We Got Wood - 40.36 - State of the Lumberjacks (Mid-way 2040)

[7teen]

We are officially past the halfway point now of the inaugural campaign for the Lumberjacks franchise and things are going ok for the new club. While many may point out that the franchise's 29 wins are the second fewest in the league as a sign things are going poorly, General Manager Chris Wilson has taken a different approach to looking at things early on this season.

"Sure, if you base things soley on wins and losses we are having about as poor a year as year 1 could be" stated Wilson, "but if anyone expected a division winner or post-season team right out of the gate you were fooling yourself from the start. If that is your focus, then at least we can hang our hat on the fact we are better than the other expansion team getting started this year and are closing in on a divisional foe for the cellar spot in the division."

Clearly the 29 wins show the product on the field isn't up to par with the rest of the league. After Charlotte (who has just 17 wins) and Seattle (who also has just 29 wins like Portland) then the Lumberjacks are 7 wins shy of their nearest competitor in the wins column and that is Twin Cities with 36. But things are still pointing in the right direction according to Wilson.

"On a positive note, we are in the green financially now for the first time this season" commented Wilson. "After a draft in which we overspent heavily, we've been able to continue our efforts to get back into the positive in revenue and we have done that. We started the season around $20 million in the red and at this point, we are showing a $2 million mark in the green. We saved some money through the draft and not spending our allotted draft money. Thanks to rising attendance numbers and some solid merchandising numbers, we are continuing to grow our finances which will bode well for that 3-5 year window in which we hope to be more competitive on the field. Shall we say, the Master PlanTM is working beautifully early on"

Attendance numbers in Portland are on the rise as the franchise now ranks 21st in the league in attendance despite the club's poor record and poor early season ticket sales. The club is 16th in gate sales now which means they are out-gaining other teams in gate revenue despite a lower attendance. Fans are also in love with the Portland look as the Lumberjacks ranks 6th in total merchandise sales which got a boost this past week as fans flocked to purchase their Jon Mick commemorative All-Star jersey.

Of course reports also show that Portland is 3rd from the bottom in total revenue received which is still a problem for the new franchise. But Wilson is staying optimistic. "Clearly we are not where we need or want to be. But again, this is a 3-5 year Master PlanTM. But what we are seeing are the things we want to be seeing. Positive attendance totals. A rising revenue stream. Making money early on and not losing money. As long as we can keep those things in our favor throughout these early years while hopefully building up a talent pool of players we will be where we want to be down the road."

[HoosierVic]

Off to a solid start, Chris. Of course, it would be even better if only you had a Blueprint™ ...