Jazz's Miller loses money for 4th year in row

Date: 6 Jul 2003 09:20:29 -0700
Newsgroups: alt.sports.basketball.nba.la-lakers,alt.sports.basketball.nba.utah-jazz,rec.sport.basketball.pro,alt.sports.basketball.nba
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http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Jul/07062003/sports/72839.asp
On the court, the Jazz have been winners for 18 consecutive years. On
the balance sheet, they have suffered four straight losing seasons. Larry Miller is determined to end one streak next year. He hopes
that by doing so, he doesn't endanger the other. After turning a profit for 14 straight years, Miller's NBA team
will finish the 2002-03 season in the red for the fourth time, the
Jazz owner said. It might be close, he said, depending upon how large
Utah's share of luxury taxes and the NBA's escrow fund is. "Right now, we're projecting an operating loss, but it's much
smaller -- less than one-third -- of what it has been the past few
years," Miller said, though he would not disclose exact figures. "It's
possible we could get back to break-even, but we don't have any
numbers from the league yet." He does have one number in mind already: $43 million. That's
roughly where the Jazz anticipate next year's salary cap to fall,
though "that's based on about 30-percent information, so take it for
what it's worth," said Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's vice president of
basketball operations. It also represents the Jazz's new spending ceiling. After four
straight years of living well above the NBA's salary cap, with
payrolls of $50 million or more, Miller intends to rein in his costs,
at least for a few years, to match the league's cap.