Brendon Gale on SEN

[one-eyed]

I didn't see it all but did Tom Browne say some clubs will go into voluntary administration?

[WilliamPowell]

I didn't see it all but did Tom Browne say some clubs will go into voluntary administration?

Didn't hear him say that

But he did run through a list of costs the AFL incurs every season.

Was highlighting the costs -v- revenues coming in from broadcasting, gates etc

Club distributions total $314 million includes salary cap funding

[one-eyed]

AFL clubs are likely to be forced to shave at least $5 million — and as much as $10 million — from their balance sheets due to the shortened 2020 season and reduced overall revenue.

For powerhouse organisations such as West Coast and Collingwood, compulsory soft cap reduction is unlikely to cause too many problems. But for smaller clubs such as St Kilda or North Melbourne, the measures will sting.

One club estimated “$5 million as an absolute minimum” would be cut from their budgets, while another said it would be “around $5 million, according to our data”.

One club suggested recruiters could be under the most pressure to keep their jobs with less under-age and state league football to watch. Regrettably, the official said, clubs will not be able to sustain employees if they are not adding to the business. Recruiters, if they aren’t recruiting, would potentially be vulnerable – at least for the 2020 season.

In the administration wing of clubs, it’s believed community, events and marketing could come under strain too.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-coronavirus-news-updates-absolutely-brutal-financial-losses-flagged-for-fans/news-story/cdf122d207ada15b2a7e59c44226463c

[Francois Jackson]

tom browne has a great track record. On par with nixon that bloke

[one-eyed]

Government's multi-million AFL lifeline revealed

By Chris De Silva
Nine WWOS
19 March 2020

Teams who struggle to cope financially with the shortened AFL season could be helped by the state government in order to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite AFL boss Gillon McLachlan's announcement that the season would get underway as scheduled, a number of clubs are already feeling the heat.

According to Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, while the state government will not hand out money to the the AFL, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is in discussions with league power-brokers to find a way to assist clubs that are at risk financially, with a secure loan that could be worth "hundreds of millions of dollars".

"I spoke with the premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews who is well aware of the economic impact on Victoria if clubs were to fold or to have to sack so many people," McGuire told Footy Classified.

"The football industry feeds a lot of people in this town and right around the country. He is talking with Gil McLachlan at the moment as well as (AFL GM of Finance) Ray Gunston and Richard Goyder, the chairman of the AFL commission, about how they can help football survive.

"There won't be a handout because the state of Victoria has to look after itself. The state government will not be giving out a handout, but there are other machinations that can come into play where there might be a line of credit to help save the AFL and get through.

"This is going to take 10 years to get through. Certainly the next three years will be an impost because there will be a massive line of credit, i.e. a secured loan, to get us over the line."

According to respected AFL columnist Caroline Wilson, with teams set to play with no fans for the foreseeable future, there are fears that several clubs could go under.

"St Kilda, Melbourne, Gold Coast, GWS, Brisbane, North Melbourne. These clubs could do quite worse than just struggle now," she said.

"There is a genuine fear that these clubs could go under."

With the AFL already giving up five rounds of the season, the estimated financial loss for the league already sits in the vicinity of $70 million, and McGuire added that clubs are looking at losses of as much as $15 million each.

"The TV money will flow, but the money that keeps the clubs alive are the people walking in the door and there's none," he said.

"Six months of a lockout is what we've got today, that's the season. This is crucial that we are able to find the money to keep the game going the way we have.

"The finances of the football clubs and the AFL are absolutely extremely parlous at the moment. Never have we faced anything like this. This has been a nuclear bomb going off for the AFL.

"They are the best credentialled, they are the best run and they have the best finance and the best deals, but if you don't play football, then you don't make the money."

While not all clubs will fight to stay alive, McGuire said that the AFL was hell-bent on ensuring the financial health of all 18 clubs during this trying period.

"This is crucial that we are able to find the money to keep the game going the way we have. At the moment we are doing it collectively. We don't want anyone to fall," he said.

"We don't want anyone to fail. Every club is a major part of the AFL. No one club is greater than the other as far as it's importance to the tapestry of the game.

"Pull the string of the tapestry and sometimes the whole thing goes."

With the league now set to proceed with the season, the focus shifts to how the matches will be fit into what is sure to be an interrupted season.

According to Nine's AFL reporter Sam McClure, the league will not accelerate any of the fixtures in the first two rounds of the season, with Rounds 3-6 to be compacted.

However, McClure revealed that the government may not fund games that are scheduled to be played away from "regular areas".

"The only time the AFL will look to accelerate games, that is to cram more games into less days, would be from Rounds 3 and 4," McClure told Footy Classified.

"There is concern having spoken to multiple club CEOs and at AFL level that government money may not be forthcoming for games that have been sold away from regular areas, games in Ballarat, Tasmania and the ACT.

"They are sold there specifically so local governments can bring in crowds. With that now not happening, the questions are being raised whether there will be the money."

https://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/state-government-line-of-credit-to-assist-struggling-teams-in-shortened-season/b2f0cf0b-2ffa-4df6-9434-dd3102df80c4

[mightytiges]

Eddie last night said the hit to each club will be between $8-15 million.

Clubs like Norf are going to cop the biggest hit because they sell games interstate. Even Hawthorn will be worse off than say us. The Tassie government only offers the Hobart and Launceston deals to attract visitors to games and the state. They surely aren't going to be paying that money to both clubs during lockouts for no return.

[Andyy]

Eddie last night said the hit to each club will be between $8-15 million.

Clubs like Norf are going to cop the biggest hit because they sell games interstate. Even Hawthorn will be worse off than say us. The Tassie government only offers the Hobart and Launceston deals to attract visitors to games and the state. They surely aren't going to be paying that money to both clubs during lockouts for no return.

Good to hear about North.

Hopefully they fold and merge with GCS to make a half reasonable team, then move to Tazwegia.

[Diocletian]

Looking forward to dancing on Norf's grave... superfluous nuisance value club...#savourskins #bobansett #neverforget