No news is perhaps good news when it comes to the financial situation for the Battlefords North Stars this past year.
The club held its annual general meeting Monday at the Civic Centre where the club reported a near break-even performance for the past year financially.
According to numbers presented from June 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015. the club posted a small net loss of $7858.94.
Those numbers were through the end of May, but it was noted the numbers did not include some revenue that came in later, so the loss is actually closer to $2,000.
The items that took the biggest hit on the balance sheet was their Growing With the Stars agricultural project, as well as revenues from the ice fishing derby.
The agricultural project brought in $58,719, short of their $85,000 budget. As well, the fish derby brought in only $7,904.59, well short of the budgeted $25,000.
Conditions for the fish derby this year at Jackfish Lake were particularly impacted by a winter storm that made travel treacherous through the area.
Still, the overall situation for the North Stars is better than what some other teams recorded this past season, with both the Weyburn Red Wings and Kindersley Klippers undergoing well-publicized financial troubles this past year.
The indication at the meeting was that those teams have programs in place now to address their debt, and all 12 franchises will be back for the coming SJHL season.
Also at the meeting, general manager and head coach Kevin Hasselberg gave his report. He expressed optimism about next season.
“Our leadership is going to be phenomenal,” said Hasselberg. “We’ve got a group of leaders who are invested in our community. They all grew up here, and that’s going to be led by Kendall Fransoo, who will be our captain this year, and we’re three months ahead of schedule in that selection process. From a team perspective we’re really excited.”
As well, Hasselberg said the team had secured 20 of its 28 home games on Fridays and Saturdays this coming season. The league is also going back to a showcase event that features every player on every team in the league. And there will be the same division and playoff structure as before.
“We want to set our goals high and win a championship here and that’s our mission.”
