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The Green Bay Packers' financial performance last year was considerably better than their performance on the field, newly released information shows.
Revenue was up. Profit net of taxes was robust. Expenses were down. And the Packers Franchise Preservation Fund, the piggy bank the franchise maintains for tough times, grew another $10 million to $125.5 million.
"The story we have is a good one," said Larry L. Weyers, president and CEO of Integrys Energy Group and the team's treasurer. "There is a lot of good news this year."
Each year, the Packers, the National Football League's only publicly owned franchise, release a limited amount of information on their financial status. The information is expected to be mailed to the team's more than 111,000 shareholders this week in time for the July 25 shareholders' meeting at Lambeau Field.

Weyers and Vicki Vannieuwenhoven, the team's vice president of finance, said the franchise likely will rank in the second quartile in terms of team revenue compared with the rest of the 32-team NFL.
Last year the Packers ranked seventh in team revenue, the fourth consecutive year the team was in the top 10. That may not happen this time around, but Weyers said the team is generally right where it wants to be.
But change is constant in the NFL. Teams are building new stadiums, which generate more local revenue. In addition, franchises are becoming more savvy about finding new ways to produce revenue.
"The NFL is a very competitive place, and not just on the football field, but in terms of profitability," Weyers said. "There are other league members coming up with new ideas on how to create revenues and how to create profits, and to the extent we don't keep up, it will be hard to maintain parity with the rest of the teams."
Here are the highlights of the Packers' financial performance for the fiscal year ending March 31:
Operating revenue: $218 million, up from $208 million.
Profit net of taxes: $22 million, up from $18 million.
Player costs: $110.7 million, up from $102.9 million.
Team expenses: $17.7 million, down from $33.7 million. Team expenses do not include player costs.
Overall operating expenses: $183.8 million, down from $187.5 million.
NFL revenue, including national TV revenue, cable, satellite TV, satellite radio, licensing fees: $111.5 million, up from $102 million.
NFL road revenue: $14.1 million, up from $12.9 million.
Stadium operations: $7.2 million, up from $6.3 million.

Marketing revenue, which includes the Packer Pro Shop, Lambeau Field Atrium and other marketing revenue: $40.7 million, down from $41.4 million.
"Atrium and marketing revenue are up just slightly," Weyers said. "Pro Shop revenue is off a bit."
Weyers and Vannieuwenhoven explained that Pro Shop revenue was down for a host of reasons.
"We didn't have a post-season (game) here again," Weyers said. "We didn't have a hockey tournament. And it's been another year since we have won a Super Bowl."
Added Vannieuwenhoven: "Our team record had an impact, too." The team finished last season with an 8-8 record.
Weyers said the franchise would remain cautious about using Lambeau Field for non-football events.
"We consider the options that are available, but we are very cautious for using the stadium for non-football events because of the potential impact on the playing surface," he said. "When you spend a lot of money replacing the playing surface, we don't want to entertain an event that might be a detriment to that."

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