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Punt Rd budget rocked
17 June 2003 AFL
By MARK STEVENS
RICHMOND has fallen $800,000 behind budget, feeling the sting of an alarming drop in membership and gaming revenue.
Tigers president Clinton Casey last night said it was a "disgrace" the club's membership had not kept pace with the rest of Victoria's big four.
"When you look at where Carlton has bounced to this year, where Collingwood is and where Essendon is, it's really a disgrace that we are where we are," Casey said.
Richmond has 23,921 members ? its lowest total since 1996 and a significant drop on last year's total of 27,251.
The Tigers have lost 5000 members since their support peaked at more than 29,047 in 1999.
"We are easily tagged in the top four when we're performing ? we can generate as big a crowd as any AFL club," Casey said.
"But when things aren't going well, we can drop off to a dangerous level of membership and support."
This year's membership shortfall will cost the club more than $300,000.
Throw in a loss in gaming revenue of up to $500,000 ? sparked by the recently introduced smoking ban ? and the Tigers' predictions of a $1 million profit have been downgraded to between break even and a small profit.
The Tigers are finalising several initiatives to reward loyalty among members next year ? but in the meantime they must suffer the pain.
"The club can do a better job next year in rewarding support and recognising it, because I don't think the club's been very good at it," Casey said.
"Our barometer is team does well, membership will be up; team does badly, membership will be down.
"We've got to get the focus away from team performance and try to get it back to people wanting to be a member."
The Tigers' membership sales slowed to a trickle despite the club surging to 6-2 before losing its past four games.
"Coming off a poor year last year and having a poor Wizard Cup does have an effect . . . then we lost our first game to Collingwood," Casey said.
"We strung together a few wins, but we couldn't restore the faith to the point where enough people got on board."
After the loss to the Magpies, Tigers director of football Greg Miller delivered a blunt message to fans, telling them to zip their mouths and unzip their wallets.
Miller said the club faced an indefinite struggle if membership continued to lag and supporters continued to demand quick fixes from new boards and new coaches.
Back then, the Tigers had 19,000 signed-up fans. They have since attracted just another 5000.
Despite its off-field woes, Carlton has surged beyond 33,000 members this year. Essendon has about 32,000.
Collingwood has become the first Victorian club to break the 40,000 barrier.
The Tigers' gaming venues -- in Wantirna and Richmond -- have suffered from a downturn in pokie profits.
"Where the gaming is losing out is people going off to have a cigarette and not returning to the machines," Casey said.
"That seems to be pretty common right throughout the industry.
"We know we're not going to be able rely on that steady gaming revenue, which we've had for the last six years."
Casey said the club had to look at marketing initiatives to boost revenue from food and beverage sales.
17 June 2003 AFL
By MARK STEVENS
RICHMOND has fallen $800,000 behind budget, feeling the sting of an alarming drop in membership and gaming revenue.
Tigers president Clinton Casey last night said it was a "disgrace" the club's membership had not kept pace with the rest of Victoria's big four.
"When you look at where Carlton has bounced to this year, where Collingwood is and where Essendon is, it's really a disgrace that we are where we are," Casey said.
Richmond has 23,921 members ? its lowest total since 1996 and a significant drop on last year's total of 27,251.
The Tigers have lost 5000 members since their support peaked at more than 29,047 in 1999.
"We are easily tagged in the top four when we're performing ? we can generate as big a crowd as any AFL club," Casey said.
"But when things aren't going well, we can drop off to a dangerous level of membership and support."
This year's membership shortfall will cost the club more than $300,000.
Throw in a loss in gaming revenue of up to $500,000 ? sparked by the recently introduced smoking ban ? and the Tigers' predictions of a $1 million profit have been downgraded to between break even and a small profit.
The Tigers are finalising several initiatives to reward loyalty among members next year ? but in the meantime they must suffer the pain.
"The club can do a better job next year in rewarding support and recognising it, because I don't think the club's been very good at it," Casey said.
"Our barometer is team does well, membership will be up; team does badly, membership will be down.
"We've got to get the focus away from team performance and try to get it back to people wanting to be a member."
The Tigers' membership sales slowed to a trickle despite the club surging to 6-2 before losing its past four games.
"Coming off a poor year last year and having a poor Wizard Cup does have an effect . . . then we lost our first game to Collingwood," Casey said.
"We strung together a few wins, but we couldn't restore the faith to the point where enough people got on board."
After the loss to the Magpies, Tigers director of football Greg Miller delivered a blunt message to fans, telling them to zip their mouths and unzip their wallets.
Miller said the club faced an indefinite struggle if membership continued to lag and supporters continued to demand quick fixes from new boards and new coaches.
Back then, the Tigers had 19,000 signed-up fans. They have since attracted just another 5000.
Despite its off-field woes, Carlton has surged beyond 33,000 members this year. Essendon has about 32,000.
Collingwood has become the first Victorian club to break the 40,000 barrier.
The Tigers' gaming venues -- in Wantirna and Richmond -- have suffered from a downturn in pokie profits.
"Where the gaming is losing out is people going off to have a cigarette and not returning to the machines," Casey said.
"That seems to be pretty common right throughout the industry.
"We know we're not going to be able rely on that steady gaming revenue, which we've had for the last six years."
Casey said the club had to look at marketing initiatives to boost revenue from food and beverage sales.
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