Big Blue back in black

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/04/2009 (6373 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Finding something salvageable from the twisted wreckage that was the 2008 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season would be akin to flogging tickets to the Pauly Shore Film Festival.

We hate to open up old wounds, but ’08 was supposed to be about ending a Grey Cup drought that dates back to 1990 and re-establishing the Bombers as one of the elite outfits in the Canadian Football League.

Instead, it was about upheaval and disappointment, from the iconic Charles Roberts being traded, to the soap opera that was the Tom Canada-to-Hamilton deal to the benching of Kevin Glenn. It was about a 2-8 start, a 6-2 finish and — thanks only to the ineptitude of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts — a home playoff date resulting in a season-ending loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.

And the aftermath of that mess bled into the off-season, with head coach Doug Berry being fired, GM Brendan Taman stepping down and a roster makeover that has been nothing short of extreme.

All that said, the silver lining to last year’s campaign may be revealed today when the Bombers release their ’08 financial statement.

Get this: Despite the black cloud that hung over the franchise through the early part of last year, the Bombers will — amazingly — announce a profit on their operations.

And that’s a story, especially given where this franchise was at the beginning of the millennium, that shouldn’t be underplayed.

"The bottom line will certainly be reasonable — particularly with the additional costs of the stadium process. But we will be in the black," said Bombers president and CEO Lyle Bauer. "And, in fact, I would bet we’re in as good shape as we’ve ever been. Everything we’ve set out to do — with the exception of a Grey Cup win — has been accomplished.

"The business is very solid and it’s growing. Give credit to our fans and our sponsors for being here and the management team and what they’ve put into this franchise. If I had told you in 2000 to fast-forward nine years and this is where we’d be on the field and off the field… it’s been a pretty good period for the franchise."

True enough.

Nine years ago the Bombers were $5.5 million in debt. And, despite a loss on operations of $264,000 in 2007 the Bombers had a surplus of $4.3 million heading into last year.

"I don’t think a lot of people realize how dire the situation was in 2000," said Bauer. "It was a sick business. It was ill at a league level and at a local level."

Nevertheless, this is also a business that needs change. The Bombers will be in the black in ’08, but still lost money in 2007 despite playing to five sellouts and a 93 per cent stadium capacity. And while the operation has shown an admirable resiliency, it’s still vulnerable.

And that’s the main reason why the Bombers’ board entered into its agreement with businessman David Asper and, if all goes to plan, will go from community ownership to a private business by this time next year. And an efficiently run private operation playing out of a new facility in 2011, the board hopes, could be even more resilient than the current operation.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca