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ST KILDA has declared it can awaken a supporter base as big as Richmond’s.
Saints bosses fronted the AFL Commission on Monday to outline the club’s ambitious recovery plan.
Falling crowds, declining revenues and a spiralling debt of more than $9 million have placed the club in a precarious position.
But the rebuilding Saints say market research indicates they have a latent fan base comparable to Richmond, ready to be re-engaged.
The Tigers signed a record 66,122 members last season, compared to St Kilda’s 30,739 — the lowest of the Victorian clubs.
“This is not a small club and it’s important we don’t act like one,” Saints chief executive Matt Finnis said on Thursday.
“We’re an AFL foundation club with about the same number of supporters as Richmond, but they’re considered one of the ‘big’ clubs.“But while we have a significant supporter base, that traditionally hasn’t transferred into memberships and crowds and we are determined to see that change.”
Finnis and Saints president Peter Summers spent an hour presenting to league supremos at AFL House on Monday.
They admitted a “significant disconnect” had developed between the club and its supporter base in recent years “underpinned by a sense of ill-discipline, poor decision making and drift”.
St Kilda’s commercial revenues were the lowest of the 18 clubs last season, behind both Greater Western Sydney and the Gold Coast, and football department expenditure slumped to 14th.
Operating losses nudged $4 million in 2014, while average attendances have fallen from 38,000 in 2010 when it made the Grand Final to 24,000 last year.
“The time of managing decline is over and we have a clear plan developed by our new executive team to see our great club start growing again,” Finnis said.
“We’ve been really open about the process of regeneration underway at St Kilda. It’s happening everywhere you look — in the playing ranks, among our coaches and commercially too.”
It is understood projections given to the commission showed the Saints aim to hit 55,000 members within three years.
“We need to bring our fans back to the club by showing them that we are making the right decisions, have good plans and people in place and — most of all — appreciate how important they are to us,” Finnis said.
“We see St Kilda as the people’s club and will be conducting ourselves that way.
“We have definitely burst the St Kilda ‘bubble’ and will pride ourselves on being an open, welcoming club.”
Relocation to the Junction Oval or Moorabbin is under consideration with a decision expected later in the year.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/st-kilda-ceo-matt-finnis-wants-to-inspire-dormant-supporter-base/story-fndv8ufg-1227232383740
