The Vancouver Canadians’ ability to sail 9-2 past the Tri-City Dust Devils Sunday to capture the Northwest League championship didn’t translate into profit windfall for the team’s owners.
Canadians general manager Jason Takefman told Business in Vancouver that even though Nat Bailey stadium posted a record attendance of 162,162 during the regular season, much of the post-season revenue goes directly to the league.
Still, the thrill of winning the championship on home turf, the first for the class-A Toronto Blue Jays affiliate team, was worth more than cash in the register, said Takefman.
“We don’t look at it as a revenue generator we look at it something great for the fans and great for the team,” he said.
The championship marks the pinnacle of a remarkable turnaround for a stadium that, a little over a decade ago, saw its Triple-A team head to Sacramento and tickets sales fall off.
Since then, the management team led by president Andy Dunn (see “Sales pitches” – issue 1136; August 2-8) and co-owners Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney have turned the team’s fortunes around, signing a lucrative affiliate contract with the Blue Jays, selling name rights to Scotiabank and installing a new scoreboard.
Takefman said Sunday’s win not only marks the end of another successful season for the Canadians, but also sets the team up for another one next year.
“We’ve just got to build and keep on getting bigger and stronger, and capitalize on the momentum and keep on doing what we do, which is making sure this facility is the best family experience in the city.”
Joel McKay
Twitter:jmckaybiv