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One interesting point is that the Swans have still not approached the AFL for assistance.
Finals triumph can't fix Swans' cash worries
By Jacquelin Magnay
July 25 2003
A top finals position, or even a grand final victory, would not give the Swans financial salvation to relieve their weak balance sheet.
But the No. 2 ladder position and a strong finals showing would create a momentum that would help the club significantly, says the Swans chairman, Richard Colless.
Colless said yesterday the club wasn't looking for "a quick monetary fix" and admitted winning a few finals would not secure long-term financial success. The club has slashed player payments and football department expenditure by $4 million this year. The Swans have not yet gone to the AFL seeking extra money and Colless says they won't.
"What winning will do is bring members back, and sponsors back, and hopefully more of both," Colless said. "It creates a momentum - our 1996 effort [in making the grand final] helped revenue to peak in 2000 and that has shown us that success builds up.
"Already I think people's appetite has been whetted by the onfield style of footy under Paul Roos. It is very exciting."
The AFL has the rights to all nine finals matches, and the ruling body claims all revenue from them: ticket sales, corporate, signage, sponsorship, television rights.
Having a home final might be good for the Sydney fans and create an intimidating atmosphere for the opposition, but the tickets sales would not go to the Swans. At best the club may be able to on-sell some corporate seating.
The AFL pools its finals money and then redistributes it to the clubs. There is a base payment of $3.5 million and then a bonus made up of club allegiance by AFL members. The Swans, with much lower membership bases than the big Melbourne clubs, get about $50,000 a year under this arrangement. Collingwood receive about $600,000.
"The AFL keeps all the revenue from the finals series," said AFL spokesman Patrick Keane. "The dividends the clubs get is the same whether they get in the finals or not - the difference is the prizemoney."
But winning the grand final is not the lucrative earner many believe. Last year's victors, the Brisbane Lions, won $275,000 in prizemoney, with runners-up Collingwood collecting $176,000.
The club dividend system has historically been criticised by cash-strapped but successful clubs such as the Kangaroos, but Colless said the system helped ensure the survival of the 16 clubs.
"It is something we support, the 16 clubs have to be healthy to survive, but I will say from a personal viewpoint that the modest prizemoney should be increased so that there is a real financial reward [for grand final winners]," he said.
Last year the AFL divided $72 million among the 16 clubs, with the Bulldogs receiving the highest amount of $4.8 million (with a special assistance grant thrown in) and the Swans getting $3.65 million.
According to 2002 AFL figures, the Swans were the sixth-ranked club in terms of revenue earned (West Coast, Brisbane and Fremantle were the top three) but were the biggest spenders. Football department expenditure was $12.46 million, including payments on players of $7.88 million. But there have been prudent re-signings of Michael O'Loughlin, Tadhg Kennelly, Jason Saddington and Adam Goodes, and some youngsters.
The Swans secured most of the players at a reduced cost, and are the fourth-most frugal club in terms of player payments.
"There has been a significant round of cost-cutting, but we can't keep doing it forever," Colless said. "We did because we got a rude shock and we're are not going back to where we were."
"We have certainly gone from the top to being in the bottom quartile and that says that while we haven't brained the market, we have squeezed our costs and taken a defensive position."
Colless said the financial state of the club was "fundamentally sound" but acknowledged that most AFL and NRL clubs had weak balance sheets.
Meanwhile, AFL Commission chairman Ron Evans said yesterday a replacement for chief executive Wayne Jackson would be announced within a fortnight. Four candidates have been interviewed for the job.
Finals triumph can't fix Swans' cash worries
By Jacquelin Magnay
July 25 2003
A top finals position, or even a grand final victory, would not give the Swans financial salvation to relieve their weak balance sheet.
But the No. 2 ladder position and a strong finals showing would create a momentum that would help the club significantly, says the Swans chairman, Richard Colless.
Colless said yesterday the club wasn't looking for "a quick monetary fix" and admitted winning a few finals would not secure long-term financial success. The club has slashed player payments and football department expenditure by $4 million this year. The Swans have not yet gone to the AFL seeking extra money and Colless says they won't.
"What winning will do is bring members back, and sponsors back, and hopefully more of both," Colless said. "It creates a momentum - our 1996 effort [in making the grand final] helped revenue to peak in 2000 and that has shown us that success builds up.
"Already I think people's appetite has been whetted by the onfield style of footy under Paul Roos. It is very exciting."
The AFL has the rights to all nine finals matches, and the ruling body claims all revenue from them: ticket sales, corporate, signage, sponsorship, television rights.
Having a home final might be good for the Sydney fans and create an intimidating atmosphere for the opposition, but the tickets sales would not go to the Swans. At best the club may be able to on-sell some corporate seating.
The AFL pools its finals money and then redistributes it to the clubs. There is a base payment of $3.5 million and then a bonus made up of club allegiance by AFL members. The Swans, with much lower membership bases than the big Melbourne clubs, get about $50,000 a year under this arrangement. Collingwood receive about $600,000.
"The AFL keeps all the revenue from the finals series," said AFL spokesman Patrick Keane. "The dividends the clubs get is the same whether they get in the finals or not - the difference is the prizemoney."
But winning the grand final is not the lucrative earner many believe. Last year's victors, the Brisbane Lions, won $275,000 in prizemoney, with runners-up Collingwood collecting $176,000.
The club dividend system has historically been criticised by cash-strapped but successful clubs such as the Kangaroos, but Colless said the system helped ensure the survival of the 16 clubs.
"It is something we support, the 16 clubs have to be healthy to survive, but I will say from a personal viewpoint that the modest prizemoney should be increased so that there is a real financial reward [for grand final winners]," he said.
Last year the AFL divided $72 million among the 16 clubs, with the Bulldogs receiving the highest amount of $4.8 million (with a special assistance grant thrown in) and the Swans getting $3.65 million.
According to 2002 AFL figures, the Swans were the sixth-ranked club in terms of revenue earned (West Coast, Brisbane and Fremantle were the top three) but were the biggest spenders. Football department expenditure was $12.46 million, including payments on players of $7.88 million. But there have been prudent re-signings of Michael O'Loughlin, Tadhg Kennelly, Jason Saddington and Adam Goodes, and some youngsters.
The Swans secured most of the players at a reduced cost, and are the fourth-most frugal club in terms of player payments.
"There has been a significant round of cost-cutting, but we can't keep doing it forever," Colless said. "We did because we got a rude shock and we're are not going back to where we were."
"We have certainly gone from the top to being in the bottom quartile and that says that while we haven't brained the market, we have squeezed our costs and taken a defensive position."
Colless said the financial state of the club was "fundamentally sound" but acknowledged that most AFL and NRL clubs had weak balance sheets.
Meanwhile, AFL Commission chairman Ron Evans said yesterday a replacement for chief executive Wayne Jackson would be announced within a fortnight. Four candidates have been interviewed for the job.
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