Dutchy wrote:Interesting that despite Port's relative "Success" in the past 18 months they are yet to turn things around financially, where do they stand now (and the future) the SANFL are no longer bank rolling them?
Here is a link, even though the 2013 Annual Report doesn't seem to be (easily found) on the PAFC website. Loss of $1.69 million, following on from a loss of $2.1 million in the 2012 Annual Report. That 2012 result was
with a special grant from the SANFL of $2 million though, so it was a real trading loss of $4.1 million. (The club has a 'book' asset valuation of $5 million calculated by deducting assets from $17 million, liabilities of $12 million, but that's only 'book value' as a going concern, i.e. if you were to shut the place up and flog its assets on the market, you'd never get near $17 million.)
Financially, the dream is that Port Adelaide FC improves from being a basketcase, to a mere mediocrity (i.e. break-even or smallish losses). Or to put it another way: if it were a for-profit business on the stock exchange, its shares would be trading at about 1 cent and it could be bought for near enough to nothing by anyone willing to take on its debt. (See: the horribly starry-eyed North Melbourne FC stock market float, from the pre-Wall Street days when capitalism was going to save the world.) And yes, there are at least 6 to 8 current AFL clubs (and no doubt at least 4 or 5 SANFL clubs) you could also say that about.
Like most footy clubs forever, Port runs on commitment, belief, momentum and hope. Of course there have been a lot of wonderful things written about Adelaide Oval, and the 2014 Annual Report result should be a lot better than those that preceded it, but I doubt whether the location a club plays home games at, can change the fundamentals of its business.
The most hilarious thing about the 'Crows reserves in the SANFL' argument (among many hilarious things), was the claim, 'without the $50k per club per year fee and all of the lovely extra attention from letting the Crows play, about 5 clubs will pack up and close and the SANFL comp will be basically destroyed anyway, because
look at the terrible balance-sheets these clubs have! Newsflash: many or most footy clubs have
always had balance-sheets that terrible. Ironically, the AFL was born because too many VFL clubs had sent themselves broke offering silly deals to poach stars (and just administering their business badly) by the mid-1980s, and they felt they desperately needed a cash injection to stay afloat. As the South Australians wouldn't play ball, the cashed-up West Aussies looked like an easy mark...