Standoff on ballpark lease continues between Winnipeg and Goldeyes

In baseball terms, the stalemate between the city and the Goldeyesis now in extra extra innings.

The five-year saga to sign a newlease for Shaw Park hit yet another error as city staff said the financial information provided by the ball club"does not represent a full disclosure."

The informationprovided to the city saysthe team would have lost money in each of the last two years if it didn't have revenue from parking.

The city's property, planning and development committee asked for the documents earlier this year and in September, councillors on the executive policy committeesaid they still hadn't seen the information.

Tension between the city and Goldeyes owner Sam Katz over the lease has been going on for several years, and a new wrinkle was added late last month after it was revealed he had signed a stadium leaseto operate a baseball team in Ottawa.

WATCH | Standoff on ballpark lease continues between Winnipeg and Goldeyes:

Locked in negotiations

4 years ago

Duration 2:01

The city and Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball team are locked in a multi-year negotiation over a new lease for Shaw Park.

A report to city council's executive policy committee published this week contains submissions of revenue and expenses from the ball club.

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• Property committee splits on vote for lease with Goldeyes

Facilityexpensesutilities, maintenance and supplies and wages on the documents total $741,892 in 2019 and $762,569 in 2018.

Revenue from three parking lots (1 Portage Ave.E., 110 Pioneer Ave. and 41 Westbrook St.)before income taxes was$311,386 for 2019 and $153,813 for 2018.

The club also reported$45,000 a yearin revenue from a sign on land at110 Pioneer Ave.

The Goldeyesorganization says it would havelost$19,526 in 2019 and $137,193 in 2018, if it hadn't been able to keep the parking revenue. That revenue is apoint of contention with the city over the what the final terms of a new lease might look like.

Paul Olafson,Winnipeg's interim chief financial officer, concluded the Goldeyes weren't fully disclosing the information the city wants. What was provided did not include financial details from Riverside Park Management,the not-for-profit entity that acts as the bridge company between the city and the baseball club, he said.

"It does not appear that financial information provided includes any financial disclosure concerning Riverside Park Management. As such, a complete review of the revenue of the Winnipeg Goldeyes and Riverside Park Management cannot be completed," Olafson wrote in the report.

The Goldeyes also didn't provide financial informationabout the support the city gave the clubthrough the "historical granting of municipal taxes and entertainment funding taxes under the master lease agreement," he said.

"We don't have the full picture. We don't have all the information available to us to understand how the operation works," Olafson told reporters on Wednesday.

Take it or leave it?

The city's latest offer is a 15-year lease for Shaw Park that would see the team pay annual rent of $75,000 in the first five years, $85,000 in years the following five yearsand $95,000 in the final years.There are two five-year extensions possible after the 15-year period ends.

The current lease charges $1 per year and expires in three years.

The Goldeyes would continue to receive entertainment tax rebates until fall 2029, then face a review when a similar deal with True North Sports and Entertainment ends.

The city would also gain some revenue from parking on land around the ballpark.

Katz says some of the conditions in the lease are unacceptable. The team must know it will get entertainment tax rebates in the future and needs to retain control over the parking lot, he said in July.

Included in the submissions to the city by the Goldeyes is a report on the contributions the team makes to Winnipeg.

It says the club pays more than $300,000 annually in property and business taxes, generates over $100,000 annually in game-day parking revenue for the cityand employsmore than 300full-time and part-time staff, with an annual payroll of $1,700,000.

The report also says the Goldeyesattractmore than 270,000 people to the Forks everyyear and drawthousands of baseball fans from the U.S. to Winnipeg to watch games.

Mayor Brian Bowman wasn't available to comment Wednesday, but finance committee chair Scott Gillinghamsaidhe'll likely vote for the city's lease offer, despite gaps in the financial details the Goldeyes have offered.

"I don't know that we are going to get all the information that we would like to have, particularly because some of the information is proprietary," the St. James councillor said.

"We ultimately have to make a decision on whether or not we want Goldeyes baseball in Winnipeg, and I, for one, would like to see the Goldeyescontinue to play."

Katz told CBC News on Wednesday he's provided everything the city has asked for and can't understand why the Goldeyesorganization has come under such scrutiny.

"No sports organization in the city, or private-sector company, has ever been asked to provide any of the kind of information that we have. And yet we've provided it all," Katz said.

The Goldeyes owner sayshe will have a group including the Goldeyes'chief financial officer and ateam spokespersonavailable to answer questions from executive policy committeemembers at the meeting next week.