The SANFL and the Port Power Financial Issue

[Sojourner]

Clearly as most people are aware the Port Adelaide Power AFL side are currently experiencing significant financial problems. The SANFL have two issues, one being the owners of the license they are likely to see a signifcant revenue cut which is of concern to SANFL members who will subsaquently see returns to their SANFL sides greatly reduced if there is a dividend paid at all in 2009. Secondly the AFL are currently pressuring the SANFL to put more coin into the Port Power Club which again comes at the expense of the various SANFL clubs as Peter is robbed to pay Paul.

My concern is that in the current situation, I cant see what the SANFL can really do to actually make the Port Power AFL license a profitable concern, maybe they could cut the guts out of the club and get rid of admin and coaching staff yet all that will result in is the club having a lesser peformance on the field and thus even less crowd attendances with the financial problems continueing to snowball.

My thoughts are that this problem is a direct result of the decision that the SANFL made to award the license to the Port Adelaide FC bid. As you might recall the situation was bids from various sides - South-Glenelg, Norwood-Sturt, Port Adelaide, Woodville-West Torrens-North Adelaide-West Adelaide in the Cartel bid, Glenelg later joined the Cartel bid and I cant remember the position of the Central Districts club. South went on to support the Port Adelaide bid.

Now that the horse has well and truly bolted it appears to me that the Cartel bid may well have been the one with the best chance of success depending on how the side that went in which was supposed to be the Eagles was handled.

Fast Forward to today and we are in all manner of trouble and rumours are now running rife that an SANFL club possibly Sturt may well be a chance of collapsing financially due to the financial crisis, lack of Crows/Power funds and managment decsions taken to sell assets in the past.

I am not trying to flame Port Power supporters, yet its pretty obvious that some quite drastic action has to be taken by the SANFL to safegaurd the integrity of the SANFL competition and to make a restructure to the point where the second AFL license is profitable

The only way I can see that happening is for the SANFL to dissolve and re-launch the Port Adelaide Club as a more composite type version of an S.A based team not affiliated with any specific SANFL club and yet I think that is just physically not possible to do that.

In the next few days serious financial decsions have to be taken and will be taken that directly affect each of the 9 SANFL clubs greatly, lets hope that they really do a proper job of it and come up with a definate solution to solve the problem once and for all instead of the usual line re "managment and adminstration changes"......

[darley16]

I know what Max Basheer is thinking right now......karma!!!

[oldfella]

Soujourner, I am not sure that it was truely the SANFL,s decision to award the second license to the Port Power - more accurately I recall that the AFL commision strongly indicated that they were the only club that the commision would accept for the second license (some cynics would suggest payback by the commision for undercutting the SANFL)?

IMO, discussion on Adelaide Oval etc is smoke screen to divert attention from fact that the supporter base estimates were probably inflated and that the club has rarely drawn a crowd suitable for a profitable AFL team - this is the real problem that must be addressed - all else is window dressing.

But we cannot go back and the SANFL, as licence holders, must do all possible to protect the investment -- this may in the end be via taking control of the club.

[sjt]

The other option is they get "propped up" by the AFL like many of the Melbourne based and non Melbourne based clubs. Let the profitable AFL clubs then complain about their distributions going to the Power. According to the AFL crowds are growing, t.v ratings are growing etc etc let them pay for the Power.

[HeartBeatsTrue]

Do the power distibute anything back to the SANFL? Not sure if they are still forced to contribute even though they are making losses.
If they dont give the SANFL a cent, and the SANFL see themselves as a business, then the SANFL may see it viable to throw away Port's license, and just have the Crows. The Crows will then in turn have even more support (1 team town) and produce more profit and therefore more dividend to the SANFL.
Take Harris Scarfe for example, when they were in financial strife they cut non-profitable stores in WA, QLD, NSW and SA. The SANFL may do the same thing if Port's financial woes dont turn around.

