November 22, 2016
News for Wizard World Comic Con New Orleans 2017:
Wizard World May Run out of Money at the End of 2016
by Patrick Delahanty, Executive Producer, FanCons.com
Bleeding Cool has reported that Wizard World's SEC filings were made yesterday and state that their cash on hand is "insufficient to fund its operations on a long term basis past December 31, 2016."
The company previously reported a loss of $4.3 million for 2015 followed by the resignation of the CEO.
In their new SEC filing, the company says they are running profitable shows in Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, Columbus, Portland, Nashville, Austin, Sacramento, Louisville, Minneapolis, San Antonio, Atlanta, Tulsa, Reno, and St. Louis, but "have operated at a deficit in other events." With the addition of San Antonio and Atlanta, this is an identical list to a list given at the end of 2015.
Wizard World events held in 2016 that were not listed (and therefore assumed to not be profitable) are Cleveland, Las Vegas, Madison, NYC, Des Moines, and Richmond. Although claiming Nashville, Louisville, and Reno were profitable, they haven't had events in those cities since 2015. Wizard World hasn't been in San Antonio or Atlanta since 2014. (Wizard World Gaming Atlanta was scheduled for 2016, but was cancelled.)
In order to increase revenue, the company had increased ticket prices and reduced employee headcount. One of those former employees, Stephen Shamus, was fired and sued for allegedly stealing $1 million. Shamus, their former Chief Marketing Officer, has filed a countersuit for over $1 million.
Given Wizard World's financial situation, you may want to hold off before buying tickets to any 2017 Wizard World shows.
