Winnipeg Football Club Posts $12.1 Million Operating Profit, Invests $8.4 Million in Capital Improvements at Princess Auto Stadium
WINNIPEG, MB., April 15, 2026 – The Winnipeg Football Club today released its 2025 Annual Report, announcing an operating profit of $12.1 million and an $8.4 million investment in capital improvements at Princess Auto Stadium.
"We are extremely proud of our financial results for 2025, strengthened by a sold-out season that averaged more than 33,000 fans per game," said President & CEO Wade Miller. "These results are a testament to the continued support of our season ticket members, corporate partners, and fans. They are the reason this Club remains strong, on and off the field."
In 2021, the Club entered into an agreement with the Government of Manitoba and Triple B Stadium Inc. establishing a Capital Fund dedicated to long-term stadium maintenance and improvements. In 2025, the Club allocated $11.9 million to the Capital Fund and $1 million to its Operating Reserve, for total allocations of $12.9 million, equaling the Club's overall profit for the year.
Total operating revenue in 2025 reached $82.8 million, an increase of $28.1 million over the prior year, driven by the Club's hosting of the 112th Grey Cup and 2025 Grey Cup Festival. Operating expenses rose to $70.7 million, up from $47.7 million in 2024, an increase of $23.0 million, also attributable to hosting the Grey Cup.
Those strong results allowed the Club to move forward with significant upgrades. In 2025, $8.4 million was invested in stadium projects including a new players' lounge, HVAC remediation, additional contactless security screening devices, and concessions equipment to improve capacity and speed of service.
Looking ahead, the Club has just completed installation of two new high-resolution video boards at Princess Auto Stadium. "These new boards elevate the game-day atmosphere and enhance how our fans experience football at Princess Auto Stadium," said Miller. "The image quality is significantly better, and they integrate seamlessly with the ribbon boards we added last season. We are committed to continuing to invest in our stadium and improving the fan experience every year." Fans can also look forward to a redesign of the Rum Hut, loge seat replacement, a new food and beverage point-of-sale system, and a new BBQ stand serving smash burgers and other favourites.
"The Winnipeg Football Club has a strong history of financial stability," said Miller. "We are the financial stewards of Princess Auto Stadium, committed to the ongoing investment in capital maintenance and improvements to ensure it remains the best stadium in the CFL and delivers the best fan experience in the country."
Quote from: ModAdmin on April 15, 2026, 02:56:35 PMWinnipeg Football Club Posts $12.1 Million Operating Profit, Invests $8.4 Million in Capital Improvements at Princess Auto Stadium
WINNIPEG, MB., April 15, 2026 – The Winnipeg Football Club today released its 2025 Annual Report, announcing an operating profit of $12.1 million and an $8.4 million investment in capital improvements at Princess Auto Stadium.
"We are extremely proud of our financial results for 2025, strengthened by a sold-out season that averaged more than 33,000 fans per game," said President & CEO Wade Miller. "These results are a testament to the continued support of our season ticket members, corporate partners, and fans. They are the reason this Club remains strong, on and off the field."
In 2021, the Club entered into an agreement with the Government of Manitoba and Triple B Stadium Inc. establishing a Capital Fund dedicated to long-term stadium maintenance and improvements. In 2025, the Club allocated $11.9 million to the Capital Fund and $1 million to its Operating Reserve, for total allocations of $12.9 million, equaling the Club's overall profit for the year.
Total operating revenue in 2025 reached $82.8 million, an increase of $28.1 million over the prior year, driven by the Club's hosting of the 112th Grey Cup and 2025 Grey Cup Festival. Operating expenses rose to $70.7 million, up from $47.7 million in 2024, an increase of $23.0 million, also attributable to hosting the Grey Cup.
Those strong results allowed the Club to move forward with significant upgrades. In 2025, $8.4 million was invested in stadium projects including a new players' lounge, HVAC remediation, additional contactless security screening devices, and concessions equipment to improve capacity and speed of service.
Looking ahead, the Club has just completed installation of two new high-resolution video boards at Princess Auto Stadium. "These new boards elevate the game-day atmosphere and enhance how our fans experience football at Princess Auto Stadium," said Miller. "The image quality is significantly better, and they integrate seamlessly with the ribbon boards we added last season. We are committed to continuing to invest in our stadium and improving the fan experience every year." Fans can also look forward to a redesign of the Rum Hut, loge seat replacement, a new food and beverage point-of-sale system, and a new BBQ stand serving smash burgers and other favourites.
