The Lions of Detroit are the Only NFL Team to Lose Money

[KJ5]

How exactly does this happen? It's like losing money selling air-conditioners in hell. Every other team in the NFL made money. Americans love football and Detroiters are no exception. The Lions draw lots of fans. Even when they went 0-16 fans still came out to Ford Field. The NFL has TV contracts with most every major network and seems bulletproof to any controversies. No fuss over steroids and nobody seems to care too much how many players get arrested or end up with irreversible brain damage. With all the people I see wearing Honolulu blue and silver how does that team lose money? They need an EM more than the city!

[Crumbled_pavement]

How exactly does this happen? Well, the more difficult question would be how do you go 0 - 16 throughout a whole season and then follow it up by going 2 - 14 [[read it right folks, that's a 2 - 30 record over a two year period) the following season. Then last year the Lions went 4 - 12. After you've accomplished feats like that, losing money should be easy. People like to see a team that at least looks like it could win.

[Scottathew]

They need an EM more than the city!

Now, I doubt that.

I hope they're able to start making money. The team is getting better and it's fun to get into the playoffs and know your team could just be a few wins from parades and accolades.

[Hamtragedy]

This is the year!

The Lions win 5.

[401don]

Firstly, Forbes has no clue about the team's actual finances. I'm certain the Lions are doing fine. That being said, as much as I'm glad the team is back downtown, I never understood how you can justify building a 65,000 seat dome to be used for only 10 games a year. Meanwhile, they say it's difficult for the Wings to finance an arena as the only tenant with 45 games plus concerts and other events.

[Bham1982]

Why are the local talk shows so optimistic on the Lions? They're all assuming playoffs.

They were 4-12 last year. Their schedule this year is tougher.

Their big acquisition was Reggie Bush, who has never been a featured back, and didn't get much interest from any other team. Miami has a great OL and he did nothing.

Their biggest weakness, the secondary, is worse than ever. Their offensive line has also regressed.

If Stafford has a big bounce-back season, I could see 7 or 8 wins, absolute max. In this tough division, with this tough schedule, I can't imagine more.

[Zug]

I was going to ask for a source. I guess it's Forbes based on 401's comment?

Also, I've wondered the same thing about how the stadium makes any money. Is football really big enough to keep it afloat year round? Ford Field almost always seems dead. The whole talk of Adams Street inside the stadium being like an indoor streetscape all year never panned out. The hotel+House of Blues never panned out. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful venue...I still think it's one of the nicest, if not the nicest stadium in the NFL. I just thought there would be many events throughout the year. Outside of football, there's only ONE event scheduled for the rest of the year...a Kenny Chesney concert.

[Bham1982]

Outside of football, there's only ONE event scheduled for the rest of the year...a Kenny Chesney concert.

These big domed complexes are always sitting empty. There aren't many users who need a 70,000 seat domed stadium, so you will see one or two concerts, maybe a Bowl Game, and then 10 football games [[regular season and pre-season). If you're really lucky you'll get a Super Bowl or Final 4 every 20 years. Whoop-de-do.

[p69rrh51]

These big domed complexes are always sitting empty. There aren't many users who need a 70,000 seat domed stadium, so you will see one or two concerts, maybe a Bowl Game, and then 10 football games [[regular season and pre-season). If you're really lucky you'll get a Super Bowl or Final 4 every 20 years. Whoop-de-do.

its nice to see all this sympathy for the Ford family. I think they are able to pay the bills without to many problems.

[bailey]

Originally Posted by Bham1982
These big domed complexes are always sitting empty. There aren't many users who need a 70,000 seat domed stadium, so you will see one or two concerts, maybe a Bowl Game, and then 10 football games [[regular season and pre-season). If you're really lucky you'll get a Super Bowl or Final 4 every 20 years. Whoop-de-do.

its nice to see all this sympathy for the Ford family. I think they are able to pay the bills without to many problems.

First of all, I doubt the Lions lose any money. From another article talking about what the Forbes article says.

You might ask how a franchise in the wildly profitable NFL could lose money. The answer isn't entirely clear, and it's only fair to point out that the Lions' financial books are private and that Forbes' projections based on available information.

Secondly, Ford Field has something most other stadium complexes dont... Bodman and CE and few other tenants [[with room for more) and parking decks. Not like the office tenants are singlehandedly paying the bill and game days are gravy, but its way more use [[and revenue) than anything going on at {insert Generic single use mega stadium surrounded by acres of parking in isolated location} any day not a game day.

[Cliffy]

I can't see how they are losing money when every game is sold out. Even the preseason games are sold out this year. Also, they have a nice parking garage thats open year round that must make big money. This is just Lions Fuzzy math.

[bailey]

I can't see how they are losing money when every game is sold out. Even the preseason games are sold out this year. Also, they have a nice parking garage thats open year round that must make big money. This is just Lions Forbes' Fuzzy math.

Forbes "estimated" most everything about the numbers and the Lion's books. The Lions didn't release any of their own numbers.

