THE Winnipeg Goldeyes made a profit last year but are about $4 million in debt, majority owner Sam Katz said, responding to criticism about a sworn statement claiming the ball club can't afford to repay the Crocus Investment Fund's receiver.
After four days of getting publicly hammered over his assertion the baseball franchise is not financially capable of paying interest on $434,000 in Crocus loans, Katz went on the offensive, claiming Winnipeg media are deliberately confusing the public about a complex legal issue.
"It was pretty sad and pathetic when I heard people try to make the Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball club the scapegoat for the millions lost by Crocus shareholders," said Katz, rejecting the notion the ball club has compounded the financial woes of investors in the disastrous fund, which was placed in receivership in 2005.
"Of course I feel bad for anybody who invested their hard-earned money on Crocus. But don't even put the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the same category of investments that lost them $5 million, $10 million or $20 million. Because guess what? The Goldeyes haven't lost them a nickel."
The mayor claimed he never intended to suggest his Northern League of Baseball franchise is unprofitable when he said in a sworn affidavit that the team can't afford to repay Crocus "until such time as the Goldeyes can have a financially viable season."
He made the statement this April in response to a lawsuit filed by Crocus in late 2006.
"That line in the affidavit is not for public consumption," Katz said. "It's for the courts to decide."
Made a profit
Katz said the Winnipeg Goldeyes turned a profit last year, but declined to name a dollar figure, stating the team's shareholders are well aware of the amount. It's too soon to say whether the team is in the black or red in 2007, he added.
But thanks to the club's ballpark lease and purchases of new equipment such as a $1-million scoreboard, the team remains $4 million in debt, he said, noting weather and other intangibles play havoc with the team's finances. There are about 16 years remaining on the lease, after which CanWest Global Park returns to the city.
He offered no timetable for a Goldeyes repayment to Crocus, repeating his lawyer Robert Tapper's assertion that the fund made equity investments in the team and did not provide it with loans.
Katz said he's not surprised the public is confused about the ball club's financial arrangement with Crocus, and suggested the Winnipeg news media are not properly explaining the intricacies of the three-way Goldeyes-Crocus deal, which also involves Winnipeg businessman Sandy Shindleman.
"There's no question this is a complex deal, but it's not that complex -- you have an equity investment, you have an equity investment; you have a loan, you have a loan.
"I didn't even understand all this stuff, so I would expect the average person on the street to just pick up what someone says or writes."
In that regard, he angrily rejected the notion that his $217,000 Goldeyes salary -- or a $60,000 salary paid by the team to his estranged wife Baillie Burke -- has any connection to the Crocus affair.
Makes less than other CEOs
He said he makes "significantly less" than other CEOs of Winnipeg sports franchises, taking an apparent shot at Winnipeg Blue Bombers president and CEO Lyle Bauer.
Katz suggested the Crocus receiver launched a lawsuit against his baseball club as a diversionary tactic.
"There's no doubt in my mind why the receiver took this type of action, as opposed to having the focus on them for some of their actions," Katz said.
"There's a much bigger story to Crocus than most people understand today, but I'm sure that'll come out down the road."
Katz said his lawyers advised him not to speak publicly about the Goldeyes-Crocus affair, but he was motivated to take the offensive when he heard repeated assertions his baseball team has caused further financial hardship for Crocus investors.
As a result, he spent part of Thursday sparring with broadcast media personalities, and the tone was decidedly less cosy than usual.
"Mr. Mayor, are you here to offer an apology to the people of Winnipeg, those who trusted you with (their) vote in not one but two civic elections?" CJOB radio host Richard Cloutier asked Katz at the top of a morning interview.
"Richard, are you here to offer an apology for -- what shall we say -- a drive-by shooting yesterday?" Katz responded.
bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca
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