COLLINGWOOD, a financial basket case six years ago, has been acclaimed as the most valuable football club in Australia.
Cup teams and facts
In an in-depth examination of the economic health of the nation's major football codes, national business magazine BRW put the Magpies' value at $42 million.
The Magpies were assessed to be worth $7 million more than the second-placed duo of Brisbane Lions and West Coast and $15 million more valuable than Essendon.
Hawthorn, whose financial state was under question during its off-season board battle, is the No. 2 Victorian club on the list. It comes in at fourth at $33 million, four places above Essendon, which has long been regarded as one of the economic powerhouses of the competition.
The stunning decline of Carlton, off and on the field, is highlighted by its lowly 14th placing. The Blues are valued at $21 million, exactly half of the Magpies.
Another ex-member of the Victorian "big-four", Richmond is even lower, at $19 million, and in last place on the BRW ladder.
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said yesterday while the club's financial health was a source of pride and satisfaction, there were no illusions about the major objective.
"In the end, premierships are what it is all about," he said.
When McGuire took over the Collingwood presidency in October 1998, he said the club was so bereft of money and business acumen that he feared it could go the way of Fitzroy by 2010.
However, through the collective skills of the new breed of administrators McGuire assembled at the club, as well as his own entrepreneurial flair, the Magpies have managed not only to avoid this doomsday prospect, but to prosper so much that they have become a model of fiscal well-being.
"What we've tried to do is make Collingwood the club we, in our hearts, knew it should always have been," McGuire said.
"We believe if you do enough things right for long enough, hopefully, you'll get the ultimate reward," McGuire said.
"It's an interesting question whether you'd give up half your value for a flag. I reckon if we did win, we'd double our value in two minutes so it would be a good investment."
Collingwood has posted accumulated profits of about $6 million in the past three years and, with a new home base near the city and new facilities at the revamped MCG, it appears poised to continue its financial resurrection.
However, McGuire warned that a successful 2005 was critical, especially after last year's slump to 13th.
"On the financial side, my ambition has always been to make a profit regardless of where we are on the ladder," he said. "These days we do make multi-million dollar profits, but the equation is the same. If we have a good season we'll kill them (financially). If we have another bad season it will turn pear-shaped."
Essendon chief executive, Peter Jackson, said yesterday he could not treat seriously a valuation that put his club $15 million below Collingwood, and $6 million behind Hawthorn.
"We have net assets up around the $14 million mark, which, I would say, is way ahead of any club in the competition. We have also made a profit in every year for the past nine. I don't think any other Victorian club has done that," he said. "It sounds to me they have used a pretty narrow perspective in their attempt at valuation. And it's pretty ridiculous, in one sense, when you are operating in an equalised environment with the AFL controlling every thing you do."
NRL clubs were valued way below AFL clubs. The top club was Brisbane Broncos, at $14 million, while the lowest was Manly-Warringah at $5 million.
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