"The Winnipeg Football Club has a strong history of financial stability," said Miller. "We are the financial stewards of Princess Auto Stadium, committed to the ongoing investment in capital maintenance and improvements to ensure it remains the best stadium in the CFL and delivers the best fan experience in the country."
As a non-profit they are in a good position to to get in front of the financial downturn and reduce ticket and concession prices.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on April 15, 2026, 03:18:07 PMAs a non-profit they are in a good position to to get in front of the financial downturn and reduce ticket and concession prices.
Don't count on that. Price might not rise or rise as much but seldom go down. Great work by management running the show.
Don't know if prices are the issued. It costs me $300 for my season tickets and I probably spending another $300 a season on food/drinks. That's not terribly expensive for 10 evenings a year.
For a Jets game I probably spend between $100-$115 a game.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on April 15, 2026, 03:18:07 PMAs a non-profit they are in a good position to to get in front of the financial downturn and reduce ticket and concession prices.
As mentioned in the article, the funds are allocated back into the stadium or set aside for future reserves.
Turning into a cash cow baby!
wow, $12 million to the good, it would be nice if they issued a season ticket discount in reflection of this, give something back to those who supported you.
Quote from: dd on April 16, 2026, 01:59:22 AMwow, $12 million to the good, it would be nice if they issued a season ticket discount in reflection of this, give something back to those who supported you.
If you're selling out every game, that's the market telling you to RAISE your prices, not lower them. Demand is exceeding supply. Supply is set in stone. Only way to balance it is to raise prices.
Not that I'm advocating that, but it's the logical thing to do.
It's EDM with its glut of supply and low demand that should be lowering prices.
Quote from: Blue In BC on April 15, 2026, 03:23:36 PMDon't count on that. Price might not rise or rise as much but seldom go down. Great work by management running the show.
I've been to 6 CFL stadiums in the past 7 years. We're the cheapest or one of the cheapest for concessions. Pop & food, for example, is much more expensive in SSK. They really gouge there.
Things like Shawarma Khan are a really good deal still and I'm glad Khan and WFC are holding the line on inflation. (Though I do expect a small increase again this year.)
If there's a President Of The Year in CFL, it needs to go to WM (many years running!). This stuff doesn't just happen because you're winning (watch there being empty seats still in SSK and MTL next season). WM & WFC are making all of the right moves.
Now... how much of that is stolen by the CFL to "equalize" to the "poor" ::) (billionaire-owned) teams? Or does this number already take that into account?
P.S. Still have no idea what a "loge" seat is... is that the ones on the same plane as the 100-level concourse? Or the special sponsored EZ roof seating or something?
Oh ya, and clearly the GC pays off, especially here. Maybe time to think about increasing the frequency from every 10 years... SSK/CGY/HAM are all hosting it more often.
Glad to see we turned the increased rev/exp into a juicy increased profit.
Quote from: Tecno on April 16, 2026, 03:27:04 AMIf there's a President Of The Year in CFL, it needs to go to WM (many years running!). This stuff doesn't just happen because you're winning (watch there being empty seats still in SSK and MTL next season). WM & WFC are making all of the right moves.
Now... how much of that is stolen by the CFL to "equalize" to the "poor" ::) (billionaire-owned) teams? Or does this number already take that into account?
P.S. Still have no idea what a "loge" seat is... is that the ones on the same plane as the 100-level concourse? Or the special sponsored EZ roof seating or something?
The numbers do include money the Bombers received from the CFL. They received a net of $6,510,744 in 20025. (2024:$7,667,110). It would be nice to know how much other teams received from the league for comparison.
I believe the team would have made a lot more from hosting the Grey Cup/festival if the league didn't implement revenue sharing in 2022.
The WFC made a profit of $6.3 million by comparison the 2015 Grey Cup in Winnipeg resulted in $5.6 million profit. If not for revenue sharing the team probably would have doubled what they made in 2015.
Yes, the loge sections are the swivel seats on the 100 level.
Quote from: gobombersgo on April 16, 2026, 04:04:41 AMYes, the loge sections are the swivel seats on the 100 level.
I always wondered, are those loge seats buyable like normal tickets or are they reserved for things like companies/sponsors buying/sponsoring that little section?
I guessed $14mil in a previous thread.
Sounds about right.
Now the club is sending out all this material "bring your friends, bring you co workers, bring your strangers" to the games for some marginal benefit?
They are bloody aggressive.
