North Melbourne

[Booney]

From the club website that informs us the players are off to Utah to do some high altitude training.

http://www.kangaroos.com.au/latestnews/newsarticle/tabid/4912/newsid/125886/default.aspx

In 2007 we faced some critical challenges including:
- A bank debt of $4.25 million.


"Our bank debt currently sits at $5 million. We have an additional $1.5 million owing to Melbourne Stadiums Limited (“MSL”), which is in the form of a non-interest bearing loan taken out in 2001"


Initially, we are asking all North Melbourne members to contribute $25 each or $50 per family with their memberships as the first step in our debt reduction.




Since 2007 the club had managed to take it's debt from $4.5m to $6.5 and wants Members to pitch in an extra $25-50.They've had a go at playing in Canberra and it didn't help, they'll play in Hobart next year, they still want to push for a game / games in Ballaratt.

They did have the opportunity to be the Gold Coast based club.

I thought Brayshaw was the messiah?

[overloaded]

How original, asking members to donate to reduce debt...hmm where have I heard that before?

WTF are they doing in Utah if they are so broke???

Thoughts Dutchy?

[D14]

How original, asking members to donate to reduce debt...hmm where have I heard that before?

WTF are they doing in Utah if they are so broke???

Thoughts Dutchy?

Not good timing IMO, asking members for money while on an overseas holiday... good luck...

[Wedgie]

Maybe they need some more money to afford the extra wives they have in Utah?

Certainly can't be for booze!

[stan]

I guess fans want to see there side do whatever it takes to be copetative, but still in saying that going off to Utah and then putting your hand out to fans because the debt is getting larger is pushing the limits of what would be considered acceptable if you were a paying member. But you know some fans might be ok to put $25 towards there club debt.

There was so much made about Port's debt and even Gary Lyon from Melbourne using the Power and there problems to draw attenation away from the imploding issues at this club, but yet there seemed to be very little written or said about Norths debts. It is jsut very strange how things tend to work. It seems the Kangaroos money issues seems to be off limits in the media and forums.

[Sojourner]

Brayshaw stated that he had organised extra funding and so on to ensure the club did not have to move and believes that its the fault of the Global Financial Crisis that its all fallen through which may or may not be true.

Irrespective of what has happened in the past with the Gold Coast, the club needs to make some decisions about how they are going to get the funds they need to continue to operate in a depressed market. They compete for sponsorship against the other Vic clubs and the Storm and Soccer teams, I am not convinced that there is a great deal more funds on offer for increasing sponsorship needs.

So far Ballarat, Cairns and now Launceston are on the table. Yet without a permanent move to any of these locations I cant see any more support being offered.. Hawthorn well and truly have the jump on them in Tassie. North Melbourne have done really well over the years with lesser resources than other sides, yet I do think the goal posts are moving in the modern game, I could well be proven wrong yet its my feeling that $$$ and success are directly related and NM need to find a way to get the coin in the club if they are to find that success and generate new supporters.

[Dirko]

Wasn't Brayshaw mantra that the Roos were to stay in Melbourne no matter what?

Now they're like cheap Thai hookers, trying to sell their diseased Vaginas to anyone who has Baht.....

[Hondo]

There was so much made about Port's debt and even Gary Lyon from Melbourne using the Power and there problems to draw attenation away from the imploding issues at this club, but yet there seemed to be very little written or said about Norths debts. It is jsut very strange how things tend to work. It seems the Kangaroos money issues seems to be off limits in the media and forums.

A fair bit is made of their predicament on the Melbourne-centric forums like BigFooty. Over there NM are discussed in the same way Port Adelaide are over here. They are an easy target and their fans are forced to post in overdrive in defence of their club. We miss most of that over here in all the noise about Port. That said, I think Port's predicament is worse that NM's. NM's is not that great either though.

NM are very careful about the way the talk about the extra AFL funding they receive. It's never a grant or a bail out or any negative term. It's always referenced back to issues with the blockbuster draw and how they are disadvantaged and so need this extra money. That's all fine in theory but then how do Geelong do so well in comparison? I think in comparison to their peers who face the same challenges with the draw they perform at the lower end.

I want to pick on Brayshaw but I am never sure whether he is mainly just the marketing face of the club or the real brains in the background. Their CEO would have more to do with their financial management than Brayshaw I reckon.

[Wedgie]

I'm sure North Melbourne would give up any extra funding back if they got exclusivity to Friday night footy at least every second week which they'd deserve since they virtually invented it.

