When it rains, it pours: Besides posting a half-million-dollar loss for 2013, the Syracuse Chiefs (Class AAA; International League) are $64,000 behind on rent for NBT Bank Stadium.
The Chiefs paid rent for the first three months of 2013 to Onondaga County and then missed the remaining payments. The yearly rent at NBT Bank Stadium is $128,000. Now, we’re not talking about a situation where there are calls to put down a full-court press to collect the rent; county officials say they’re willing to work with the team on some sort of payment plan. From Syracuse.com:
Until this year, the club was paying its rent monthly, Maturo said. In May, the club delivered $31,500 in rent for the first three months of 2013, but it has paid nothing since.
[Deputy county executive William] Fisher said as far as he knows in the four years he’s been on the job the Chiefs have never been this far behind in their rent. He said the county is OK with the Chiefs running late on the rent as they address their bigger financial problems and that as far as he knows the team is not behind on any of its other bills.
“We’re certainly willing to work with the tenant when they go through hard times,” Fisher said. “Over the decades they’ve been a very good tenant. As a landlord, you want to be helpful to the tenant who is renting that space, and they provide a vital resource.”
It’s been a hard offseason for the Chiefs, as Tex Simone retired as team COO/EVP before the board was totally appraised of the team’s $505,146 loss for 2013. The Community Baseball Club of Central New York board of directors is considering two courses of action, and as we were told, the two options are hiring new management to oversee operations or bring in an outside firm to manage the team. It’s not the first time outside help was sought; as you’ll recall, two years ago Onondaga County sought bids for firms to manage the ballpark. There probably is a deeper issue regarding the team and its ballpark management.
RELATED STORIES: Mobley: Chiefs financial situation “needs a little attention”; More bad news out of Syracuse: Chiefs post $500K lost for 2013; Tex Simone retires as Syracuse Chiefs COO/EVP; Ennui in Syracuse
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