The team's problems were not limited to the on-field product. The Lodge's upkeep, combined with declining revenues from City Stadium, caused severe financial problems. By 1949, they had gotten so severe that Lambeau largely handed the team to his assistants in order to devote his full attention to the team's balance sheet. Even slashing the payroll and his own salary were not enough to staunch the bleeding. The Packers only survived the season by staging an intrasquad scrimmage with retired players on Thanksgiving Day.