Attendance increased at Dauphin Kings games in the 2023-24 regular season.
21,236 fans packed the stands at Credit Union Place, which was an increase of 630 from the 2022-23 season. It's also an increase of nearly 1000 fans from the 2019-20 regular season.
"It's great to see that our attendance continues to increase and we hope that will be the case moving into the new season in the fall," said Ashley Shaw, Team President.
As the Kings hosted their Annual General Meeting inside the Aspen Lodge on Wednesday evening, they shared their key financials from this past season.
Expenses:
Regarding last season's revenue, the team announced an overall deficit of $128,963.
Tractor Lotto serves as a major fundraiser for the team and as the team netted nearly $80,000 less in fundraising this past season, Tractor Lotto was a factor in the decline.
"I think one thing that we need to look at is possibly putting more boots on the ground," said Shaw. "This could include going back to the mall and going back to rural communities and selling tickets there as we have in the past."
You may be wondering how more fans attended games this past season, but ticket sales declined by roughly $23,000.
"We had been deferring some tickets from previous years after the pandemic," said Shaw. "We decided last year that we were going to account for all of that now. The 2023 ticket sales were a bit higher than they should have been, that's why the difference."
A deficit of $128,963 is certainly not what the Kings were looking for, but they aren't hitting the panic button. As a new season nears, Shaw, the board of directors, and Christian Laughland are ready to turn things around financially.
"There has to be some urgency when you see that number," said Shaw. "We tried our best this year to make things as close to even as we could, but there are some things that are out of our control. I am not panicked right now, I think we have a good plan moving forward, and everyone is on the same page."
On Wednesday, the organization also formally announced that Christian Laughland is back. He will serve as the team's Director of Business Operations. He will be responsible for managing and developing the team’s strategic marketing plan, partnerships, fundraising, promotions, game day operations, advertising, and events on behalf of the franchise.
"We're happy to have Christian back, he is a great asset in the office," ended Shaw. "He has some great ideas and he has some great connections in the community. I think it will be amazing for our hockey club to have him back. We are looking forward to working with him."
