1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Florio: Dolphins books don't paint a pretty picture

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by Serpico Jones, Apr 12, 2013.

  1. Claymore95

    Claymore95 Working on it... Club Member

    6,449
    11,202
    113
    Sep 8, 2012
    Peebles, Scotland
    I think the Dolphins books paint the picture they want them to paint for Miami-Dade County...
     
    ASOT likes this.
  2. Perfectville_USA

    Perfectville_USA Mr Perfect

    607
    302
    0
    Dec 27, 2012
    Syracuse NY
    When a company opens there books, they are always 100% honest. I read it on the internet, so it has to be true.
     
    ASOT, SICK, dolfan32323 and 3 others like this.
  3. electrolyte

    electrolyte New Member

    1,209
    553
    0
    Oct 27, 2009
    Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
    Lord, don't they help themselves, oh.
    But when the taxman comes to the door,
    Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,

    It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no millionaire's son, no.
    It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, no.

    [​IMG]
     
  4. FinNasty

    FinNasty Alabama don’t want this... Staff Member Club Member

    24,217
    36,005
    113
    Dec 1, 2007
    Operating at a loss? Doubt it...

    Not making money hand over foot like its commonly believed. Quite possible...
     
    Da 'Fins and Ohio Fanatic like this.
  5. Stringer Bell

    Stringer Bell Post Hard, Post Often Club Member

    44,356
    22,480
    113
    Mar 22, 2008
    Are people really saying that they presented false documents to the commission???
     
    TooGoodForDez likes this.
  6. Disgustipate

    Disgustipate Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    31,608
    55,634
    113
    Nov 25, 2007
    I'm sure it is true in a purely technical sense, a special sort of business math that allows for stuff like George Lucas to claim Return of the Jedi never made a profit. I would bet Ross is playing a shell game where the Dolphins are paying money to other entities that are managing assets that you would expect to be part of the "Dolphins". Like paying rent on Sun Life Stadium or the NSU facilities even though Ross owns them and profits from them too.
     
    ASOT, electrolyte and DPlus47 like this.
  7. Stringer Bell

    Stringer Bell Post Hard, Post Often Club Member

    44,356
    22,480
    113
    Mar 22, 2008
    It is definitely very realistic for them to be operating at a loss.
     
    Gitrdone likes this.
  8. Stringer Bell

    Stringer Bell Post Hard, Post Often Club Member

    44,356
    22,480
    113
    Mar 22, 2008
    I don't think that's really all that necessary. The team has debt and poor attendance. It's very likely their operations resulted in a loss. That doesn't mean they aren't worth a billion dollars, but they could very legitimately be losing money.
     
    Da 'Fins and djphinfan like this.
  9. electrolyte

    electrolyte New Member

    1,209
    553
    0
    Oct 27, 2009
    Privately owned businesses never ever ever try anything fishy when it comes to their books. Never ever ever.

    Trust us.

    [​IMG]
     
    ASOT likes this.
  10. Ozzy

    Ozzy Premium Member Luxury Box


    Operating at a loss? Maybe and im sure Ross added in purchasing his own seats so the team could be on TV.

    But the TV revenue that each team gets ensures them a huge profit.
     
    texanphinatic likes this.
  11. smahtaz

    smahtaz Pimpin Ain't Easy

    I know what you mean. I've found it's always a good idea to commit fraud right before you sign a personal guarantee for funds.:no:
     
  12. VanDolPhan

    VanDolPhan Club member Club Member

    13,057
    8,875
    113
    Nov 26, 2007
    Hamilton, Ontario Canada
    Read the actual article folks....not PFT. It breaks it down pretty well. Miami is carrying $380 million in debt which is affecting the bottom line for this year anyways.
     
    Stringer Bell and smahtaz like this.
  13. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

    99,377
    37,301
    0
    Nov 22, 2007
    inching to 100k posts
    Eh, keep in mind Ireland tends to keep 5 million in reserve yr after yr, imo this is to cover operating losses.

    I also think Ross's proposal is a win win for everyone, we are one of the few franchises that pay property taxes and they clearly want to, and are, involved in the community.

    We've been crappy to mediocre for so long though, it makes the market tough to compete in.

    I'm looking at you Jeff Ireland, your decisions have not panned out, your team is barely .500 and we have not made even the playoffs in going on 5 seasons now..hear that clock ticking?
     
  14. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    111,654
    67,548
    113
    Dec 20, 2007
    I love how some act like they know sh&$ about how deceiving our front office is allegedly being..ya'll don't know sh$&.. You have nothing but your own ego to stroke and act like you know what the fu&$ is going on..
     
  15. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    111,654
    67,548
    113
    Dec 20, 2007
    I hope he doesn't buy tickets to put them on local tv next year..
     