I'm a bit bewildered as to why Port are struggling. If you have one club in Adelaide with 50,000 members, theres really no reason a 2nd club cant be viable.
Who remembers the Crows working out of an ATCO hut for some years at the beginning? Maybe Port needed to hold off from such developments as the power headquarters until they had a lot more capital.

I hope the AFL come to the party and chip in. Whats good for Vic clubs should be for SA clubs.

[aceman]

Do the power distibute anything back to the SANFL? Not sure if they are still forced to contribute even though they are making losses.
If they dont give the SANFL a cent, and the SANFL see themselves as a business, then the SANFL may see it viable to throw away Port's license, and just have the Crows. The Crows will then in turn have even more support (1 team town) and produce more profit and therefore more dividend to the SANFL.
Take Harris Scarfe for example, when they were in financial strife they cut non-profitable stores in WA, QLD, NSW and SA. The SANFL may do the same thing if Port's financial woes dont turn around.

I'm a bit bewildered as to why Port are struggling. If you have one club in Adelaide with 50,000 members, theres really no reason a 2nd club cant be viable.
Who remembers the Crows working out of an ATCO hut for some years at the beginning? Maybe Port needed to hold off from such developments as the power headquarters until they had a lot more capital.

I hope the AFL come to the party and chip in. Whats good for Vic clubs should be for SA clubs.

I reckon they've only just paid off their initial money to the AFL and they were 'socking' some away in the Power Trust or similar.
$3.5 million is a fair debt to pay off so they're going to need assistance from somewhere.
Maybe the idea of taking on the world in the Port Adelaide Magpie tradition wasn't the way to go, I think they may have alienated quite a few probable supporters who for whatever reason can't come to terms with the idea of supporting anyone aligned to the PAFC Magpies.
Just my thoughts, nothing else!

[mick]

Personally I'd like to see both Power and Crows gone (their licences could be sold to the Gold Coast and Western Sydney teams) and back to the wonderful league we had before these corporate abominations were conceived. The Port experiment has failed, unfortunately the tradition didn't transfer to the big league.

[wycbloods]

Make all the players redundant, stop the power from continuing and the players can be spread amongst the other sides or even better back into the sanfl. No more Port Power sounds good to me .

[MightyEagles]

Pretty much hit the nail on the head there aceman from where I sit.

[smac]

So will the AFL ask the shareholders of North Melbourne to fork out cash instead of helping them next time they ask for a handout?

[redden whites]

Personally I'd like to see both Power and Crows gone (their licences could be sold to the Gold Coast and Western Sydney teams) and back to the wonderful league we had before these corporate abominations were conceived. The Port experiment has failed, unfortunately the tradition didn't transfer to the big league.

For the love of God I do not believe I am about to do this......

[SABRE]

LISTEN......
Can you hear the chant echoing up & down The Parade, Unley Road, Main North Road,
and throughout Elizabeth & Noarlunga ?
“WE TOLD YOU SO ! WE TOLD YOU SO ! WE TOLD YOU SO !”
The 2nd AFL licence should have gone to the Eastern side of Adelaide, with games
played at Adelaide Oval. This would have allowed the team representing the 5 western
clubs, Glenelg, West, Torrens, Woodville & Port to play at Footy Park. But, of course,
the utterly gutless SANFL lifted the shirt & bit the pillow. The Vics said …”Pay off
Judas, don’t punish him”. Our mob said, “Yes master, please pass the lubricant.”
What a mess one bad apple can make. Delusions of adequacy !

If the league want to be seen as SANFL & not SAVFL they have to make amends and
do the right thing. United we stand, divided we fall. Port Adelaide’s ego blinded it to
the ‘divide and conquer’ war plan against South Australia. One club, especially one
with so many ‘hangers on’ during good times, can’t cut it in the big dollar dance.
I applaud the many honest Magpie supporters who saw right from wrong. Both of you.
If Port Adelaide aren’t paying up, we the shareholders must march down to West Lakes
with burning torches & bloody sharp pitchforks to ‘sack the board !’

