South Adelaide

I am sure Country Cousin can elaborate far better than I on the Gaming Machine issue. But if clubs need an example on this, then look to Sturt.

CC has mentioned a number of times on the Sturt forum the trends in the diminishing value of these machines as an asset and coupled with high variability in their patronage makes them quite suspect as as a continuing and reliable source of income.

To a club like Sturt with so few assets, it is all the more critical.

Do Clubs' CEOs meet at all to discuss common issues that face clubs?
If not, they should and put things like this on the agenda.

8 clubs all face very similar issues in the their business model, why can't some of these best practice processes be done collectively or at least considered collectively?

It would reduce costs in duplication of effort and perhaps flush out new ways they could all benefit.

The SANFL should really be driving this.

If some of this is done now, it is done fairly quietly.

Ive recovered sufficiently after last nights meeting...here are a few of my thoughts....


total...-$442k- ouch.  

Im figuring that about 20%   of that loss would be put down to the fact we were paying Ron Fuller  to coach this year as well as Gotchy. 
There has been a general downturn in gaming revenue across the state over the last 2 years.
Our club is guilty as charged of throwing all of its revenue generating eggs into the one basket(gaming) and this has proved very costly. The decision to restructure memberships a couple of years ago which drove people away from the club has also proved costly.Thankfully that situation has been addressed and there is now pretty much a membership available for everyone and their circumstances.
The club is now going to turn back to increasing traditional revenue streams of membership, sponsorship and marketing to assist in generating revenue.
The club has made some tough decisions already to redress this dire financial situation but in my opinion will have to make more.The budgets of all departments have been slashed and the club has budgeted for a return to profit next year.......   

The performance of Jimmy Deanes must be of grave concern for the club, and its performance must be addressed immediately.

also

The sanfl has sold footy park for $71 mill and initially was going to retire its own debt of $36m and keep the balance. 
Due to the insistence of our club  and the other sanfl clubs ,the sanfl changed its mind and will pay off its own debt over a longer period of time and issue a "sizeable" dividend on a yearly basis to the 8 clubs beginning 2016.




_________________

It's always going to be hard to turn a profit when you're paying $250,000 in a year for the position of senior coach. I think clubs from now on will have to pay coaches less and/or honour coaching contracts. It would probably be wise not to appoint coaches for more than 2 years at a time in those circumstances.

Huge concern !!!!!

I don't think this is getting off topic. If it is, we can move it. But I believe full time coaches in a league with part time players is a bad fit. All clubs, so far as I know, have a full time football operations manager (Or some equivalent  role) who handles day to day administration of the football department, recruiting, dealing with players off field issues etc.  And provides general back up support for the coaches. I frequently see senior coaches described in the media as their clubs "boss". Nothing could be further from the truth. Any coach who sees himself as such, is setting up a disruptive and ultimately expensive conflict with the board. Particularly if he's on a 5 year contract. Wrong move IMO. I don't know which clubs have full time coaches right now (Excluding Port and Crows) I'd be interested to know.

countrycousin wrote:I don't think this is getting off topic. If it is, we can move it. But I believe full time coaches in a league with part time players is a bad fit. All clubs, so far as I know, have a full time football operations manager (Or some equivalent  role) who handles day to day administration of the football department, recruiting, dealing with players off field issues etc.  And provides general back up support for the coaches. I frequently see senior coaches described in the media as their clubs "boss". Nothing could be further from the truth. Any coach who sees himself as such, is setting up a disruptive and ultimately expensive conflict with the board. Particularly if he's on a 5 year contract. Wrong move IMO. I don't know which clubs have full time coaches right now (Excluding Port and Crows) I'd be interested to know.

As far as I know, Centrals are the only team to NOT have a Football Operations / Football Manager...

That role is handled by Kris Grant, as the CEO...

Phil, that's a huge task for one person.  Surely, no matter how good Kris might be, the junior program must be strained with no Football Manager?

Lee wrote:Phil, that's a huge task for one person.  Surely, no matter how good Kris might be, the junior program must be strained with no Football Manager?

There is a whole Junior Development Team, including a Manager (Scott Stevens) in place, to handle the junior program...

There has been a huge turn around for the underage system at Central, based on where they were at 2 years ago...

With Matthew Kreig at the helm of the Under 18's, results turned around this year and things look bright for the future...

