AFL club debt is the worst its been .... ever
AFL... Imploding
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AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has revealed the debt of the 18 clubs - understood to be more than $40 million - is the worst it has been in the competition's history.
Demetriou admitted the level of collective debt at club level had to be addressed as a matter of urgency, saying Port Adelaide was the club that worried him most.
"It is a real concern," he said this week in an exclusive interview with Sunday Herald Sun columnist Shane Crawford.
2012 AFL Fixture
Fixtures: Every match of the 2012 AFL Fixture
"The total debt of the clubs in the competition today is the highest it has ever been.
"We have flagged that this is a year of consolidation. We have brought in two new clubs, we have a CBA, we have done the broadcast deal, we have re-signed all our sponsors. We have done all our big deals.
"Now we have to look after the existing clubs and help them get some control over their debt."
The AFL will relay the actual figure to its clubs within the next week, but it is understood to be between $40 million and $50 million.
Demetriou said the AFL had worked through each club's finances and had offered a range of assistance, so long as clubs committed to reducing liabilities. That will include extra policing to ensure prudence is exercised to make sure debts are tackled.
"Part of what we did last year with our five-year distribution plan is that every club that is getting additional funds has got a debt reduction plan," he said.
"The clubs have all bought into disequalised distribution. But they expect policing; they expect conditions and they expect a rigid adherence. We have given them an undertaking that is what we will do."
Demetriou said some clubs, such as Geelong with its new grandstand, could afford to carry some debt because they had the capability of paying it back.
But he said: "There are some clubs carrying debt that they are not making inroads into."
He said Melbourne Demons had done "an incredible" job of erasing $5 million of debt under former president Jim Stynes, as Hawthorn had done much earlier.
"There are some clubs, including Richmond and North Melbourne, who are trying to make inroads now," he said.
"They have debt demolitions, and I congratulate them for that.
"St Kilda has got some debt now. Our preference is to have less debt in the competition."
Demetriou said Port Adelaide had been a serious concern in recent years, and would face more challenges before heading to the Adelaide Oval in two years.
"They are making a real effort," he said. "I think the CEO, Keith Thomas, is very capable and they have added value to their board.
"But they have got two really difficult years ahead. Port Adelaide is the club that we have spent a lot of time trying to help out over the past couple of years, along with the SANFL."
