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Franklinnoble · 01-20-2004, 12:46 PM

Placerville
February, 2005

It was an appropriately cold and rainy morning when Gene Perkins finally called Franklin at his northern California home with the final balance report for the previous season, during which the Chargers finished a league-worst 1-15.

"Well, Gene, what's the bad news?"

"We made $11.4 million dollars last year, Mr. Brown." Ordinarily, that'd be a pretty nice profit for a corporation with $79.8 million in revenue, but Perkins read it as if it were a death sentence.

"What do we have in the bank?"

"There was about $10 million left from the Spanos ownership, plus the $3 million we cleared last year."

"So we're still about $5 million short?"

"Correct."

"Alright. Call the bank. Get a loan for the amount we need. We're just going to have to slash the roster again this year - there's no choice. If we can clear about $35 million next season, we'll be alright."

"And if we don't?"

"Then I'm done with this team, and I'll go back to living a normal life." Franklin hung up. There had to be a way to make the team more profitable, but people wouldn't pay to see a losing ballclub. He picked up the phone and called Russell Winston.

"Winston, we need to go ahead with that stadium deal."

Winston replied, "If you say so, but we did worse this year than we did last year. Our chances aren't good."

"I know that. Put the proposal together anyway. I want something on my desk by next month."

"OK. I'll call a few architects and have some bids put together."

"Thanks, Russell." Franklin hung up. If the Chargers couldn't get a new ballpark in San Diego, maybe they'd have to move.

01-20-2004, 12:46 PM	#13
Franklinnoble Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Placerville, CA	Placerville February, 2005 It was an appropriately cold and rainy morning when Gene Perkins finally called Franklin at his northern California home with the final balance report for the previous season, during which the Chargers finished a league-worst 1-15. "Well, Gene, what's the bad news?" "We made $11.4 million dollars last year, Mr. Brown." Ordinarily, that'd be a pretty nice profit for a corporation with $79.8 million in revenue, but Perkins read it as if it were a death sentence. "What do we have in the bank?" "There was about $10 million left from the Spanos ownership, plus the $3 million we cleared last year." "So we're still about $5 million short?" "Correct." "Alright. Call the bank. Get a loan for the amount we need. We're just going to have to slash the roster again this year - there's no choice. If we can clear about $35 million next season, we'll be alright." "And if we don't?" "Then I'm done with this team, and I'll go back to living a normal life." Franklin hung up. There had to be a way to make the team more profitable, but people wouldn't pay to see a losing ballclub. He picked up the phone and called Russell Winston. "Winston, we need to go ahead with that stadium deal." Winston replied, "If you say so, but we did worse this year than we did last year. Our chances aren't good." "I know that. Put the proposal together anyway. I want something on my desk by next month." "OK. I'll call a few architects and have some bids put together." "Thanks, Russell." Franklin hung up. If the Chargers couldn't get a new ballpark in San Diego, maybe they'd have to move.