With Adelaide’s resources shared equally we could have 2 teams successfully
competing for the big one most years. Without the current polarised animosity, all
real SA supporters would get behind both teams, especially come finals time.
More AFL money, evenly divided, means a stronger local league.

Remember, if the Vics are against it...........it's gotta be right !


F**k lamb, EAT KANGAROO !

KEKKA FOR KING !


(100 not out)

[Thiele]

Tassie Power is sounding better by the day

[dash61]

Haysman was on the radio and told the audience that they want to negotiate more from the sanfl because of stadium naming rights etc and something to do with corporate boxes.

I not being a power or crow supporter say unless they are returning a dividend to the shareholders, the 9 sanfl clubs they are a liability and should be sold off. In fairness to the crows they do return a dividend.

I as a sanfl lover feel sorry for the port magpies, they are the forgotton illegimate child from this failed afl club and get treated poorly

FOR SALE (PORT POWER) Best offer over $50.00

[jockey]

Cut the umbilical cord, let them survive by themselves...Tassie sounds good

[Mickyj]

FOR SALE (PORT POWER) Best offer over $50.00

Maybe we could give them to Tassie for $50 bucks plus a 4 day clipsal pass for one.

[centrecirclelegend]

Mark Williams giving in half way through last season started this rot....

the team gave up......so the supporters stayed away!........real smart move!

I know of supporters who will stay away until Williams has gone.....

I also know of Magpie supporters who hate the power for what they have done to the Magpies....

throwing up "living the creed" has done nothing more than dividing the football public even further.....

The Power must not be allowed to drain funds from the SANFL.....

either the AFL props them up......or let them fold or relocate!

personally I cant stand them and couldn't give a rats toss bag about what happens to them!

karma from the footy gods?

[southee]

Personally I'd like to see both Power and Crows gone (their licences could be sold to the Gold Coast and Western Sydney teams) and back to the wonderful league we had before these corporate abominations were conceived. The Port experiment has failed, unfortunately the tradition didn't transfer to the big league.

Very well said, Sir!!!

[auto]

Anyone saying the cartel or whatever would have done better, your on drugs.

And there wont be AFL at Adelaide Oval for the foreseeable future, if ever.

[Hondo]

I not being a power or crow supporter say unless they are returning a dividend to the shareholders, the 9 sanfl clubs they are a liability and should be sold off. In fairness to the crows they do return a dividend.

I keep repeating myself here. They've been paying their dividend to the SANFL every year as I understand. $335K last year, $325K the year before.

They also spin money for the SANFL by sharing the proceeds from their games at AAMI. In fact, the amount of the "sharing" seems to be core of the issue. They want the AFL to pitch in $ until the SANFL are prepared to move on the Stadium deal. Unfortunately a Port win on the stadium deal is a loss for the SANFL and the 9 clubs.

Some of those 9 clubs, in turn, are in need of their own financial assistance. All this while a global recession takes sponsors money out of the system.

I wonder if all these financial demands lead to Leigh Whicker's recent public frustrations with the SANFL club's results. I think the 7 of 9 SANFL club losses came at the worse possible time unfortunately. It's made the SANFL's bargaining with the AFL more difficult. Who's actually propping up who, will be the debate. In fact, it's interesting reading the comments on here advocating ruthless action on Port when most of our SANFL teams are also showing losses!

It's tough times all round, not good for anybody and everybody needs to get their houses in order. Don't think that halving the number of AFL games at AAMI Stadium each year is good for the SANFL however Only 1 AFL team in town is very BAD for the SANFL. The Crows can't fit many more people in to their 11 games!

I am sure the AFL will kick in something given what they've handed out to some of the Melbourne based teams over the years There are teams over there in a worse spot than Port however the next TV deal locked in for 16-18 teams (including 2 from SA) will be bigger than the last.