The City of St. John’s is required to release unredacted financial statements for St. John’s Sports & Entertainment Ltd. for the years 2019 to 2021 due to the recent Supreme Court General Division decision of Justice MacDonald. The City had previously refused the release of some information in the statements as it was believed to be harmful to financial and economic interest of SJSEL. As a result of this decision, the information originally requested through the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act has been released to the original inquiring party.

The financial information being released includes payments to Deacon Sports and Entertainment made during 2021 in relation to a resolution agreement reached following the eviction from the Mary Browns Centre for three weeks. The statements indicate a $1.29 million resolution agreement, of which $600,000 was paid to DSE for expenses related to the eviction. The remaining funds paid were for other matters related to the lease agreement including:

• $546,272 for the implementation of new LED ring signage, $291,272 of which was paid to a third-party; and
• $141,000 as per the cash flow schedule related to the naming rights for the facility under the lease agreement.