again, and some people were wrong and allied themselves with the private interests who wanted to kill this project. The People have won.

Sorry, your revisionist history does not cut it.......when the folks who wanted to put up those condos got pissed and took out ads, and attacked the concept plan of the park, and argued the voters should not pass the referendum.........where were you.....with the developers obviously.

This is simple. Ten years from now there will be a surplus of funds paid from the leaseholds being filled, and the public will still own the entire 40 acres. One small positive step to reclaim waterfront for the public, and again Earl was right and you were wrong......I cannot believe that Earl lost one of his lead fighters for beach preservation who jumped over to the developers side.

From Rick Blog. Another dumb ass that doesnt understand how rich we are...

C. C. Elebash says:
November 8, 2013 at 8:22 am
The article does not include significant related information. It does not mention the $2.6 million the City and its Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)are paying annually for principal and interest on the maritime park bonds. The major portion of this is attributable to the stadium. In addition, the City is spending about $350,000 annually on park operations and maintenance, much of it for the stadium.

I cannot believe that Earl lost one of his lead fighters for beach preservation who jumped over to the developers side


Nice dig. But I never built on the beach or contributed to its demise. How about you? Off topic But since you are now the beach historian, Why is the Florida/Alabama state line near the Florida Bama bar? Was the state line ever at the Alabama pass?

Pretty random on a Friday........but if you feign no knowledge of the group who wanted to build residential condos at the site........I guess I can feign the same. I guess the group which led the newspaper ads and the anti park theme were doing the same because they wanted to preserve the waterfront for the public. I guess I was wrong. Earl was wrong. You are right.....there never was any attempt to develop the property as residential condos......that is your story and you are sticking to it.......

The Alabama/Florida Border exists where it is today because Mr. Studer drew it on the map.

When the folks who wanted to put up those condos got pissed and took out ads, and attacked the concept plan of the park, and argued the voters should not pass the referendum.........where were you.....with the developers obviously

Who were they? What folks? All the people who questioned the Maritime park were Condo developers? You made the charge, not me. What Developers was I with? Maybe the Nazis? Skipper was a condo developer also? The Nazis used Mind control on the entire city. If you know what I did on the beach then this should be childs play.

The Fla/ala line is interesting story. But so was the projected Holiday Inn hotel on gulf Beach.

http://homes.trovit.com/port-royal-condos-pensacola-fl

Fun in Fun but the main reason nobody could use the Trillium property were the tremendous environmental concerns.
Nobody had deep enough pockets to take on the project and make it pay.
The pond liner is rising? Hummm Did they get all the stuff that was there?
The property was a "Brownfield".
The soil of the Trillium property is contaminated by potentially toxic materials, including arsenic and petroleum. In addition, the Community Maritime Park development will require extensive wetland mitigation work.

Fools rushed in where the smart money backed out. Now it is just smoke and mirrors.
But just wait, Next year....LOL

I seem to not know a great deal.......except the good guys won, and the nasty developers who wanted to condoize the bayfront were beaten by Earl and the other white knights who now sit back with big old smiles.....like a cat who just ate a mouse.........they see the property preserved for the public......When he passes a good many people will not realize what one man was able to accomplish to preserve what is sacred.