Punt Road Oval redevelopment a priority rather than a stand-alone VFL side (Age)

[one-eyed]

RICHMOND:

Tiger coach Damien Hardwick has made no secret of his wish to have a standalone team in the VFL and it is one of the outcomes the clubs hopes to achieve from its Fighting Tiger Fund.

But it is a while away. A bit like the Demons and Casey, this is a partnership that endures rather than thrives. If the Tigers manage to clear their debt and have some money left in the bank, expect them to bolt from this arrangement at the first opportunity.


Read more about all other clubs here: http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/119734/default.aspx

[mightytiges]

The initial plan for the FTF was to run it for 12 months but one of the questions in the member survery was to have the FTF continue year after year. I'm presuming they meant say one game and/or event per year organised to go towards the FTF. As for the target amount I think we cam get to $4m inside 12 months. There was a table in one of the FTF brouchures stating how the money would be distributed and spent up to $2m, $4m and $6m. $4m would definitely cover the cost of halving the overdraft and realigning and resurfacing Punt Rd Oval IIRC.

[tiger4life]

Found this post on another Forum courtesy of rosy23 she basically emailed the club to get some clarification a while back as to where the money will be spent and this is what Gale sent back to her.

Dear Rosy,

Firstly,  thankyou for your outstanding support of the FTF.  To raise $8000 thus far, in addition to your existing support is a terrific effort and one that is greatly valued. Could you please pass on my appreciation to all your Punt Road End subscribers.

Your question is a valid one and I would be only too happy to clarify our position.

I have consistently stated that the FTF is a collective, concerted effort to raise funds in order to retire debt and invest in our football program. Importantly, these objectives aren’t mutually exclusive in that we don’t have to pay down debt entirely before we can make the investments in football we need.  Simply stated we will do both simultaneously hence the 1:1 debt/football ratio.

The “0” in the 3-0-75 Strategic Plan contemplates being debt free by 2014. The FTF launched just over 5 weeks ago will see us make significant inroads into the debt and lessen the interest burden.  However, to direct all monies into debt at the expense of extremely important “mission critical”  important investments in football is considered counter-productive.

Furthermore by reducing debt we reduce our annual interest expense and therefore free up further funds for future re-investment.

Our priorities in football are:

1.       The redevelopment of the PRO.

·         the historic relocation of the Richmond Cricket Club after 150 years at PRO means that we have access to the oval 365 days a year, 24/7

·         also means that we have an opportunity to redevelop PRO into an elite, fit for purpose football facility both on and off field which is a massive benefit to our coaching staff and players

·         redevelopment works will include removal of all cricket wicket tables, widen and lengthen oval, improve drainage and soil profile, laser level and resurface

·         the works are estimated to cost in the vicinity of $1.5 million which is not budgeted for in the Club’s 2011 budget.

2.       Pre-payment of TPP

·         We are currently paying at the lower end of the salary cap as you would expect with a young and developing team.  However, at the moment we are in a position where we could be pre-paying players’ salaries (i.e. paying a portion of the players’ 2012 salaries in 2011).  By not prepaying salaries we are “wasting” the difference between our current player payments and the salary cap.  That is, this increment is lost and not made available for us in future years. 

·         Should we prepay salaries in this way we are freeing up room in our salary cap in future years.  This places us in an excellent position to both retain our emerging playing list and attract elite players to our Club.  This is particularly relevant at the current time as pressure to retain players intensifies in light of the introduction of the Gold Coast Suns and Greater Western Sydney, and the introduction of “free agency”.

 
1.       A RFC reserves team

·         Our alignment with Coburg is a very strong one. The Coburg Football Club is well governed by Bill Balakis and his administration. However, we believe that to best prepare our young players for the elite AFL standard of competition we need to control their development in every way.  Accordingly, we believe having a standalone team in the VFL competition ensures that the players are exclusively educated in our game style, not that of another VFL Club with its own set of needs / circumstances / objectives / etc.  Furthermore, by having a standalone VFL side we can ensure that none of our listed / rookie listed players are forced to play in the VFL Reserves competition which is a long way from AFL standard.

 
2.       High performance

·         Whilst the Football Department have relocated into our state of the art Punt Road Oval facilities, we believe that there are further improvements that can be made in terms of high performance standards.  Additional resources in terms of human capital and equipment have been identified that would complement our desire to provide the best possible high performance culture in the AFL.


The diagram below gives broad indication of what might be achieved given different levels of funds raised over the course of the campaign.

Finally, in response to your question, all proceeds raised through the FTF will be re-invested in the 50;50 debt / football ratio, not just those proceeds raised on Thursday night.

Warm regards

Brendon

I'm not to sure if I'm allowed to post links to other Forums but if it's ok and needed let me know I'll put the link in, and once again all credit goes to rosy23.