SANFL News
28 Nov 2014
CHALLENGING TIMES FOR SANFL
After a thrilling year of South Australian football returning to Adelaide Oval and the sale of the AAMI Stadium precinct, Zac Milbank examined the challenges which confronted the SANFL in 2014 and what lies ahead in 2015 and beyond.
The SANFL’s move from AAMI Stadium to Adelaide Oval resulted in nearly a 50 per cent reduction in staff members – from 120 to 66. Casual staff reduced from 1000 to 100.
In March of 2015, this number will reduce to 60 when the SANFL closes its catering arm – Encore Group. All casual staff will no longer be required.
Staff salaries were frozen for the 2014 financial year, enabling the league to prepare for any negative financial impacts in the first year at Adelaide Oval.
The Checkside Tavern, based at AAMI Stadium, has become marginal as a result of the move to Adelaide Oval.
The SANFL reduced its operating costs by $1.5m in 2014 and will reduce them by a further $2.3m in 2015. This will result in a significant reduction of $3.8m in two years.
This year, the league’s previous banking partner – Westpac – contracted national consultancy company McGrath Nichol to review the SANFL’s operations. This review, together with associated legal costs, came at a cost of approximately $420,000. Westpac didn’t offer the SANFL an ongoing banking agreement, leaving the league to enter a five-year agreement with Bendigo Bank. This incurred a further cost of $100,000.
In 2014, the SANFL paid eight months of its annual service fee ($2.1m) to the Stadium Management Authority. In 2015, this cost will increase to $3.4 million across the full year.
In May this year, the SANFL paid the Port Adelaide Football Club $1.5m to enable it to repay its AFL creditors. This brought the total funding PAFC has received from the SANFL to $16.25m. The SANFL also spent $1.3m maintaining AAMI Stadium for the Adelaide Football Club’s training base, a cost which will continue an annual basis.
The sale of the AAMI Stadium precinct – to developer Commercial and General – will result in a total of $71m being paid to the SANFL in staged payments through to 2027. An upfront payment of $10m will be used to retire the SANFL’s debt to the AFL.
Aside from these challenges, the SANFL – as the custodian of Australian Football in South Australia – is charged with managing, developing and promoting the game at junior, amateur and country level.
More than 70 per cent of the full-time staff who remain at the SANFL has direct roles and responsibilities to ensure more than 110,000 people play Australian Football across the state.
“The SANFL is the sole body responsible for game development in South Australia, providing pathways for the 110,000 players who pull on the boots in this State every weekend,” SANFL chief executive Jake Parkinson said.
“We invest more than $4m into football programs every year, including game development programs, diversity and multicultural programs, regional development programs, high performance programs and umpiring.
“Another $4.7m is provided to the SANFL league clubs in Game Development Grants to help provide the pathway for players striving for a career in the AFL. So this money is absolutely critical to our future.”
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