News gets worse for South, with CEO Commercial Operations, Trudi Hower, resigning due to ill health. Very testing times in the next 12 months at Noarlunga.

let us hope she recovers quickly

south Adelaide have stopped bingo at the club

The Emperor wrote:south Adelaide have stopped bingo at the club

really ? that used to be a boon for them, i went years ago with the ex (compulsive bingo player) & another couple, i had 2 calls before ''half time'' & had $80.00 & was then told ''it is $20.00 each'' i wasn't very happy with that i can tell you, had i known beforehand i'd have accepted it but not after the event

Yep. Bingo ceased in the last week or so.
I have also been there and the sunday night session was very popular. 
Many players would play the pokies beforehand and even afterwards if they hit the fishermans dream.

Obviously not profitable and Bingo is surely not a huge money spinner. 

Unfortunately of some clubs fall on hard times and they have very small supporter bases ,I fear for their futures. South got out of it with the move to Noarlunga and should be very thankful . 
Clubs , as I have mentioned so many times, got caught in the Pokies "easy money" trap. Those days are gone as it is anti social so other revenue streams need to be explored . It means the "lazy' clubs that relied on that now need to reinvigorate themselves and think of other ways to be profitable.

waddayamean wrote:Obviously not profitable and Bingo is surely not a huge money spinner. 

Unfortunately of some clubs fall on hard times and they have very small supporter bases ,I fear for their futures. South got out of it with the move to Noarlunga and should be very thankful . 
Clubs , as I have mentioned so many times, got caught in the Pokies "easy money" trap. Those days are gone as it is anti social so other revenue streams need to be explored . It means the "lazy' clubs that relied on that now need to reinvigorate themselves and think of other ways to be profitable.

Anti social, give me a break, I and my wife put in $20 at our club each home game and never in a pub, so please don't start that crap.

testy wrote:

waddayamean wrote:Obviously not profitable and Bingo is surely not a huge money spinner. 

Unfortunately of some clubs fall on hard times and they have very small supporter bases ,I fear for their futures. South got out of it with the move to Noarlunga and should be very thankful . 
Clubs , as I have mentioned so many times, got caught in the Pokies "easy money" trap. Those days are gone as it is anti social so other revenue streams need to be explored . It means the "lazy' clubs that relied on that now need to reinvigorate themselves and think of other ways to be profitable.

Anti social, give me a break, I and my wife put in $20 at our club each home game and never in a pub, so please don't start that crap.

What crap ? Are you posting to deliberately go against me as others do ( the need to fit in) or are you saying that it's a social norm. I never mentioned dollar value .

waddayamean wrote:Obviously not profitable and Bingo is surely not a huge money spinner. 

Unfortunately of some clubs fall on hard times and they have very small supporter bases ,I fear for their futures. South got out of it with the move to Noarlunga and should be very thankful . 
Clubs , as I have mentioned so many times, got caught in the Pokies "easy money" trap. Those days are gone as it is anti social so other revenue streams need to be explored . It means the "lazy' clubs that relied on that now need to reinvigorate themselves and think of other ways to be profitable.

I used to think it was laziness on the clubs' behalf to rely so heavily on gaming revenue, but Im not sure it's the case. It's difficult to find alternate revenue streams of the magnitude of gaming income (as far as Im aware no club has found one yet) and most clubs are stretched to the limit resource wise. Lee could probably give us a better insight on this front?

waddayamean wrote:

testy wrote:

waddayamean wrote:Obviously not profitable and Bingo is surely not a huge money spinner. 

Unfortunately of some clubs fall on hard times and they have very small supporter bases ,I fear for their futures. South got out of it with the move to Noarlunga and should be very thankful . 
Clubs , as I have mentioned so many times, got caught in the Pokies "easy money" trap. Those days are gone as it is anti social so other revenue streams need to be explored . It means the "lazy' clubs that relied on that now need to reinvigorate themselves and think of other ways to be profitable.

Anti social, give me a break, I and my wife put in $20 at our club each home game and never in a pub, so please don't start that crap.

What crap ? Are you posting to deliberately go against me as others do ( the need to fit in) or are you saying that it's a social norm. I never mentioned dollar value .

agreed, pokies are a very anti social form of revenue, rooms of people sitting staring at screens barely saying a word to each other, with maybe a free coffee and a biscuit in return. time for all clubs to branch out and find other ways that bring more families in also, which pokies don't do at all

What suggestions to people have as other means of revenue raising?

