Atlanta Braves Holdings Reports 9% Increase In Revenue for 2023
Atlanta Braves Holdings, the owner and operator of the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball Club, can confirm that winning is good for business.
In this case, very good for business.
Reporting their quarter end and year-end financial results, ABH announced a 9% increase in total revenues, both from baseball and non-baseball sources, for 2023.
Last calendar year, ABH brought in $641M in total revenues, with $582M of that being attributed to baseball revenue (an increase of 8%) and $59M of that being mixed-use development revenue (up 10%).
By contrast, in fiscal year 2022, ABH's baseball revenue is reported as $534M and mixed-use development revenue is reported as $53M.
As a reminder, "baseball revenue" is money derived from baseball events - ticket sales, advertising, suites, premium seats, etc - and broadcast revenue, which consists of local and national television, radio, and streaming rights monies.
Mixed-use development revenue is brought in from the developments of The Battery Atlanta, with which ABH worked with third-party development partners and affiliated entities to develop a significant portion of the 2.25 million square-feet of retail, office, hotel and entertainment opportunities. The organization receives primarily rental income from The Battery Atlanta's tenants, although to a lesser extent, they also earn monies from parking and advertising sponsorships in the development.
Among the headlines in the press release was the extension of Alex Anthopoulos as president of baseball operations and general manager through the 2031 season.
Terry McGuirk, Chairman and CEO of Braves Holdings LLC, was both excited about the results from last season and optimistic of another strong season in 2024:
“We are thrilled with both the team and financial performance at the Braves in 2023. Our management continues to focus on optimizing the ballpark, with upgrades planned for 2024 to drive more commercial opportunities and an improved fan experience. Season tickets, including premium seats, are already sold out in anticipation of another exciting season. The Battery benefitted from increased foot traffic and strong sales across the development and we expect another strong year ahead.”
The Bally Sports bankruptcy has impacted things a TINY bit
Per ABH's 10-K filing with the SEC, there is some small amount of concern about downstream impacts of the bankruptcy proceedings of Diamond Sports Group, who owns and operates Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast through their ownership of Sportsouth Network II, LLC.
(It's important to note that Diamond Sports Group, the broadcaster, is different and distinct from Diamond Baseball Holdings, the ownership group of all four full-season Braves minor league affiliates: Augusta Greenjackets, Rome Emperors, Mississippi Braves, and Gwinnett Stripers.)
Per the 10-K filing, there is a possibility that Atlanta Braves Holdings "may be required to pay up to $34.2 million" as part of the bankruptcy proceedings, as these were monies that the organization received during the 90-day period preceding the bankruptcy filing of Diamond Sports Group.
There's belief that the slow free agency periods for several teams, including the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers, have been partially due to the unknown status of future broadcast rights held by Diamond Sports Group and their subsidiaries.
The 10-K also explains that there are potential financial losses down the road if ABH both receives their regional broadcast rights back as part of the bankruptcy proceedings and is unable to find a replacement broadcaster to produce and distribute Braves games.
But from the outside, the likelihood of not finding a taker for Braves broadcast rights feels unlikely. The Atlanta Braves Radio Network, at over 173 local radio station affiliates, is the largest radio affiliate network in MLB (per the 10-K filing). Demand is also larger than ever for Atlanta Braves baseball games, with the team averaging 95.9% attendance last season in Truist Park, which holds 41,084 patrons.
