Over second half of 2022, Barclays Center reports $4M in net income (far too little to pay off construction bonds). Ticket sales in Q4 on par. Will that change?

The Barclays Center had another underperforming half-year in the second half of calendar year 2022 (aka the first half of fiscal year 2023), documents recently released to bondholders show.

The arena operating company recorded nearly $42.9 million in revenues and $38.9 million in expenses, or net operating income (NOI) of nearly $4 million, as shown in the screenshot at right.

That is a modest improvement over results over a similar period one year ago, in which the arena company reported $38.3 million in revenue and $38.1 million in expenses, resulting in some $200,000 in NOI.

Keep in mind that the arena needs significant NOI to cover annual payments on construction bonds. As I reported last October, the arena did reap $14.1 million in NOI for FY 2022, a swing back from a net loss of $23 million in the previous year.

But that wasn't enough to cover $37.65 million in payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs), which notably include $21.6 million in interest on the bonds. That means that team and arena company owner Joe Tsai, a billionaire, has to backstop the debt.

Quarterly results on par

For the last quarter of calendar year 2022, or Q2 of FY 2023, the arena company reported $10.3 million in suite and sponsor installments, and $19.6 million in ticket sales, for a total of nearly $30 million in cash receipts, as shown in the screenshot at right.

In Q2 of FY 2022, as I reported, the arena company reported slightly higher numbers $11 million in suite and sponsor installments, and $20.1 million in ticket sales.

What next?

Keep in mind that the arena company's recently announced return to Ticketmaster is surely aimed to unclock more revenues, thanks to booking more shows (on the logic that Ticketmaster's partnership with Live Nation makes it easier) and avoiding ticketing snags (as claimed regarding SeatGeek's performance).

But that won't show up until the next quarter's results, or perhaps the one after that.