Brendon Gale on SEN

[one-eyed]

Brendon Gale on SEN [12mins]

AUDIO: https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=594828

[one-eyed]

* Round 1 and beyond?
  Changing by the hour. So much we don't know. When we do find clarity we try to notify our members and supporters. The decisions made so far have been the right ones. Round 1 will go ahead at this stage but it'll be very different.

* What sort of things are being talked about?
  Dialogue over past 72 hours. Main thing is a consistent uniform approach. Affects the whole industry and the public.

* Expecting no footy at some stage?
  No indication at this stage from the AFL.

* Financial impact?
   Impossible exercise. Hit to footy finances and the economy is going to be significant. We will communicate with members in due course (regarding member events). How that will be is not known yet.

   90k crowd say on a normal Thursday night like round 1 returns $1.2-1.4 million. That's one game. Extrapolate that for other games. That's the impost.

* Need to contain the virus and reduce the spread (hence the crowd lockouts). Appropriate measures are being taken by the AFL. The footy still should go ahead.

[one-eyed]

Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale anticipates losses for some clubs to hit seven figures per game.

“It’s hard (to predict) an average - it does really depend on club to club. It’s an impossible exercise because we don’t know the impact of this at this stage,” he told SEN on Saturday.

“We don’t know how long we’ll be playing games without crowds. Simple maths, if you look at our game on Thursday night we’d probably expect a crowd of around 90,000.

“A crowd of high 80s, 90,000, would probably return a gate of $1.2 to $1.4 million. That’s one game. You extrapolate that and it’s a big number.”

The Tigers were to split the profits from the traditional fixture with Carlton.

“It’s going to be a significant financial impost to all clubs,” Gale said.

“As I said we just don’t know, we’re flying blind. We don’t know I guess how long we’ll be impacted for.

“But they’re secondary considerations. Right now we’re worried about the health of the public at large, our football public, our football stakeholders and obviously our players and staff.”

https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/afl-and-nrl-clubs-outline-devastating-financial-cost-of-fan-lockouts-c-745088

[Rampsation]

some clubs could go bankrupt from this

[mightytiges]

some clubs could go bankrupt from this

Does the AFL's TV rights have a force majeure clause like the NRL?

The NRL is asking for financial assistance from both Federal and state governments. They are worrying their whole sport will go under. Their clubs don't have nowhere near the membership and supporter base the AFL does.

https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/03/15/competition-shut-down-would-be-catastrophic-for-nrl/

[georgies31]

Pure stupidity by the afl put the league on hold for the time being no need to play in empty stadiums like all major sporting leagues have done.

[tdy]

I can't see the AFL not bailing out clubs. There'll be no more Fitzroys

[Rampsation]

AFL deep down want 2 Melbourne based clubs to disappear. they wont bail anyone out imho

[one-eyed]

Richmond has more in cash reserves ($24m) than the whole of Rugby Australia.

The estimated value of the AFL's future fund is about $100 million while the NRL is sitting on cash reserves of $147 million.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/rugby-on-the-brink-as-virus-spooks-broadcasters-hits-reserves-20200315-p54a93.html

[Rampsation]

our cash reserves are going to take a massive hit, we will be lucky if we have $12 million by this time next year if corona isn't sorted.

[Tigeritis™©®]

Richmond has more in cash reserves ($24m) than the whole of Rugby Australia.

The estimated value of the AFL's future fund is about $100 million while the NRL is sitting on cash reserves of $147 million.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/rugby-on-the-brink-as-virus-spooks-broadcasters-hits-reserves-20200315-p54a93.html

How does the NRL have more cash reserves than the AFL? 
Seriously!
No spectators at games I mean you wouldn’t even know it was a lockout no one attends most games.
Not even half the amount of viewers watch games.
The whole competition is a shambles and no one likes that Greenberg fella.
How is it even possible they have more cash reserves.
They must be doing something brilliant compared to how the AFL run their finances.
It’s mindboggling.

[one-eyed]

Gill just said the AFL is working with clubs to get them through. No details though.

[WilliamPowell]

Richmond has more in cash reserves ($24m) than the whole of Rugby Australia.

The estimated value of the AFL's future fund is about $100 million while the NRL is sitting on cash reserves of $147 million.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/rugby-on-the-brink-as-virus-spooks-broadcasters-hits-reserves-20200315-p54a93.html

How does the NRL have more cash reserves than the AFL? 
Seriously!
No spectators at games I mean you wouldn’t even know it was a lockout no one attends most games.
Not even half the amount of viewers watch games.
The whole competition is a shambles and no one likes that Greenberg fella.
How is it even possible they have more cash reserves.
They must be doing something brilliant compared to how the AFL run their finances.
It’s mindboggling.

Easily

Less teams to prop up. Lower salary cap and a $2 billion broadcast deal

Throw in that most TV is via pay TV rather than FTA

New teams come into the NRL and they have to be self sufficient not funded by the NRL

And don't forget on the last 18 months the AFL have bought Comic Book Stadium outright

[WilliamPowell]

Just read that another key spend of the AFL this year and next is current CBA

AFL covers the increases in the salary cap, the current CBA signed off last year included large increases in player salaries

[one-eyed]

Malcolm Speed on SEN just now.

Clubs have 4 revenue streams:
AFL distribution - AFL revenue depends on tv rights.
Membership - mostly in the bank at this time of the year but stopped.
Sponsors - they want exposure. That relies on games being played.
Gate receipts - gone.

AFL clubs live on the margins. A 'good' $2-3 million profit from avg $60m revenue = just 5c in the dollar.

So this is all about a huge hit to finances and trying to get through this.