It is cheap as a STH, concessions are still reasonable.
All things considered side red it remains tremendous bang for the buck.
Quote from: Tecno on April 16, 2026, 03:21:04 AMIf you're selling out every game, that's the market telling you to RAISE your prices, not lower them. Demand is exceeding supply. Supply is set in stone. Only way to balance it is to raise prices.
Not that I'm advocating that, but it's the logical thing to do.
It's EDM with its glut of supply and low demand that should be lowering prices.
That's true in business but they are a not for profit organization for a reason, pushing prices higher with an economic downturn on the horizon would not be wise.
Boy, Princess Auto Stadium sure has turned into a terrible investment. Wrong stadium, wrong size, wrong location...
Oops... nevermind.
Should at the very least let us apply our season ticket member benefit card to beer purchases too if they are bringing in that profit.
These big profits are excellent and important to stabilizing our financials through inevitable future hard times that every club eventually has to go through. Make hay while the sun shines and before it rains.
I wonder how much we will be "spreading the wealth" with other franchises through the profit sharing model?
Quote from: theaardvark on April 16, 2026, 09:29:50 PMI wonder how much we will be "spreading the wealth" with other franchises through the profit sharing model?
Surely profit sharing to the "poors" already came out of the '25 financials and is part of the final results we saw?
It would suck if they clawed out many millions$ for the '25 numbers from the FY '26 book.
All the billionaire CFL owners of the other teams need free money, dontchaknow! Pay up Winnipeg! ::) ::) ::)
So much profit, yet the BB didn't pour money into FA last season so that home fans can possibly see their team make it to the Grey Cup and win it for a change.
Quote from: BLUEBOMBER on April 17, 2026, 07:01:15 AMSo much profit, yet the BB didn't pour money into FA last season so that home fans can possibly see their team make it to the Grey Cup and win it for a change.
There is a hard $SMS cap, which had a very questionably timed bump last year.
Until we get the accounting of the $SMS for 2025, we don't know if Walters "left anything on the table".
The only question I see in last offseason was signing Mitchell over spending twice as much for Lawler. No doubt Lawler's on field talent, and Mitchell's off field issues, that decision was suspect, for sure.
Other than that, if there was extra cap due to the late bump, it got used at the end, and allowed the spectacular FA season we had this year. Yes, should have been used last year, but again, we don't know when or how that $SMS increase came into play, and who knew it was coming, and who gambled on it coming, and who decided status quo was prudent, just in case.
Quote from: theaardvark on April 17, 2026, 04:24:05 PMThere is a hard $SMS cap, which had a very questionably timed bump last year.
Until we get the accounting of the $SMS for 2025, we don't know if Walters "left anything on the table".
The only question I see in last offseason was signing Mitchell over spending twice as much for Lawler. No doubt Lawler's on field talent, and Mitchell's off field issues, that decision was suspect, for sure.
Other than that, if there was extra cap due to the late bump, it got used at the end, and allowed the spectacular FA season we had this year. Yes, should have been used last year, but again, we don't know when or how that $SMS increase came into play, and who knew it was coming, and who gambled on it coming, and who decided status quo was prudent, just in case.
He said that we didn't go out and spend the additional money. By the time anyone knew everyone was signed mostly anyway so spending it wouldn't really have done anything different. Whether they used the bump in the fall to prepay for some things this season is an open question, I'd say probably yes, but that's just my guess.
Walters has said he spent some of the the money to carry extra guys on the 1 game injured list. He spent the the rest on 2026 signings.
Because of the tighter budget this season you'll see more guys cut when others come back from injury. You'll also see more injured players going straight to the 6 game list.
Quote from: gobombersgo on April 17, 2026, 05:21:35 PMWalters has said he spent some of the the money to carry extra guys on the 1 game injured list. He spent the the rest on 2026 signings.
Because of the tighter budget this season you'll see more guys cut when others come back from injury. You'll also see more injured players going straight to the 6 game list.
Absolutely makes sense and back to a normal year with no late increase to the SMS. What I'd really like to know is how much of the 2025 SMS left was used as early money to reduce 2026 SMS hit on those players.
Just a guess but we signed Oliveria, Kramdi, Demski and Lawson early. I could imagine $200K of 2025 SMS used. Can I prove it? No, but I think that's a reasonable guess.
Quote from: gobombersgo on April 17, 2026, 05:21:35 PMWalters has said he spent some of the the money to carry extra guys on the 1 game injured list. He spent the the rest on 2026 signings.
