The Humboldt Broncos gave an update on the state of their franchise during the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce Chamber luncheon held at the Humboldt Golf Course on May 17.
Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce president Kim Mitchell said it was important for the chamber to provide the platform for the Broncos because they are an important piece of the community.
The luncheon saw the Broncos provide some good news and some not so great news to those who were in attendance.
Among the biggest pieces of not so great news was the fact that the Broncos are struggling to find people to be on their board, which has steadily declined from 16 in July 2014 when a plea was put out to get more members to seven that are currently on the board as of April 2016.
Broncos President, Jamie Brockman, says that the members are wearing out because they are being asked to do a lot of work to keep things status quo leaving little time to push forward.
“It’s a tough number because as with any board you get some that do lots and some that are on the cusp and with the amount of fundraisers that we’ve got going and everything to keep the team afloat it’s a lot for the few that we have.”
Brockman says there are many things that board members can do to help the team out and says that if they get enough board members they can even look to giving certain members specific responsibilities, which will help take the load off the few members they do have.
“We have fundraisers. If we get enough people we start putting groups to those fundraisers instead of the same five, six people having to do each and every one of them so some can take a break off because this other group has it looked after.”
Brockman also says it is important for those interested in becoming a board member to know that being on the board does mean they have to be at every game.
“People think joining the board is every game I’ve got to do something that’s not the case either we have other volunteers that we solicit to help that side of things. It’s just the behind the scenes stuff.”
Two of the immediate openings the Broncos have on their board are vice president, as well as treasurer.
In addition to the declining number of board members the team also saw a decline in a number of other areas, which Brockman admits is a direct correlation to the on ice product.
After a very slight increase in attendance last season the Broncos saw their average attendance per game drop by 45 people, resulting in a $50 drop in gate revenues. With attendance down the Broncos also saw decreases in bar sales as well as 50/50 ticket sales. With all the decreases the Broncos also, understandably, saw a decrease in total game revenue.
There is a great deal of optimism surrounding the Broncos on ice product this coming season which should help attract more people to the games, Brockman says they are also looking at different ways to increase that further.
“We’ve got to create that buzz and keep getting ourselves out in the community. We’re working on a new season ticket package and blitz for the month of June that will hopefully entice people.”
He says that the hope is by bringing in new board members they might also get some fresh ideas as well.
“There’s only so many things that can be done at one time and we’ll just keep plugging away.”
It was not all negative however as the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League sanctioned an Economic Valuation Report, which looked at the financial benefit of the Broncos.
Through the report it was determined that the Broncos’ economic value is over $1.2 million, with the team spending or creating over $800,000 for the City of Humboldt.
While game revenues were down this year a number of other revenues went up including support from businesses, which Brockman says has increased for the last number of years.
“It’s grown every year the last four years as a percentage of our revenue and without them we’re not here either so they’re all pieces to the puzzle and having the business community support us like they do is phenomenal.”
In addition to increased support from businesses the Broncos also saw in increase in their fundraising revenue this year, which was helped from a more successful lotto than last year.
Brockman says that he is really happy to see the support from the community.
“It is absolutely critical and I can’t stress that enough how proud I am that the community supports our team like they do.”
SJHL President, Bill Chow, was also in attendance to provide support for the Broncos and says it is important to him that the league show support to each of their organizations.
“All of our teams are important. You’re only as strong as your weakest link and they’re not the weakest link and nobody’s really a weak link but it’s to maintain and ensure that everybody is as strong as they can be.”
For those interested in becoming a member of the board Brockman says there are a number of ways to let the Broncos know:
Website: http://www.humboldtbroncos.com/
Phone: (306)682-5575
Email: [email protected]
