VFL clubs combined $91+ Million debt

[ParraEelsNRL]

Can't seem to find anyone talking about this at any VFL forum, what's up boys?

[Xman]

not sure why we'd care about the debt of a state level competition

[AFLcrap1]

Lol .deflection alert .

[ParraEelsNRL]

Yeah well it seems to me that it is indeed the old VFL clubs copping the cactus royally while these two boat anchors introduced recently continue to bleed and put the National AFL at risk all because the people incharge over the last 15 years were and are arrogant.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/a ... 7413467123

[AFLcrap1]

AFL cash drain to new clubs could delay Etihad Stadium purchase

The Australian
June 25, 2015 12:00AM

The drain of AFL cash to Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast is not only taking its toll on other financially struggling clubs, but could delay or even prevent the early buyout of Etihad Stadium.

Central to the financial stability of the league and its clubs is the AFL’s Future Fund, which the league values at $89.4 million, but has never held more than its current cash value of $63m.

The cash amount is less than some clubs believed it was. They say that is, in part, because of the massive additional funding to both the Giants and Suns.

As The Australian revealed in a series of exclusive reports earlier this month, up to eight clubs have forecast losses for 2015 with the competition carrying combined club debts of a record $91.5 million.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan told The Australian yesterday that the decision to put second teams into Queensland and NSW was proving to be more demanding than expected. “They are proving more expensive than our broad forecasts suggested,” he said.

While the AFL has always said the move north would prove challenging, it is the first time a league official has acknowledged the Suns and Giants are pulling more money from consolidated revenue than expected. However, he said that the league’s initial budget of $200m over five years to establish the clubs would be close to being “on the money”. McLachlan also stressed that the financial wellbeing of all 18 clubs was an AFL priority. A selling point to clubs in initially supporting the expansion was that the two clubs would not need a huge amount of outside funding after five years.

The early purchase of Etihad Stadium by the league is viewed by tenant clubs as being vital to their long-term existence due to their poor current deals with the privately owned venue. Former North Melbourne chief executive Eugene Arocca famously once said it was tempting to lock the gates at Etihad to keep fans away, “because we’d make more money that way”.

The AFL would have been better placed to purchase the stadium outright before they take ownership for virtually nothing in 2025, if their ultimate aim of being debt-free and having $100m in its Future Fund by next year, was met.

However, McLachlan said the acquisition of Etihad was not in any way dependent on the Future Fund. The Future Fund is currently $37m short of its projection, and could be further adrift owing to the financial instability of the clubs. Between 2011 and 2012, the fund appeared to have diminished based on the past two AFL annual reports, which said combined profits in 2013 and 2014 of $29.1m would be reinvested in the Future Fund.

As late as 2013, the AFL continued to report a Future Fund with capital of $89.4m, but the confusion to clubs surrounds the cash element compared to what has been stated in annual reports.

The Future Fund was drained in 2011 when, under Andrew Demetriou, the league borrowed $55m over 13 months, chiefly to support the blowout costs associated with the expansion clubs.

A league spokesman yesterday emphasised the importance of the Future Fund and referred to the most recent annual report, which says in part: “An amount of $89.4m ($82m plus interest of $7.4m) is held in the future fund reserve.”

As far back as 2006 when the AFL released the influential blueprint Next Generation: Securing the future of Australian Football, the idea of a Future Fund was developed to fast-track the purchase of the Docklands stadium.

The Next Generation document outlined the plan that the AFL Commission would allocate $82m over five years from 2007 to establish a Future Fund.

“One of the aims of the Future Fund is to strengthen the asset base of the competition and allow us to consider future investments to secure new revenue streams for the competition. An example of such an asset is Telstra Dome (now Etihad Stadium),” it said.

In March, 2013, AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick confirmed the league’s preference was to buy Etihad Stadium earlier than 2025. But he said the league and the stadium’s owner Melbourne Stadiums Ltd, remained some distance apart on a price.

According to AFL annual reports the league has spent a minimum of $139m on the Suns and Giants since 2010.

The AFL is reported to have offered as much as $225m-$250m to buy Etihad. It is believed the superannuation companies that own Etihad are looking for a selling price much closer to $300m.


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Nothing to see here
Move along .
& the highlighted bit is interesting
remember when the NRL were supposed to have fudged their 50 million figure .
Screams of revolt ...
Laughed at by fumblers for fudging .

So where are the cries of lies .
Revolt by clubs .

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That won't happen .
Just the head nodding like mindless sheep to any Aflol propaganda .

[ParraEelsNRL]

No mention at big footy either.

Not been a good week for the AFL all round I would say what with the way SOO took over the headlines for a few days n that.

[AFLcrap1]

Wow so apparently the 2 new clubs are draining the money .more than they thought ...so many Lols
Wow just wow .
Who wuda thunk ..lol

Anyone with an IQ above a house plant knew that ,which rules out most fumble fans .

What I still don't get is that fans of the basketcase heartland clubs ,still support this rigged comp & corrupt organisation .
Their teams have no chance of getting near a GF ..( well rational people know that ..BEA thinks all teams have a chance .lol lol lol )
I would walk away from RL if is was as compromised as this rigged joke .