Because of the tighter budget this season you'll see more guys cut when others come back from injury. You'll also see more injured players going straight to the 6 game list.
Doing so would also entail making some hard decisions at first conflict, do they risk losing Vanterpool or Randolph to get one more year out of Bryant? I doubt either of them would accept PR assignment and a downgrade of Wallace to 6th man in his contract year would be idiotic. Kyrie or JSK, why keep both when younger LB's are vying for their jobs?
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on April 17, 2026, 06:40:47 PMDoing so would also entail making some hard decisions at first conflict, do they risk losing Vanterpool or Randolph to get one more year out of Bryant? I doubt either of them would accept PR assignment and a downgrade of Wallace to 6th man in his contract year would be idiotic. Kyrie or JSK, why keep both when younger LB's are vying for their jobs?
More than Randolph and Vanterpool, there are a lot of IMP Oline in camp. Its going to be a bloodbath, but hopefully results in a stronger Oline to protect Zach, with or without Big Stan. Maybe he follows Jake Thomas into coaching?
Quote from: theaardvark on April 17, 2026, 07:30:58 PMMore than Randolph and Vanterpool, there are a lot of IMP Oline in camp. Its going to be a bloodbath, but hopefully results in a stronger Oline to protect Zach, with or without Big Stan. Maybe he follows Jake Thomas into coaching?
I'm not convinced that either Vanterpool or Randolph make the roster. There must be a reason why they've signed so many new imports.
Either way it seems if they aren't starting, they may choose to leave. Both won't be starting and even a 3rd import OL is not yet written in stone.
Quote from: Blue In BC on April 17, 2026, 08:47:07 PMI'm not convinced that either Vanterpool or Randolph make the roster. There must be a reason why they've signed so many new imports.
Either way it seems if they aren't starting, they may choose to leave. Both won't be starting and even a 3rd import OL is not yet written in stone.
Yeah, neither guy has forced their way onto the active roster, much less proven they can replace an all-time great.
Quote from: gobombersgo on April 17, 2026, 05:21:35 PMBecause of the tighter budget this season you'll see more guys cut when others come back from injury. You'll also see more injured players going straight to the 6 game list.
As they should be. Anything else is asinine. And I don't even think you need a legit reason to 6G. Stubbed toe. 6G. Stashing the plyaer. 6G. "They won't agree to it!", pffft: they get 100% full pay on 6G and are safe from cutting. What more do they want? If they didn't want to be stashed they should have played better.
Quote from: Blue In BC on April 17, 2026, 05:30:56 PMAbsolutely makes sense and back to a normal year with no late increase to the SMS. What I'd really like to know is how much of the 2025 SMS left was used as early money to reduce 2026 SMS hit on those players.
The $400k question, eh? I'm pretty sure that, unlike "who went over SMS and by how much", we'll never know the answer to your question. That info simply isn't made public, except in bits and pieces doused in speculation.
Quote from: Tecno on April 18, 2026, 03:53:58 AMAs they should be. Anything else is asinine. And I don't even think you need a legit reason to 6G. Stubbed toe. 6G. Stashing the plyaer. 6G. "They won't agree to it!", pffft: they get 100% full pay on 6G and are safe from cutting. What more do they want? If they didn't want to be stashed they should have played better.
Can't stash uninjured players on the 6 game IR, the CFLPA won't have it and neither will the insurance industry who picks up a lot of the tab. A couple of decades ago the CFL got their hands slapped for doing this.
Quote from: Tecno on April 18, 2026, 03:56:11 AMThe $400k question, eh? I'm pretty sure that, unlike "who went over SMS and by how much", we'll never know the answer to your question. That info simply isn't made public, except in bits and pieces doused in speculation.
Probably but in recent years we're seeing other transparency. Neg list for example.
I'd settle for players salaries to be made public and how much is allocated to current year.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on April 18, 2026, 05:08:44 PMCan't stash uninjured players on the 6 game IR, the CFLPA won't have it and neither will the insurance industry who picks up a lot of the tab. A couple of decades ago the CFL got their hands slapped for doing this.
Still happens, surely. Allowed or not. You just take an iffy or nebulous injury (especially "head", and maybe "thigh") and push it as long as you want.
As for insurance, this is the first I've heard that there's insurance against players going 6G! Where are you getting that from? My impression was it was just normal team salary money. The only difference is it's SMS free (if following the rules, 6 games, etc).