Benson resigns at Sturt

[robranisgod]

Chris Grant would be the most longstanding CEO by a mile now.
North & Norwood might be the only other two longer than 2 years.
South changed last year.
Port, Glenelg, West, Eagles and now Sturt this year.

Norwood's CEO resigned at the start of the 2012 season, so Geoff Baynes has only been there about 18 months and Greg Edwards wouldn't have been at North much longer.

[jumbo20]

Whats up with the website?

[Big Phil]

Whats up with the website?

I know they posted something on their FaceBook page about having trouble with their website...

[jumbo20]

website still down....

[Jim05]

website still down....

Havnt paid the bill?

[jumbo20]

mmmm

[hawks21]

http://www.sanfl.com.au/news/sanfl_news/2311/

‘’Next month we pay off the final instalment of an ATO (Australian Tax Office) bill,’’ said Benson, who started his second stint as CEO in November 2008.

‘’At its beginning it was nearly $900,000 and that was discovered shortly after I started. To have that extinguished next month is a massive milestone which reflects the culture of discipline around this place that I think we have introduced as far as cost saving is concerned."

[topsywaldron]

So they can pay back 900K to the ATO in four years and allegedly recruit a stack of Magpies players but we had to vote the freaking AFL reserves teams in save clubs like Sturt from closing the doors?

Something doesn't add up.

[therisingblues]

Thanks for the link Hawks 21.
I tried posting a reply to this topic a while back but I somehow screwed it up using the new site format.
Basically though, I cannot comment on his tenure as CEO as I'm not privy to the ins and outs of running the club.
But I'll remember Benson as a member of that 1988 team under Mervyn Keane, the one that promised so much future before it got sliced up. I also remember him putting up his hand to help when we were in deep shit and about to fold in the mid 90's.
Glad to read of his achievement, hopefully the club will be in better shape for his work.

[therisingblues]

So they can pay back 900K to the ATO in four years and allegedly recruit a stack of Magpies players but we had to vote the freaking AFL reserves teams in save clubs like Sturt from closing the doors?

Something doesn't add up.

We have been on a shoe string budget relying on juniors and mini draft picks for years now. Stick that in your equation and it might add up.

[heater31]

Maybe that is why Sturt has no cash, flat out paying its tax bill....

[csbowes]

What I don't get is that the club said it paid off that tax bill over a year ago, I think I even reported on it on here as part of my AGM review.

[Dutchy]

Sturt Football Club's debt demolition campaign raises more than $600,000
OCTOBER 30, 2013

Sturt Football Club president Jason Kilic, pictured in 2010, says the club is in a much better financial position than it was this time last year. Source: News Limited
STURT Football Club has wiped more than a quarter of its bank debt, is set to clear its Australian Taxation Office bill this year and is continuing its move away from poker machine revenue.
Double Blues president Jason Kilic said the club was headed in the right direction after the $175,000 raised at a gala dinner last month took the total amount raised during a debt demolition the campaign to more than $600,000.
The debt demolition, inspired by AFL club Melbourne and driven by outgoing Double Blues chief executive Matt Benson , began in May last year and culminated on Thursday, October 17, with the dinner at Adelaide Oval.
The Double Blues had aimed halve their $2.2 million bank debt through the campaign but Mr Kilic said getting the debt down to about $1.6 million was an important step.
"It's been quite an experience," Mr Kilic said.
"Some people who you never thought would donate came and dropped in a cheque for $10,000.
"It was extremely encouraging and humbling."
Mr Kilic would not say how much the tax debt had been, only describing it as "significant", but said the club was set to clear it by the end of the year.
"We're in much better shape than we were 12 months ago," he said.
The Double Blues reported a $447,000 loss last year which followed a $412,000 loss in 2011, causing it to come close to closing its doors over summer.
But by June this year the club's membership had climbed to an SANFL high 3750 .
It sold off three poker machine licences last year in a bid to improve its bottom line.
Mr Kilic said it was negotiating to end its lease arrangement at Edwardstown's Castle Tavern.
In 2005, the club made a deal with hotelier Graham Fricker which gave it access to revenue from 32 pokies, TAB and Keno, until 2017.
"The negotiations are going well and I think it will be a pleasing outcome for all," Mr Kilic said.
"We'll be focusing more on our traditional incomes streams and they will be sponsorship, membership and fundraising."

[dedja]

I wish more clubs would move away from pokies but the financial reality is that they'd most certainly die without them.

Not sure how Sturt will do it.

[therisingblues]

Me too Dedja. Pokies seems to be the reality these days.
Sorry if this is politically incorrect but maybe Sturt don't have access to enough poor people to make the pokies profitable?

[Barto]

Me too Dedja. Pokies seems to be the reality these days.
Sorry if this is politically incorrect but maybe Sturt don't have access to enough poor people to make the pokies profitable?

It's not politically incorrect, it's a fact. These gambling machines always do better in poorer areas.

[StrayDog]

It's not politically incorrect, it's a fact. These gambling machines always do better in poorer areas.

Here are some figures from four years back (FY2009) regarding gaming revenues.

Code: Select all

LGA or Grouped LGA                      Aggregate NGR   Pop. (Ave)   NGR per capita
         
Adelaide                               $35,112,065.02      19566       $1,794.54
Norwood Payneham & St Peters           $32,446,643.65      35731         $908.08
Port Adelaide Enfield                  $79,174,176.27     111228         $711.82
Holdfast Bay                           $24,936,536.76      35513         $702.18
Gawler                                 $13,951,259.40      20600**       $677.25
Charles Sturt                          $65,077,030.42     105547         $616.57
West Torrens                           $31,105,176.27      55496         $560.49
Salisbury                              $66,639,042.44     127568         $522.38
Prospect Walkerville                   $12,940,855.05      28200         $458.90
Playford                               $32,513,807.23      75544         $430.40
Onkaparinga                            $64,925,277.71     158022         $410.86
Unley                                  $15,578,147.83      37967         $410.31
Marion                                 $30,384,907.26      83227         $365.08
Mount Barker                           $10,185,398.28      29031         $350.85
Campbelltown Tea Tree Gully            $46,389,163.81     147295         $314.94
Mitcham Burnside                       $16,157,922.15     108289         $149.21
Adelaide Hills                          $5,155,977.15      39363         $130.99

**Gawler population an estimate based on current figures at en.wikipedia.org

Not sure what the current figures are but you get the idea.

Obviously there will be some council areas, Adelaide City Council area for example, that bring in a greater proportion of the expenditure from other countries, states and council areas. Conversely, some council areas may be slightly lower as a result.

Any correlation between affluence and gaming revenues - as well as "political correctness" - I'll leave to the discretion of the individual reader.



Sources:-

Aggregate NGR - http://www.olgc.sa.gov.au/gaming/statis ... 200809.pdf
Population Average - calculated from FY08 and FY09 figures at http://profile.id.com.au (except **)

NGR per capita - calculated from sourced data.

[smac]

Cold, running water is best for nasty burns.

[Jimmy_041]

Real question: Does Adelaide include the casino?

[therisingblues]

Cold, running water is best for nasty burns.

An interesting perception of events there smac. I was just putting the question out there as to why Sturt's pokies failed...
Sorry if it caused offence. I guess I am pushing a stereotype.
It would be interesting to see city of Unley pokies revenue per capita vs other areas though.