[KJ5]

I was hoping somebody would simply answer "Because they're the Lions." They can snatch debt from the jaws of profit they same way they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

[EastsideAl]

The Lions deserve to lose money after all the hell they've put us through over the last 50+ years. So I wish it were true. But I'm pretty damn certain it's not, given their heavily subsidized stadium, consistent sellout or near-sellout crowds, and their share of the endless fountain of TV money that the NFL gets. I know they have some long-term debt left from the stadium, and if they do show a loss it's for accounting/tax reasons rather than any real losses.

[p69rrh51]

The Lions deserve to lose money after all the hell they've put us through over the last 50+ years. So I wish it were true. But I'm pretty damn certain it's not, given their heavily subsidized stadium, consistent sellout or near-sellout crowds, and their share of the endless fountain of TV money that the NFL gets. I know they have some long-term debt left from the stadium, and if they do show a loss it's for accounting/tax reasons rather than any real losses.

EastsideAl what are the numbers on the subsidies for Ford Field? I cannot remember.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

This is the year!

The Lions win 5.

Given the recent trend, it should be 6 - 10. Adding 2 wins per season!

[mikefmich]

50+ I dunno Al, maybe 50?

1962 was an awesome season. Turkey Day that year was the very first game I even went to. What a game that was. Sadly, that kept me addicted to those turkeys for 16 more years

[Hermod]

50+ I dunno Al, maybe 50?

1962 was an awesome season. Turkey Day that year was the very first game I even went to. What a game that was. Sadly, that kept me addicted to those turkeys for 16 more years

Buddy Parker, Bobby Layne, Doak Walker, Leon Hart, Les Bingaman, where arrrrrrrrrre youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu?

[Smirnoff]

I am sure the largest shareholder of Ford stock needs a significant tax write-off.....

[EastsideAl]

EastsideAl what are the numbers on the subsidies for Ford Field? I cannot remember.

According to a 2007 Marquette University report on NFL stadium financing:

Facility Cost [[millions): $430
Percentage of Stadium Publicly Financed: 36%
Facility Financing: Ford Field was financed through tourism excise taxes [[2% rental car tax and 1% hotel room tax) that were used to pay off Wayne County revenue bonds, which provided $219 M towards construction costs.

Of course, that doesn't include the variety of associated public infrastructure costs.

Apparently, the Lions paid about $70 million of their own money, and borrowed the rest from the NFL's credit wing, which sets up special low interest loans for its teams. The Lions are privately held, of course, and thus give no public information about their finances, but these loans seem to be the major source of the team's debt.

A Bill Shea Crain's story from 2011 about the Lions debt load:
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...-work-stoppage

The stadium is owned by the Detroit-Wayne County Stadium Authority. They lease it to Wayne County, who in turn leases it to the city's Downtown Development Authority. The Lions have a 35 year lease with the DDA, which obligates them to pay $250,000 per year in rent, and allows them to keep all revenue from tickets, suites, concessions, etc.

[canuck]

its nice to see all this sympathy for the Ford family. I think they are able to pay the bills without to many problems.

It is safe to assume they can af-Ford it...

[KJ5]

50+ I dunno Al, maybe 50?

1962 was an awesome season. Turkey Day that year was the very first game I even went to. What a game that was. Sadly, that kept me addicted to those turkeys for 16 more years

What a sad story. What was your moment of clarity that helped you break this insidious addiction? Me, I don't like football much, but I felt, deep in my bones, that the Lions would suck for as long as I lived when Billy Sims went down in a game in Minnesota and his career was over. I've never really taken that team seriously as a threat to be good ever since.

[Hypestyles]

The lions need better graphics designers/consultants with regards to their merchandise- it was dead boring to me for many years. They also need to explore alternative colors for merchandise, go beyond the silver[[gray)/steel-blue combo. Maybe the chicago cubs can count on being lovable losers, but the Lions have never had that designation nationwide.

[mikefmich]

What a sad story. What was your moment of clarity that helped you break this insidious addiction? Me, I don't like football much, but I felt, deep in my bones, that the Lions would suck for as long as I lived when Billy Sims went down in a game in Minnesota and his career was over. I've never really taken that team seriously as a threat to be good ever since.

Got a new job before 77 season..one in which I could make a LOT of money working Sundays. After two years of their usual snatching defeat from the jaws of victory at $10 a pop x 2, plus expenses, versus making double time on Sundays, I said screw it.

After season tx from 69-78, and 3-4 games a year 63-68......don't think I've been to half a dozen in the last 35 yrs. Have yet to sit in Ford Field.

[EastsideAl]

My parents were Lions season ticket holders from '51 until the Lions moved out of Tiger Stadium at the end of the '74 season. Then, in my father's words, "the team moved out of town" and I don't think he went to more than 2 or 3 games at the Silverdome.

When the Lions moved back into Detroit to Ford Field my folks were at first skeptical, and not very happy over the subsidy and sweetheart deal that the team got from the county and the city. Even though they lived just a few minutes away from the stadium, they never went there during the first 3 or 4 years it was there.

However, a few years ago my sister gave them tickets to a Lions game as a X-Mas present, and they had a very good time. She did it again the following year as well. By the next year my parents had again become season ticket holders - this time in the [[very good) seats for elderly/disabled people - and they really look forward to going to the games. Of course, the team still mostly sucks, but my dad's big complaints are the blaring music from the public address system, and that he misses the high-up view from his old upper deck seats at Tiger Stadium, which "let me see how all the plays develop".