    Gitrdone, Alex13 and smahtaz like this.
  16. CANDolphan

    CANDolphan Well-Known Member

    1,006
    546
    113
    Feb 18, 2012
    Creative accounting is far from fraud, guys. Don't be goofy.

    Hell, haven't you guys heard of "Hollywood Accounting"? You know those big time box office movies that make $500 million dollars while having a production budget of $150 million dollars? Yeah those movies "break even" once the studio's accounting department gets through with it

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_accounting

    This is a similar situation. I bet you guys also weren't aware that the NFL is a non for profit organization :)

    I'd have to see the numbers but from a tax point of view this is far from rare. I'd bet that when Ross took over the Dolphins they haad quite a bit of operating debt, which is still coming off the books.

    edit: Oh well there you go. 380 million in debt. I wonder if that was pre or post purchase.
     
    electrolyte and Bpk like this.
  17. smahtaz

    smahtaz Pimpin Ain't Easy

    It also says Mr Ross will have ponied up close to $90M cash since buying the team.

    Do you know if the debt was assumed when Ross bought the team or is it new?
     
  18. jdang307

    jdang307 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    39,159
    21,798
    113
    Nov 29, 2007
    San Diego
    When smart people read books engineered by other smart people, they can figure it out.
     
    Stringer Bell likes this.
  19. Ozzy

    Ozzy Premium Member Luxury Box



    Don't be so sure of yourself.

    The Miami Dolphins refinanced $235 million of stadium debt in 2010 in lew of the lockout. The bonds, issued by the Dolphins’ South Florida Stadium Corp., date back to 1985, before Sun Life Stadium’s opening. At the time, $90 million of bonds were sold, but new sales over the years have taken the amount to about $235 million.

    The new deal has a $159 million letter of credit that backs taxable municipal bonds sold through a government conduit, but for which the stadium corporation is responsible. The deal includes an additional $76 million of municipal bonds, as well.

    Anything else you'd like to ***** about?
     
  20. Ozzy

    Ozzy Premium Member Luxury Box



    He never should have bought tickets last season. It won't matter to me because I can see them no matter what. Thanks to our local black market....
     
  21. dwhorton

    dwhorton New Member

    1,054
    391
    0
    Mar 6, 2009
    bonjour
     
  22. mommabilly

    mommabilly No riders allowed

    2,033
    677
    0
    May 3, 2010
    Florio eats horse dung. I honestly wish I could meet the man face to fact so I could ***** slap him around. What a friggin punk. I love it when he sucks on Rex Ryans ball sack.
     
  23. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    111,654
    67,548
    113
    Dec 20, 2007
    Lol
     
  24. electrolyte

    electrolyte New Member

    1,209
    553
    0
    Oct 27, 2009
    Yep :)

    We have no idea what Ross is really doing with his creative accountants behind the scenes (and he's a billionaire before he bought the team, you can bet he has some really good creative accountants). Technically, the report they handed in is accurate. But if you scrutinize the details.... I bet you might find that they did NOT include Government subsidies (including the bonds), but did include stuff like inflated operating costs and overhead, etc......


    I also love the "Reported a Loss on Operating Income" phrase. This is quite misleading. In 2009, the Dolphins posted a $7.7 million loss
    in operating income. Yet the Dolphins 2009 -overall revenue- increased by $10 million.
     
  25. electrolyte

    electrolyte New Member

    1,209
    553
    0
    Oct 27, 2009
    The Dolphins ranked 26th in the NFL in local tv ratings in 2009. In 2012, we were bottom 3 in the NFL, and in many weeks, we were dead last in TV viewership. You act like people are just watching the game on TV instead of going to the games.

    The reality? Most of Miami does not care about the Dolphins anymore. If Ross DOESN'T buy the tickets, they will lose even more market share to the Miami Heat. People don't want to watch a perennial loser.


    And if you want to call Miami fans "fair weather", just remember Miami fans supporting the Dolphins for a long time while they sucked. In 2007 we only won -1- freaking game. The very next season, the Dolphins showed signs of hope and the fan support was HUGE. People want to support the team, but they are disgruntled. This lack of support has only been happening regularly in the past 5-6 years or so. Fans were sold a bill of goods and then got betrayed and disappointed by Saban. Then it happened again with Parcells and Co. and once again deflated and betrayed. If you want to talk about REAL fair weather fans, the NY Giants are among the NFL's worst viewership and are suffering in ticket sales. This is only a few years removed from the SB win. Many other teams too, like the St Louis Rams, who had "The Greatest Show on Turf" teams with those amazing runs and a SB win in 1999-2000 season, only 13 freaking years ago, they suffer from constant TV blackouts and very low attendance. In a Nielsen study, the Rams ranked DEAD LAST in the NFL in terms of popularity in their respective city. BY COMPARISON, the Dolphins last even REACHED a Super Bowl in 1985. and last won a SB in 1973. That is HORRENDOUS.

