Report gives peak into Sears Centre expenses

While Hoffman Estates officials sing the praises of how changes in ownership and management have benefitted the Sears Centre, the proof is in the financial numbers.

The village's comprehensive financial report, presented last week, states that the Sears Centre's net assets - its land, building and equipment - is now worth about $84 million.

Having the Sears Centre's assets boosted the village, as net assets are used as a measure of financial performance For the year ending December 2009, the village's total assets, including the arena, outmatched its liabilities by $184 million compared to $104.3 million in 2008. The $80 million change shows the village's financial pictures has improved.

Village officials will have to wait until the end of the year for a more complete picture on how the arena is doing, because events thrown by the new Comcast management group won't be measured until late 2010 or early 2011, the report states.

The report shows the cost of running the Sears Centre as $4.8 million per year, with the building suffering $1.9 million in operational losses in 2009. The arena has been doing better in 2010, and officials predict the building will lose $950,000 this year, which is already down almost $300,000 from previous projections. Neither figure includes the $3.9 million annual payment for the arena's $54.9 million construction loan issued in 2005. The village eventually wants to refinance the loan, which could cost up to $92.3 million with interest through 2032, according to the report.

Before the village took ownership of the arena in December, the previous owner, Ryan Companies, was paying off the loan. Ryan, the Minnesota developer, failed to turn a profit on the building and turned it over to the village through foreclosure.

The firm that prepares the report, Crowe Horwath, has experience with municipalities which own facilities like the Sears Centre. The report comes in the form of a 187-page audit which is prepared every year.