As positive a day as it was for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Wednesday when they announced an unprecedented huge profit on 2015 operations at Investors Group Field, there was also a word of caution.

“We can’t be expecting that we are going to see results like this every year,” Bombers president and CEO Wade Miller said.

The Bombers recorded a total profit of $11.5 million in 2015, likely the largest the football club has ever produced, thanks in large part to hosting the Grey Cup, the FIFA Women’s World Cup and a couple of big-name concerts at IGF.

Of that total, $7.1 million was generated by the Grey Cup on Nov. 29, while the team announced a healthy $4.4 million profit on season operations, which included the CFL games, the FIFA Women’s World Cup in June and ACDC and One Direction concerts in the summer.

Total operating revenue, not including the Grey Cup, was $28.3 million, while expenses came in at $23.9 million. A Bombers statement said actual costs to operate Investors Group Field have been higher than their pre-opening estimates.

In 2014, the Bombers’ profit was $3.9 million, in 2013 it was $2.9 million and in 2012, which was the last season at Canad Inns Stadium, it was $726,000.

“It’s a positive day for the organization,” Miller said. “Our staff worked really hard to get to this number and it’s a tribute to our fans, corporate sponsors and season ticket members for helping us get there.

“Tie in FIFA and the Grey Cup and the concerts and it’s a big year for Investors Group Field.”

Currently there are no concerts scheduled for IGF this summer, although the football club should benefit on its 2016 bottom line from the NHL’s Heritage Classic outdoor game, to be played in late October between the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers.

The total profit is huge for the Bombers, who owe $4.5 million per year to Triple B Stadium Inc., for the building of Investors Group Field. That payment has already been made for 2015, along with a $1.5 million payment to the same provincial entity for improvements to the stadium in advance of the Grey Cup.

That leaves the Bombers with $5.5 million to put in the bank, a rainy day fund that will help them with future payments should there be leaner times on the horizon.

The Bombers were 5-13 on the field last year and missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year. They have not won the Grey Cup since 1990.

“It goes to the loyal fan base that we have, the resilience of them,” Miller said. “I can assure that from our football operations guys, our head coach, general manager and myself, it’s not lost on us that our fans want to see a winning team on the field but even though we are not winning, the fans are still very supportive.”

The Bombers sold approximately 21,500 season tickets last season and Miller expects that number to go down this year.

“Every team experiences a bit of a drop after a Grey Cup and we’ll have a drop,” he said. “The season ticket sales are moving along. We’ll announce that number in June.”

One expense that the Bombers would love to reduce comes from the transportation costs to get fans to and from Investors Group Field.

“It’s $500,000 a year of additional expense that the football club is covering for people to take regular transit routes and be able to get to the stadium,” Miller said.

“Nothing has improved. We’re still trying to figure out a solution to that. Those costs are substantially higher than what was originally projected by the city and by the football club.”

The bottom line should not be affected by the salary cap in 2016, as it is going up by only $50,000.

The Bombers spent big in free agency in February and have their sights set on finally returning to the playoffs in 2016 under third-year coach Mike O’Shea.

One can only imagine the kind of profit the team could generate with a little more on-field success.