Seattle, WA
WNBA Seattle Storm’s CFO says ticket sales more than doubled despite inflation
A couple of hours earlier than the Seattle Storm and the Las Vegas Aces took to the court docket for Recreation 2 of the WNBA semifinals yesterday, I had a dialog with Tricia McLean, CFO of Seattle Storm and Power 10 Hoops LLC, the staff’s possession group.
“There are quite a lot of hats you put on as CFO,” McLean advised me throughout a video name. Like amenities administration, she says. “So proper now, I’m touring with the staff as a result of we’re within the playoffs. I don’t normally. However there’s quite a lot of reconciliation of the sport day statements. And income additionally is available in, which must be reported to the league.”
Whereas on the street, McLean is dealing with funds and rooting for the staff. She confirmed me the necklace she wears with the Storms’ WBNA championship rings. “I’ve three out of 4,” she explains. “After we received the championship in 2002, I wasn’t but with the staff. I put on these for good luck through the playoffs.”
Courtesy of Seattle Storm
McLean joined the Storm in 2008 as VP of finance and HR. She was promoted to CFO in 2019. Since becoming a member of the staff, she’s seen the enterprise develop. “We’ve grown over 250% this yr in income from our high quantity since I’ve been right here,” she says. “We’ve got 35 full-time, year-round staff. Then we’ve the 12 gamers. After which, we go as much as about 100 folks through the season for all our recreation nights. That features our dance troupe, IT folks, and others.”
She says that ticket gross sales, company partnerships and merchandise are the three predominant income streams. “We actually turned to on-line gross sales through the pandemic,” she says. “We used to promote about $150,000 price of merchandise a yr, which then was half one million {dollars} price of merchandise. We’ve saved our on-line gross sales as a result of we’ve so many extra followers. We’ll do over one million {dollars} in merchandise income this yr. And that’s because of the recognition of ladies’s sports activities and the WNBA specifically.”
“After which we’ve some TV income from ESPN,” she says. “And that’s by the league. That’s the recreation changer that we’re actually on the lookout for—to be paid for tv broadcasts.”
The Storm didn’t have a everlasting house for 3 seasons whereas the Local weather Pledge Area was beneath building. The staff had its season opener in Could on the area. “This yr, after we re-entered our house in Seattle, we greater than doubled our ticket gross sales,” McLean says.
As a CFO, I requested McLean if inflationary stress was certainly one of her high considerations. “I assume I’d be involved if folks give up spending their {dollars} on leisure,” she says. “However that has not confirmed to be the case for us in any respect. We’ve got nice renewal. The followers are there as a result of they care about our staff and the [win]. When the pandemic occurred, 90% of our season ticket holders left their cash with the Storm; they didn’t ask for a refund.” The Storm and the league “have nice momentum proper now,” she says. “And if we are able to get TV to be the place we’d like it to be, that would be the subsequent stage of development I’m on the lookout for.”
Evidently being a CFO within the WNBA is a tricky job. The league makes quite a lot of tough selections as a result of budgets are tight in comparison with different skilled sports activities. I requested McLean how she’s navigated this dynamic.
“It may be onerous,” she explains. “The athletes need sure issues, deserve sure issues that we are able to’t at all times afford. However we’re owned by three girls. Two of them had been skilled athletes; one was a silver medalist. In order that they imagine on this mission and need to present for these gamers greater than anybody. We’re lastly making fairly good cash, and so they’re nonetheless persevering with to place it again into the staff.”
She continues, “They’re constructing a state-of-the-art follow facility proper now for our athletes, which I imagine would be the first within the nation constructed by girls and financed by girls for girls.”
See you tomorrow.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Upcoming occasion: In case you are a CFO within the Chicago space, be part of us at Sepia on September 22 for our CFO Collaborative in-depth dinner dialog. The subject of dialogue: The Finance Expertise Mannequin of the Future. I will probably be joined by Fortune CEO Alan Murray, Fortune Finance Editor Lee Clifford, and Clem Johnson, President, Crist|Kolder Associates. Click on right here for extra info and to use. Please be aware that attendance is complimentary and topic to approval.
Massive deal
KPMG LLP’s annual report, “Tax Reimagined 2022: Views from the C-suite,” finds that tax professionals are in a time of transformation attributable to tech developments and the complexity of the U.S. and international tax regulatory panorama. Though there’s some progress from final yr, 52% of C-suite executives aren’t leveraging tax information for situation planning round tax coverage adjustments. In 2022, 68% of executives aren’t leveraging tax information to align with ESG priorities; that is a rise from 55% in 2021. Accounting stays a central competency for tax professionals. Nonetheless, in 2022, C-suite executives ranked coding as essentially the most wanted ability, in response to the report. The survey additionally discovered that 83% of respondents agreed that their group sees extra girls candidates and hires as tax professionals than in earlier years. And 72% agreed their group sees extra candidates and hires from underrepresented teams than in earlier years. The findings are based mostly on a survey of 300 C-suite executives at organizations with $1 billion or extra in income.
Courtesy of KPMG
Going deeper
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Leaderboard
Dominik Asam was named CFO at SAP SE (NYSE: SAP), efficient March 7, 2023. As beforehand introduced, after 26 years with the corporate, Luka Mucic, at the moment CFO, is stepping down. He’ll stay an SAP SE Government Board member till March 31, 2023. Asam involves SAP from Airbus. He additionally beforehand labored at Infineon Applied sciences AG. Along with his new CFO position at SAP, Asam will turn into a member of the Government Board.
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Overheard
“The present superbubble options an unprecedentedly harmful mixture of cross-asset overvaluation (with bonds, housing, and shares all critically overpriced and now quickly shedding momentum), commodity shock, and Fed hawkishness. Every cycle is totally different and distinctive—however each historic parallel means that the worst is but to come back.”
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