For anyone questioning if Steve and Alex Cohen’s spending to make the New York Mets a winner is sustainable, the preliminary results would suggest that yes, the business model may work over the long term.
According to Sportrac, the Mets had the second highest payroll in Major League Baseball last year. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers, who spent $270,381,426, outspent the Mets, whose payroll came in at $268.292,506. The fans responded positively to the competitive team on the field, that netted 101 regular season wins, despite an unfortunately early exit from the postseason.
In an article by Mike Ozanaln published in Forbes, the Mets had a net income of $127 million in their Citi Field operations last year, off of a ballpark revenue of $244 million. This net income is the highest such figure since the park opened in 2009. Ozanlan provides further details on how the ballpark finances turned out least season, including the following (note: these data come from financial statements from Queens Ballpark Co. LLC, the subsidiary that operates Citi Field and is required to make payments on the PILOT bonds used to finance its construction).
- Average attendance per game was close to 33,000
- Ticket sales generated $133 million
- Concessions brought in $22 million
- Parking totaled $12 million
On the expense side:
- Ballpark operations and maintenance cost $51 million
- Payment in lieu of taxes was $43 million
- Parking (payment on the lots in Queens) cost the team $5 million
The 33,000 average attendance is up 60% from 2021, which was anomalous season, as attendance restrictions were in place until late June. It is important to note that ballpark operations are only a part of team’s financial picture. There are other revenue streams, such as local television and radio broadcast fees, as well as each team’s share of national broadcast contracts. Expenses such as travel, costs to maintain minor league operations, and player and coach salaries are all not considered in the above.
The Mets, at this point, are projected to have the highest payroll in MLB in 2023, with their payroll currently standing at just over $336 million. The Yankees are a distant second at $287 million, with the Phillies third at $231 million, while the Padres are projected to have the fourth highest payroll at $223 million. All of these data are from Sportrac.
The old adage suggests that one has to spend money to make money. MLB teams do not share their financial statements, so it’s not possible to determine if overall the Mets made or lost money last season. Estimates (from dodgerblue.com) are that each team receives over $60 million from national broadcast contracts, and that local deals bring an average of $40 million to each team (the Mets would be higher than that because of the New York market).
It’s safe to say that the positive cash flow at Citi Field will continue, and likely grow, as the Mets consistently put a quality product on the field. Whether the team is in the black or the red, while unknown to fans, does not seem to matter to the Cohens, who are committed to bringing sustainable winning to Flushing for years to come.
The Cohen way of doing business is in year three now. Already the Mets have brought in superstars Francisco Lindor, Max Scherzer, and Justin Verlander, and retained (at significant expense) players such as Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Díaz.
The Cohens will spend, this is something we have seen since day one of their ownership. What we are seeing, not surprisingly, is that the fans will spend in kind, moving the turnstiles at Citi Field in growing numbers. It’s a wonderful circle of baseball life.
