Roos hopping mad over debtRohan Connolly
November 8, 2011NORTH Melbourne will today launch an appeal to its entire membership for donations to help wipe out the club's $5 million debt.
The Kangaroos will launch the appeal on their website and in a mail-out to their membership of just under 29,000, asking them to consider an annual donation on top of their membership renewal, as the Roos, like other AFL clubs, ponder the ramifications of incoming free agency and increased player wage demands.
North Melbourne chairman James Brayshaw said yesterday he hoped the campaign would alert supporters to the increased dangers of being saddled with debt in the new football era.
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''We need to really clearly enunciate to them that as part of their recommitment for 2012 and beyond, we desperately need help with this as well,'' he said. ''We've got 30,000 members, we've got about 200,000 supporters, and we're calling on all of them to help us get rid of this debt that's been there now for nearly 30 years.
''If we are going to combat free agency, and if we're going to keep blokes like Drew Petrie - because, don't worry, as soon as free agency comes in, clubs are going to come raiding our list as hard as anyone else's - we need to be able to not only keep our own key people, but also adding to our list via free agency if we need to.
''That sort of stuff can't happen while we've got this crippling debt sitting there. Spending half-a-million dollars a year just servicing debt is wasted money in a football club. The interest payments alone are close to as much as we pay our best player, that's the crippling nature of it.''
The campaign for funds includes incentives whereby members can guarantee themselves a grand final ticket should North Melbourne make it. Brayshaw said events would be scheduled to help drive the appeal, and that the Roos hoped to have a themed game based on the fund-raising initiative.
North Melbourne in September was allocated $7 million in additional funding over the next three years - along with that allocated to the Western Bulldogs, the most in the competition - as part of the AFL's unequal funding distribution.
Brayshaw said the debt reduction scheme was the fifth plank of the platform he had pursued since assuming the club's presidency late in 2007 when North Melbourne was faced with a possible relocation to the Gold Coast.
Keeping the club in Melbourne was the first task, then came the new headquarters at Arden Street, funded by government and the AFL. The Roos then eliminated a complicated shareholder structure to return ownership to the members, and have invested heavily in their football department over the past three years.
Brayshaw said he hoped the campaign would appeal to dedicated Kangaroos fans' desire to help the club prosper in the most tangible manner.
''If you're talking about $5 million across 30,000 members, it's 150 bucks each over five years,'' he said.
''When you break it down, it's not a ridiculous amount of money. If our members and supporters do no more than give us $25 a year for the next five years, that's half the debt gone without even having any big-ticket functions or other initiatives. For that $25 a year, they can have a huge impact on it.''
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/roos-hopping-mad-over-debt-20111107-1n3wh.html#ixzz1d3zrTtpW
