LONE TREE — Colorado high schools are looking to earn more money by hosting playoff games and events.
The CHSAA Legislative Council on Tuesday passed amendments to the association's tournament and playoff financial structure at the DCSD Legacy Campus. Previously, the host school would pay a portion of the playoff gate proceeds to his CHSAA and also pay a portion to reimburse the visiting team's travel expenses.
However, under the new amendment passed overwhelmingly 56-14, each member school would pay an annual playoff fee to the CHSAA, but the amount would be based on the school's basketball classification. There is. With that fee paid, schools are now entitled to: This is to keep the revenue generated from hosting events such as playoff games and regional tournaments without having to share it with CHSAA.
“This is a structural and fundamental change to the way we've always done things,” said CHSAA Commissioner Mike Krueger. “We are a profit-sharing membership, so this approach is cost-sharing.”
The amendment comes after a months-long investigation by the CHSAA's Tournament & Playoffs Finance Committee, which found that schools that host playoff games and tournaments (such as regional wrestling and volleyball tournaments) are consistently losing money. The bill was passed in the House on Tuesday.
For example, Tournament & Playoffs Finance Committee Chairman Paul Cain, athletic director for the Mesa County Valley School District, said 85% of regional wrestling tournament organizers lost money last year. With this change, that deficit becomes a $5,000 profit for each host school.
The association's tournament and playoff financial reports reveal that postseason funds account for 5% to 10% of the CHSAA's organizational budget, and Cain said, “Teams participating in the playoffs are currently We are subsidizing funds and this will be distributed to all members.” ”
CHSAA Finance Director Sarah Vernon Brunner said the amendments have “no financial impact on CHSAA.”
“The committee…examined the five-year average of playoff revenues and used that as the basis for determining the total (playoff) fees,” Vernon-Brunner wrote in an email to the Denver Post. .
CHSAA dues will remain the same for the third consecutive year from 2024 to 2025, but each school's dues will be $948, plus $161 for participation in each sport/activity, but this playoff cost will be added to school expenses. It will be added on. Class 1A schools pay $600. 2A $800; 3A $1,000. 4A $1,400; 5A $1,900; 6A $2,600.
Two of Colorado's largest school districts, Denver Public Schools and Aurora Public Schools, opposed the amendment.
DPS said in a statement to the Denver Post that the revised “year-over-year projections indicate a significant financial impact to districts,” and DPS district athletic directors echoed this sentiment on Tuesday. Ta.
“We ran the model in Denver with the current structure,” Benji said. “We lost $2,000 in the past two months on postseason activities, and with this proposed structure and the same events, we are now down $16,000, or an 800% loss. Philosophically speaking, this is not a financial structure that is achievable for us at this time.”
APS District Athletic Director Casey Powell also voiced opposition to the amendment prior to the vote.
“This will create absolute stability for CHSAA, but it will completely turn my personal budget on its head,” Powell said. “Because my school doesn't make the playoffs regularly, so I don't get that (new) revenue. So it's not true that I'm going to get that (playoff) fee back.”
Krueger acknowledged those concerns, but said, “No matter how you look at it, this is our obligation as a member.”
As part of the proposed amendment, if the host earns more than $1,000 in net profit in a head-to-head playoff game, 25% of that revenue would go to the visiting team. Cain said the 75-25 split will be based on an “honor system.”
Krueger also said the new model will encourage, rather than discourage, schools from holding regional tournaments, and districts like DPS and APS will recoup their playoff costs by hosting those tournaments. He added that it is possible.
“If you host community events, this should help in some ways because the events that you don't currently host may change and your members may start hosting these events,” Krueger said. . “And if you deserve the right to host (based on playoff seeding), should our system be one that costs a lot of money to host that (game or event)? ”
Krueger pointed out that this fall, Cherry Creek athletic director and Tournament & Playoff Finance Committee member Jason Wilkins said that despite the thousands of people attending the Statler Bowl, the Bruins were unable to play football. He said he lost in the first round of the playoffs.
Under the current model, CHSAA receives 10% of gross revenue and 70% of net revenue from football playoff games from host schools. In basketball, traditionally the association's biggest source of playoff revenue, the CHSAA is responsible for 20% of the adjusted gross revenue.
Wilkins said the cost structure “doesn't leave much of an opportunity for hosts to make a profit,” in addition to having to pay for ticket takers, police, security guards, officials and visiting travel expenses.
Meade athletic director Chad Eisentrager further supported Wilkins' opinion, arguing that the benefits from playoff games and events “should stay within the communities that put the effort, time and resources into it.” .
“Three years ago, we hosted Roosevelt in the state semifinals in football,” Eisentrager explained. “Our revenue was about $13,000, but we lost money as a result of security and all the other fees associated with running the event.
“In fact, we are losing money on these (playoff events) because my community, which had the right to host that event, has had to zero out that revenue. This (new fix) If we are successful enough to host a big basketball game, a big football game, or some other (postseason) event like regional wrestling, the fee will be refunded. Masu).”
Cain also argued that the new amendments would give schools “some flexibility in how they handle the postseason.” For example, schools looking to increase attendance and atmosphere can now choose not to charge students for postseason games, as long as visiting students also get in for free. Previously, there was a fee if you didn't charge the gate.
And the Tournament and Playoffs Finance Committee said that in addition to increasing revenue for many schools, the amendments also eliminate much of the red tape that complicated the flow of funds.
“One of the things (the committee) heard is that when we visit schools, we don't always get paid (for travel) as expected,” Wilkins said. “Such and such schools are supposed to pay money, but it's not always easy, it's not always timely, and sometimes you have to keep asking. Different districts have different financial The systems are also different, so there's a lot more time and a lot of[bureaucracy]to fill out these forms.”
This amendment will take effect in the next two-year CHSAA cycle.
Want more sports news? Sign up for Sports Omlet and get all the analysis on Denver's teams.
