I'm more concerned with how either team is going to turn a profit.
Talk about winning Premierships all you want - the $7mil grant to the Eels ended up giving the Leagues Club a $4mil loss.
This cannot keep happening and in this current climate "property development" is not going to be the answer.
If whoever ends up with controls the LC board (and we know that 3P want that) keeps running at a loss because of grants, the 3/4 of LC members that don't care about the Eels aren't gonna sit there and take it forever.
So either the FC board (if it controls the NRL side again) need to start making more money so they ask for less of a grant or the LC needs to make more money so that it can cover future grants without an annual loss. Or a bit of both.
THIS is what needs to be addressed more than anything, in my opinion. With all due respect, cram the Premierships. If we win the next 5 but end up going broke because we don't have a sustainable platform for revenue I'm not gonna be happy. Instead, I'll be happy going back to the early 90s in terms of footy achievements if it means we have a sustainable club.
Hollywood Jesus,
There are numerous things. One the additional sponsors which I do realise everyone wants us to name and we wish we good. Sounds like BS but everyone is going to have to trust us. Every body keeps talking about business experience. At the 3P meetings, most weekly meetings that take place, there is probably a mix of 95% business people to 5% Parramatta Legends. There is a massive amount of people involved behind the scenes, many from business related fields, yes, the property developers that everyone talks about, the nominated candidates, a doctor, a restauranteer, a lawyer, a counciller, but I would say that the majority are either business owners or people who are high up in their own companies and who specialise in numerous areas from Finance / HR / Operations / Strategic Marketing & Distribution.
Other areas that we would be looking at Leagues Club wise in a simple term would come down to Purchasing. All current deals would be looked at and re-negotiated. I know this sounds strange, but we do have a bloody good brand. With that brand, we should be utilising it which we are currently not. From the smallest things, e.g the Eftpos terminals used throughout the club, to the printing companies used, to the food companies, to the liquor mobs, to the merchandise to the TV's that they upgrade all the time on the walls. I know where they bought those TV's from and I can tell you, they could have saved a lot of money just there alone.
The use of rooms within the complex is currently attrocious. The hire out rate could be tremendously higher if the right areas were looked into. The facilities that they provide for members are not marketed right.
You guys have said it yourself regarding treatment of fans & Supporters & sponsors. You've got a group who aren't listening and you've got a group who are willing too. Business wise, the club should not be losing the money that it is. The management of the Leagues club is all wrong and could be rectified with the right team in place. The money that is being spent on the football team is not an excuse. I have stated that before in some of my other posts. The main aim and goal of the Leagues Club is to keep the football team on the field. That is why it is a LEAGUES club. Ovo and DF should not be complaining that the NRL team is killing their profits. That is why the club exists. They should start looking at newer revenue ideas.
I'll give them one right now since they haven't decided to do it to date. Go to Wenty Leagues and look at their poker machines and the device that is above them. Members can stick their cards in, win money, pull their card out and go to a new machine with the credit on their card. At Parra Leagues, you push the service button and wait all day for someone to come and write you a ticket, unless it prints one. People then have to queue up before getting their money. They then go to another machine and lose their money. If you were to use the other system, you need less people on the gaming floor. Secondly, people are spending their money faster. Thirdly, there are less people queueing up to get their money back so they can go and spend it again. In this one SIMPLE example, Parramatta has just saved money. Their are numerous ways the club can save money, but they are stale and they would rather blame the football team.
Heres some breaking news. 3P are not going to blame the Football team. We are working at providing the team with more than it currently gets. In regards to the Leagues Club, again as stated before, it is a tool to keep the team on the field. We are aware of that, and are putting in measures to stop the horrid losses that are happening at the club.
At the rally just recently, some fans were asking Ovo questions about what they wanted changed. He asked them if they played the poker machines. The fans weren't asking about the Leagues Club or the poker machines. Alot of fans were left dumbfounded wondering what that question had to do with anything.
I think everyone knows what it had to do with. A stale board that wants it's leagues club to be profitable but are out of touch and don't know how to do it, so they blame the pokie tax, the smoking laws and the football grants.
