After seeing red for the past two years, the Weyburn Beavers announced at their annual general meeting on Wednesday that they made a profit of about $10,000.

"If we couldn't get a handle on this, we wouldn't be around for much longer," said president Garnet Hansen.

With this money, Hansen wants to put together a better on-field product. The past couple of seasons the Beavers have struggled to field a competitive team due to money issues. "In order to increase the fan base, you have to increase the product."

One of the major factors in the large amount of profit was sponsorship money which took in $40,360. Season ticket money took in $10,880 and gate ticket sales brought in $2,608. These ticket sales combined brought in approximately $2,800 more than last year's season and gate ticket sales.

A new source of income for the team was the gas club which took in $1,710. Altogether, the baseball club had an income of $68,389, an increase of about $14,000 from 2005.

The only significant change in expenses was $2,381 spent on uniforms which is down from the previous season.

"We bought pants the year before, but we got them late and haven't had the chance to wear them out," Hansen said.

In total, the Beavers had $58,222 in expenses which is down from $62,005 in 2005.

"It is a significantly different picture than the years previous," Hansen said about the whole financial situation.

It was also announced that the ball club has received approval from city council to sell beer at their games and were given a $10,000 budget to upgrade the lighting.

Before Christmas, the Beavers approached Leisure Services about the idea of selling beer at the baseball games.

"We met and, quite surprisingly, they were on board and excited about it," Hansen said.

Then on Feb. 16, Hansen received a letter from the City of Weyburn that their request had been passed unanimously. The recommendation thus far is to have beer in the stands, there will be no beer gardens, and sold from the confection booth.

"We would like to look at upgrading the booth," said vice president Ken Larson, who added that sometime in the future the Beavers would like to expand their confection booth.

Last fall Hansen had talked to Claude Morin and Bob Smith at the City about the lighting at Tom Laing Park. Morin and Smith did a power test and found that the infield was within the league guidelines, however, the outfield fell below the minimum standards.

Hansen approached Smith about the lighting after presenting his case to sell beer at the ball park to city council. Smith told him that it had been approved and the lighting would be upgraded before the start of the season.

The Beavers new coach Eldon Dallas joined the meeting by speaker phone to give an update on recruiting for the team.

This year Dallas will have some help in the dugout as one of his former players, Noah Trujillo, will be acting as assistant coach. Trujillo is currently an assistant coach at Mississippi Valley State University; as a player he was the starting catcher earning Defensive Player of the Year in both his junior and senior years.

Trujillo has been brought in to help Dallas out, but the Beavers executive are looking for him to do a lot of work with the youth and minor baseball players through clinics. Trujillo is a 22-year-old catcher and has already told Hansen that he would be willing to play if the team becomes shorthanded.

Dallas joined the team this off-season after learning about the vacant coaching spot through his son Dusty, who played for the Beavers last season.

"He came home and mentioned that there were problems with the coach and some players had brought my name up to (Hansen)," Dallas said.

So far, Dallas has signed five players out of Eastern Arizona where he is an assistant coach. Weyburn has always had a difficult time attracting pitchers, however, 10 have already been signed for the 2007 season.

Five players from last year have already signed on with the Beavers. Dallas had the opportunity to coach returning players Jesse Locke and Shane Karnback at Eastern Arizona College.

In Karnback's last two outings as a pitcher, he has only allowed one hit and is the top pitcher in his conference. Dallas admits Locke had one inflated inning this winter which hurt his ERA, but has looked good this season in college. He has accepted a full-ride scholarship to Mississippi Valley State University next year.

Also returning to the Beavers club are Cory Neer, Kade Larson, Mat Larson and Gerad Fox.

One of the new players Dallas is really excited about is Destry Rice from Eastern Arizona College. He is one of the top hitters in his conference and could make a big impact on the Beavers baseball club. Scouts are still recruiting for a two-way pitcher or a premier pitcher.

One of the concerns going into camp is the lack of local talent as Mike Larson will not be returning to the team.

"That is the last of a long list of local guys that have played for us in the last couple of years," Hansen said.

Some local players who have expressed interest and may see minor roles with the Beavers this season include Brennan Luffman, Evan Schultz, Adam Wilson and K.C. McCormick.

The Beavers are looking for about 12 billets for the upcoming season. Each billet will be given $300 per month for living expenses. For more information or to become a billet contact Garnet Hansen.

The 2007 Western Major Baseball League season will begin for the Beavers on Wednesday, May 30 against Moose Jaw at Tom Laing Park.