[Turbo]

It's not the 90's anymore and north are now not a draw card to watch live or on tv.
Should've moved to gold coast when offered. Not ideal for supporters etc but maybe long term future success

[stan]

I'm sure North Melbourne would give up any extra funding back if they got exclusivity to Friday night footy at least every second week which they'd deserve since they virtually invented it.

It would be an easy decision to make if you were given it.

[Hondo]

I'm sure North Melbourne would give up any extra funding back if they got exclusivity to Friday night footy at least every second week which they'd deserve since they virtually invented it.

I don't think exclusive rights to FNF would make them $10m over the next 3 years. In fact, without the extra revenue the AFL has generated from NM's invention (by scheduling other teams in that slot) I wonder if NM would even be alive today. NM's payoff for their idea is the extra assistance money they receive generated from TV rights deals anchored around FNF.

[Wedgie]

I don't think exclusive rights to FNF would make them $10m over the next 3 years.

Disagreed, it would make a hell of a lot more than that IMHO.

[Rik E Boy]

It's not the 90's anymore and north are now not a draw card to watch live or on tv.
Should've moved to gold coast when offered. Not ideal for supporters etc but maybe long term future success

Nobody loved them when they were guns anyway. Should have gone North when they had the chance.

regards,

REB

[Hondo]

I don't think exclusive rights to FNF would make them $10m over the next 3 years.

Disagreed, it would make a hell of a lot more than that IMHO.

Collingwood with all their MCG games and plenty of Friday night games made $1m profit in total in their premiership year in 2010. NM would need to generate profit (not revenue) of 2 to 3 times this much per year if they handed back their assistance money. They'd be the most profitable club ever potentially.

Remember that they have to play each of the other 17 teams once so there'd be a few Friday night games against non-Victorian teams.

That said, the AFL are happy to let Collingwood and Essendon keep exclusive rights over the MCG Anzac Day clash. But if NM come up with a good idea then they let it be shared around. I won't argue the hypocrisy of that with you. That's what happens when you have one of the smallest supporter bases in Melbourne and there's no quick fix to that I can see. It's a pity Hawthorn gazzumped them in Tasmania while they were trying on the Canberra market.

I don't have a problem with clubs getting special assistance. Most sporting comps in the world have a minority of the teams taking up the majority of the total supporter base. Either you let the smaller clubs fall over or you prop them up with profits you make from the popular teams.

[Wedgie]

Collingwood didnt come close to playing every Friday night and you might want to check out their expenditure.
No club will ever show a10 million dollar profit because of tax laws and the fact clubs are owned by members.
The fact is exclusivity to Friday night football would be worth easily 10 million dollars a year to a club with those rights. They could hold the AFL to ransom with TV rights and the extra coverage for sponsors and advertisers would be worth a mint.
In fact 10 mil would be a very conservative figure in that I did say it woukd be worth more than that. The actual figure in the current environment would be a hell of a lot higher.
Probably around 50, maybe higher.
They would easily be the biggest power of the AFL.
Anyway if my Auntie had balls she'd be my Uncle too.

[Booney]

It's not the 90's anymore and north are now not a draw card to watch live or on tv.
Should've moved to gold coast when offered. Not ideal for supporters etc but maybe long term future success

Nobody loved them when they were guns anyway. Should have gone North when they had the chance.

regards,

REB

I assume there is a piece being written on how this "experiment" failed?

[Hondo]

The fact is exclusivity to Friday night football would be worth easily 10 million dollars a year to a club with those rights. They could hold the AFL to ransom with TV rights and the extra coverage for sponsors and advertisers would be worth a mint.

OK,

We are talking about different scenarios. I was suggesting simply rescheduling NM with more FNF games and saying that alone wouldn't make up the $3m.

I thought that's what you were suggesting too. However, your scenario is that NM somehow owned the legal rights to the timeslot and the AFL and TV networks were therefore forced to negotiate with them first. That's a much grander plan! You could be right in your estimates under that scenario.

Sydney could claim the same rights over Sunday afternoon football on that argument. They pioneered that in the 80s.

[Wedgie]

Yeah its weird how Sydney did that when the NSWRL used to play all their games bar the Saturday game for the ABC on the same day. Seemed to work in the Capper years though.

[Rik E Boy]

It's not the 90's anymore and north are now not a draw card to watch live or on tv.
Should've moved to gold coast when offered. Not ideal for supporters etc but maybe long term future success

Nobody loved them when they were guns anyway. Should have gone North when they had the chance.

regards,

REB

I assume there is a piece being written on how this "experiment" failed?

Ha ha I was tempted mate but come on this is your territory.

regards,

REB