A Look at the Nets’ Financial Woes

With operating losses for the year at close to $30 million, it’s not a pretty picture: “In a sign that the recession has already eaten away at the bottom line in sports, revenue for the New Jersey Nets’ operating company dipped sharply in fiscal 2009, the last five months of which coincided with the economy’s contraction. Many observers have suggested that because teams’ selling season for suites, season tickets and sponsorships finished before the economy cratered, sports would only begin to feel a bottom-line hurt as this year progressed. Revenue for Nets Sports & Entertainment, however, fell 8 percent in the 12-month period that ended Jan. 31. The financial results mark the first public snapshot of a Big Four sports club since the economy unraveled. The results are broken out in the annual financial filing of Forest City Enterprises, which owns 23 percent of the team.”