The financial toll of the coronavirus has been heavy for sports teams nationwide, but FC Tucson may be faring better than most.
Club president Amanda Powers, hired in January, said the team had already planned to take a “pretty significant” hit this year to accommodate its bold aspirations over the next few years.
“We knew this year we needed to repair brand and get relevant in community,” Power said. Team leadership decided they could stomach losses in 2020 to carve out a good path forward for the next few seasons, which Powers teased could potentially involve a change in ownership.
Still, with much of the team’s revenue halted in March with the suspension of the season, Powers and the front-office staff had to make some changes while USL League One decided how to proceed with the season.
FC Tucson benefited from a small business rescue loan through the federal government’s Payroll Protection Program. The $124,000 loan was based on the club’s five employees last year.
“It’s not much when you consider that we scaled the organization up to 15 (employees),” Powers said. “And we have 25 players on payroll, and pay for their apartments and food.”
FC Tucson’s PPP loan money came from Phoenix Rising FC, its owner and parent club. According to a Star database, Rising received two PPP loans totaling between $500,000 and $1.35 million.
Phoenix Rising received the loans through two separate limited liability companies, one designated for players. The players’ LLC received between $150,000 and $350,000, with the money helping to retain 22 jobs, according to the Star’s database. The second LLC, simply called Phoenix Rising FC, received between $350,000 and $1 million and does not specify if any jobs were retained.
It’s unclear exactly how much money Rising received in PPP loans. Club spokesman H. Jose Bosch said the club doesn’t discuss financials publicly.
Powers said that the club will recoup some of its lost ticket revenue by charging for admission to its drive-in watch parties. The club also picked up several new sponsors last week, as some businesses are actually thriving under this new reality.
“We’ve been innovating,” Powers said. “We’re just trying to find those opportunities to offset some expenses.”