    You all should be congratulating the Miami fan base for even sticking it out this long. Fans all over the country wouldn't support the garbage we have put on the field lately either.
     
  26. mommabilly

    mommabilly No riders allowed

    2,033
    677
    0
    May 3, 2010
    While I do not know where you derived your figures from I have an FYI for you. When a Miami football game is broadcast locally it always has at least one third of the local viewers tuned in. Miami football when boradcast is still the number one viewed show in the local area on the day it is broadcast with as I said, 33% of the people watching TV tuned into the Dolphins game. National ranks for viewership are not all black and white. Ny for instance, the largest TV market currently in the NFL does not always tune into Jets or Giants games unless its a high profile team they are playing against. Just a little FYI. Taking all into account, Miami football when on TV in the local areas in Florida does pretty dam good considering.
     
  27. Da 'Fins

    Da 'Fins Season Ticket Holder Staff Member Club Member

    34,739
    47,804
    113
    Dec 19, 2007
    Birmingham, AL
    Any attorney working for the county looking over that kind of simplistic shift of profits would see through that in a heartbeat. It wouldn't fly.

    I don't know how factual or legit their numbers are because I haven't seen them but, either way, I have no problem believing they lost money. Attendance has been at the bottom of the league for several seasons (basically 25 and lower).

    The NFL is the most popular sport, and it has the biggest TV contract. But, what many don't realize is that MLB franchises can make more money because they have 81 home games to draw from. The average MLB franchise draws significantly over 2 Million fans. Though some tickets are not as expensive, that's a ton more than the max of 650K for an NFL franchise. Like politics, sports franchise earnings are still very much "local." And, in that area, the Dolphins have been failing for some time.
     
  28. electrolyte

    electrolyte New Member

    1,209
    553
    0
    Oct 27, 2009
    Probably because the last time the Dolphins were champs, Richard Nixon was President. The Dolphins haven't been serious SB contenders since the mid 80's.

    The Marlins won 2 world series, and the Heat won 2 championships within the last 20 years. The Dolphins have no excuse. Nobody to blame but themselves. We are a slight hair above the Buffalo Bills since 2000, but at least the Bills had some dominating teams in the 90's and reached multiple SB's, whereas we haven't. And Miami > Buffalo in terms of weather and entertainment, something Buffalo doesn't have to compete with.

    I refuse to blame fans for this.
     
  29. WhiteIbanez

    WhiteIbanez Megamediocremaniacal

    2,155
    837
    0
    Aug 10, 2012
    I'm a lifer man. I'll be a Dolphin fan till I fall down and end up in a box.
    Dolphins lost that game in Palo Alto. I turned 18 that day. To the niners
     
  30. CANDolphan

    CANDolphan Well-Known Member

    1,006
    546
    113
    Feb 18, 2012
    Let's see your links and sources, because everything i've seen and read say that you're dead wrong.

    Miami constantly has some of the worst viewership ratings. Period. You can't use "oh well these cities have more people!" as an excuse because that's now how TV ratings are measured.

    http://www.shermanreport.com/what-n...share-markets-hint-recent-super-bowl-winners/

    Some light reading.
     
  31. TooGoodForDez

    TooGoodForDez Deion Sanders for GM

    3,840
    636
    0
    Feb 26, 2013
    Excellent post. I was just gonna say the same thing.
     
  32. Stringer Bell

    Stringer Bell Post Hard, Post Often Club Member

    44,356
    22,480
    113
    Mar 22, 2008
    The biggest factor in the Dolphins' financial issues are their debt. They had to pay for their own renovations in the past. Everyone sees NFL teams making $20M a year, but they don't realize that those teams are getting hundreds of millions in subsidies. The Dolphins get 0. Just the interest payments on a $200M loan are going to be around $20M.
     
  33. ASOT

    ASOT New Member

    4,870
    306
    0
    Mar 29, 2013
    Coral Gables, FL
    It's been known to happen (example the Miami Marlins).
     
  34. ASOT

    ASOT New Member

    4,870
    306
    0
    Mar 29, 2013
    Coral Gables, FL
    It's the same bait & switch that Huizenga used in 1997 when he tried to get the Marlins a new stadium at that time. He took money that was radio & tv revenue, and put it in the "stadium corp" name and then said the Marlins weren't making a profit. Since he owned both he could do it, and almost got away with it, until the Miami Herald exposed it.
     
  35. Stringer Bell

    Stringer Bell Post Hard, Post Often Club Member

    44,356
    22,480
    113
    Mar 22, 2008
    Wrong. Marlins refused to open their books.
     

Share This Page