Big Phil wrote:What suggestions to people have as other means of revenue raising?

That right there is the million dollar question for every club I think Phil.

The Checkside Tavern has apparently taken a significant downturn since AFL left Football Park. I wonder if the SANFL will end up with enough $$ to find an alternate venue and shift the gaming machines/licenses somewhere more conducive to higher profit levels. The venue could be run independently and the profit distributed equally among 8 SANFL clubs?

Again though, that's a suggestion that doesn't venture into a new area of revenue type.

Generally, club income sources are (in rough order):

Gaming

SANFL Distributions (fixed)

sponsorship and membership combined

Bar and food sales

Functions

Then a host of other smaller revenues.

The major costs are wages and player and coach payments.

Interest on loans or rent.

The problem with new revenue streams is that it probably requires more salary costs to drive new initiatives.

Clubs certainly need to budget for decreased gaming income. Obviously problem gambling is an issue, but I see only good from situations such as Mr and Mrs Testy enjoying a $20 flutter on a match day.

Clubs will have to operate within their means and we see that happening more and more now.  Recruiting will change for the poorer clubs, as they try to avoid paying transfer fees where possible.

Most clubs couldn't afford an increased salary cap and it may well be that a reduced salary cap is more likely.

Big Phil wrote:What suggestions to people have as other means of revenue raising?

I have made a number of these over the years, there are plenty of things that can be done if there is any actual motivation in the first place. 

First off I would put each SANFL Club President who actually gives a stuff about the issue on a plane to Penrith for a tour and discussion with the Penrith Leagues club who currently own 14 venues and maintain a number of revenue streams into the club. Penrith did not just become like that over night, it happened by a lot of hard work by a number of people over a number of years. I have no doubt that there are parts of the strategies used that will work here in SA to raise revenue. 

The other point that I would make is that i feel that the only way is for the clubs to be bitter rivals on the field, but united and working on a common cause off the field. Whilst we are seeing revenues from licensed clubs reducing, there can still be funds in it if marketed the correct way. One of the first things I would look at would be the purchase or lease of a city hotel shared equally by the clubs with an even revenue split of profits made. Even small revenue streams are a start. 

I would also give some consideration to setting up a retail sports and book store in a central location, perhaps not unlike what the members of the Fitzroy FC did which they use to provide revenue to the Fitzroy amateur side in the VFA. Something like this could also be good for promotion of the SANFL as well as just a revenue stream. 

I have a number of other ideas, yet these are a simple start, yet the fact is that they represent not a lot of money for the work and effort required and the interest just is not there accordingly. Until that hightower attitude changes, the situation will continue to stay on the same downward trend.

I dont think that the Bingo ran at a loss.  However the club probably feel they could make more money hiring out the area.

yes cash flow is important but Bingo is like a community service. 

A large number of the bingo patrons are now going to play at Glenelg footy club.

The other area that I feel needs attention is the once good value Jimmy Deanes dining area.
it has gone down hill at a rapid rate in terms of service and food.

The Emperor wrote:I dont think that the Bingo ran at a loss.  However the club probably feel they could make more money hiring out the area.

yes cash flow is important but Bingo is like a community service. 

A large number of the bingo patrons are now going to play at Glenelg footy club.

The other area that I feel needs attention is the once good value Jimmy Deanes dining area.
it has gone down hill at a rapid rate in terms of service and food.

Totally agree re : jimmy Deans

I feel the place is too "high end"on prices for food in a low social economic area.  Basically, many of the locals can not afford to go and pay for a pretty reasonably priced meal.  There are no real specials or cheap meal nights....when there are other venues in the area that have some good bargains out there.

i have expressed my concerns to the club (a few years ago now) saying if they want more people to go to JD's then get them in with cheap deals (example : $12.00 snitty with a pint of beer) Don't go the fancy meals.  Good pub grub is what people want and will bring them in.

Think sometimes we try to be too smart and fancy for our own good. (this is relevant to life in general too!)

I like the principle of KISS ....Keep It Simple Stupid ! 

Book stores ? They're closing down a hundred miles an hour . Speaking of closing down , Fitzroy ..................

South need to have a complete look at what is going on as if they slide away again after one good year then they are in strife. Souths biggest problem is they have very few supporters.

Don't apply for the Marketing job at South Ben W .