[ParraEelsNRL]

Thank goodness for old beaussie and his site, if it wasn't for this joint, I don't know if any AFL fan would even know about all this debt seeing as the big wall of sweep sweep has been put up.

[Xman]

Yeah well it seems to me that it is indeed the old VFL clubs copping the cactus royally while these two boat anchors introduced recently continue to bleed and put the National AFL at risk all because the people incharge over the last 15 years were and are arrogant.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/a ... 7413467123

which old VFL clubs are you referring to? Port Melbourne? Coburg? Are you sure you've got your facts straight? >

[AFLcrap1]

News Limited
June 19, 2015 12:00AM

The overall health of AFL clubs diminished last year with club debt swelling alarmingly to $91.5 million.

As well, clubs combined to collectively lose more than $3m, which was a $9m turnaround from 2013.

In confidential AFL figures obtained by The Australian, the negative overall club result would have been far worse if it were not for the huge profits of West Coast and Hawthorn.

In official 2014 operating-profit figures determined by the league, the Eagles recorded a positive result of $4.4m with the Hawks making $4m.

At the other end of the scale, St Kilda lost $3.9m, $400,000 more than Brisbane, which has already been handed an extra $2m in emergency funding, outside the normal channels, to stay afloat this year.

The Lions, despite a hat-trick of premierships from 2001, have never recovered from a stock exchange disaster that saw them lose $3.5m almost 10 years ago. The beleaguered club now carries the biggest individual club debt — $13.3m — which is $700,000 more than the Western Bulldogs.

Clubs are expecting tough times again this year, with up to eight forecasting losses again. The Saints have budgeted for a $2.2mn loss, as have Carlton, who are facing a loss considerably more than initially forecast.

The Western Bulldogs and *Adelaide forecast losses close to $1m each. Geelong is expecting a negative result anywhere between $250,000 and $500,000, while North Melbourne could lose $60,000.

Fremantle are hoping to break even, and GWS and Brisbane told The Australian yesterday they were hoping to also break square. The Suns are set to record a loss after their poor start to the season.

While gaming debt — in general terms, the initial establishment cost of buying entitlements and machines — has been dropping significantly since 2012, bank and AFL-funded debt has risen dramatically over the same period.

In 2012, bank and AFL-funded club debt was $38.1m, then rose to $43.1m in 2013 before spiralling to an unhealthy $54.4m last year.

However, the two latest additions to the AFL are not the drag, at least on the books, that the rest of the competition might have expected. Last year Gold Coast posted a profit slightly greater than $1m and Greater Western Sydney recorded a loss of $600,000. Their operating profit and loss figures are separate to the massive funding by the AFL for at least their first 10 years.

Last year the two clubs received a combined $36m to run their businesses.

Brisbane hope this year to cut $1m off their debt. The Lions owe about $6.5m to the AFL and a similar amount to the banks. Not counted is a $2m grant the club received from the league this season to help cover operating costs.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan told The Australian yesterday: “Debt is one of the challenges facing our clubs. We are working closely with them to address it.”

The league maintains the issue is not one of revenue-raising, but exploding costs.

One AFL official conceded: “There’s just too much debt in the system. We are going to have to turn it around. We are going to have to break the present business mould.”

Not all clubs see it the league’s way. Brisbane spent just $7.5m on their non-player related football department.

Brisbane chief executive Greg Swann said: “We have been concentrating on driving revenue. We have just done things a bit smarter. The costs are not a problem but we need to generate a bigger revenue base.”

The Lions’ membership has passed 25,000, the best result since it was winning premierships. The club has successfully increased business revenue with greater use of its 100 corporate boxes.

The Giants say they have managed well given the competitiveness of the Sydney market. Football costs jumped in the past two years when the board decided to strengthen the football department after just three wins in their opening two seasons.

This year the Giants are paying close to the salary cap limit, having picked up Ryan Griffen and Joel Patfull over summer.

“Every percentage point you go up in your cap is roughly the equivalent of $100,000,” chief executive David Matthews said yesterday.



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So in just 3 yrs debt has nearly tripled .
Getting up near 100 mill .

Lol
Abandon ship abandon ship .

Well Vlad did .he just didn't tell anyone else to .

[Xman]

The competition earns way too much overall for this to be a concern about viability. What they do need to do is introduce equalisation measures and limit the irresponsible spending of a number of clubs who just spend beyond their means. The reason this issue hasnt created panic stations is because AFL clubs have ample room to reduce their costs

[pussycat]

But, But, But, [-o<

[AFLsforPussies]

Heartland AFL lol and that much in debt =D> =D>

No wonder Bendigo Gold VFL club folded last year.

[Xman]

Do any of you clowns have mortgages? A number of wealthy AFL clubs have debt because theyve invested in multi million dollar training facilities. It isnt an issue if you can service your repayments.

[pussycat]

Do any of you clowns have mortgages? A number of wealthy AFL clubs have debt because theyve invested in multi million dollar training facilities. It isnt an issue if you can service your repayments.

but, but, but ............... The question that needs to be asked is why did they try and hide this information? Why did they try to cover it up?? and what else are they hidding???????????????????????

D has really left poor Gillon in it?