It was a case of good news, bad news for the Humboldt Broncos as they hosted their Annual General Meeting in the Uniplex’s Jubilee Hall on Aug. 29.
Thanks to a down year on the ice the Broncos endured a loss of roughly $48,000 for their year ending May 31, which can be partially attributed to missing the playoffs, says Broncos President Jamie Brockman.
“We always try to budget without the playoffs because we want the playoffs to be a bonus but we also have to be realistic and a couple playoff rounds adds a lot to the bottom line… a winning team creates that buzz and excitement that people want to come out and see.”
Brockman noted that the last time the team went to the league final in 2013 the team managed to earn more than $100,000 in additional funds.
The Broncos tried a new fundraiser in the fall of last year called Seed for Green, which did really well, says Brockman, and really helped cover some of their losses.
Ticket sales in recent years have also been a concern for the Broncos, says Brockman, as they have seen their average gate per game decline for each of the past four years.
This year the Broncos tried a new season ticket blitz in June. Extending the blitz from two days to the entire month and saw tremendous results as the team exceeded their goal of 250 tickets, selling 274. The 274 tickets sold was up approximately 150 tickets from their highest two-day blitz total and saw 25 new season tickets sold, with Brockman calling those numbers “nothing but positive."
Last year the Broncos sold a total of 309 season tickets and they are looking to far exceed that number as they get closer to the start of the regular season on Sept. 17 at home against the Notre Dame Hounds.
“We will be throwing out a little blitz and thermometer on our website like we did again and kind of track that progress.”
The Broncos also enjoyed one of their easier seasons of late off the ice, says Brockman, because they did not have to go through another coaching change.
“Stability is key. We had three coaches in three years. That definitely shakes things up and now we’ve got Darcy in the second year and I’m sure he’s more comfortable heading into the season as he was pretty much joining our team at this time last year.”
With many teams around the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League undergoing head coaching changes this summer Brockman hopes that the stability for the Broncos will be a big difference maker heading into the season.
The Broncos also added two new members to their board during the AGM, which was a bit of a relief for Brockman as they were looking to increase their number from six. Despite the jump to eight board members Brockman says they are still looking to add even more.
“Anytime someone thinks they can help or willing to help on a board it doesn’t matter time of year we’ll definitely take them.”
The team is also looking for billets for the upcoming season and Brockman encourages anyone interested to contact the board.
“Our billet coordinator is Devin Cannon and his contact information is on our website. You can contact Darcy our head coach, or any board member. We can set you up.”
Fit is a big part of the process, says Brockman, as players need to be matched with the right billets.
“If they have cats some kids have allergies so we can’t put them there and just sometimes it not a good fit.”
Brockman says being a billet can be a real positive experience for families, especially those with younger kids.
“These guys are role models to their young kids and a lot of good fits and memories in becoming an extended family member.”
With training camp running Sept. 1-4 Brockman says he is optimistic that the team will be very exciting this season, noting that the end of last year gave the fans glimpses of that.
“Darcy has worked hard adding to that puzzle and I think moving forward we’re going to look to a very good season.”
