Manly Daily
13 January 2007
Adam Lucius
Millionaire Sea Eagles owner Max Delmege has angrily clashed with licensed club boss Paul Cummings after the leagues club drastically cut its funding to the NRL side eight weeks out from the 2007 season.
It's understood the Manly League Club will tip in around $500,000 this year - a 50% reduction on the $1million it injected in 2006.
While the funding cut will have no immediate effect on the football team, three administrative staff members have already accepted reduncancy packages as a result of immediate belt tightening.
Cummings, the League Club chairman, has made no apology for the move, indicating the days of large grants from his organisation were over.
He said the onus was on Manly's majority shareholders - Max Delmege and Scott Penn to ensure the football club was sufficiently funded.
"The club is operated by two private businessmen and what they do is their own business", Cummings said yesterday.
"It's not up to us to build up the coffers of the two owners. Max and the Penns bought the company and one would think they'd run it in a way that costs the least amount of money. If they can't run their budgets properly that's got nothing to do with us."
But Delmege, who estimates he has poured in $10 million to keep the Sea Eagles afloat, last night claimed the licensed club had stabbed its sister organisation in the back.
"When the second shareholder (Penn) came aboard they promised to maintain their funding at a certain level, so to renege on that is not only rough but its wrong," Delmege said.
"As someone who has spent around $10 million and came to the rescue of the football club, I find the leagues club's move very disappointing," Delmege said.
"And it's especially disappointing when they can afford it. The leagues club was borne out of the football club to help fund the football club."
Cummings revealed the licensed club faced its own battles as increased poker machine tax, new smoking laws and competition from rival clubs continued to hit hard. And he issued a stinging response to suggestions the leagues club had kneecapped the football club. "I'd be a little disappointed if people are putting out rumours that we're not paying our way because that's not true," Cummings said.
"We are paying our propagation. It varies from year to year .... it goes up and it goes down. If anyone says anything different you'd have to put the letters L I A R in front of it.
The Leagues Club has given 85% of its profits over the past 15 years to the football club. The leagues club doesn't have to stand up to anybody, it's proven itself over the years.
We've had a couple of lean years but no one at the leagues club is talking about cutting propagation.
Manly CEO Grant Mayer was pragmatic about the funding cut, saying "We've just got to deal with the cards we've been dealt and look at alternative revenue streams.
But it's business as usual for the football team".
13 January 2007
Adam Lucius
Millionaire Sea Eagles owner Max Delmege has angrily clashed with licensed club boss Paul Cummings after the leagues club drastically cut its funding to the NRL side eight weeks out from the 2007 season.
It's understood the Manly League Club will tip in around $500,000 this year - a 50% reduction on the $1million it injected in 2006.
While the funding cut will have no immediate effect on the football team, three administrative staff members have already accepted reduncancy packages as a result of immediate belt tightening.
Cummings, the League Club chairman, has made no apology for the move, indicating the days of large grants from his organisation were over.
He said the onus was on Manly's majority shareholders - Max Delmege and Scott Penn to ensure the football club was sufficiently funded.
"The club is operated by two private businessmen and what they do is their own business", Cummings said yesterday.
"It's not up to us to build up the coffers of the two owners. Max and the Penns bought the company and one would think they'd run it in a way that costs the least amount of money. If they can't run their budgets properly that's got nothing to do with us."
But Delmege, who estimates he has poured in $10 million to keep the Sea Eagles afloat, last night claimed the licensed club had stabbed its sister organisation in the back.
"When the second shareholder (Penn) came aboard they promised to maintain their funding at a certain level, so to renege on that is not only rough but its wrong," Delmege said.
"As someone who has spent around $10 million and came to the rescue of the football club, I find the leagues club's move very disappointing," Delmege said.
"And it's especially disappointing when they can afford it. The leagues club was borne out of the football club to help fund the football club."
Cummings revealed the licensed club faced its own battles as increased poker machine tax, new smoking laws and competition from rival clubs continued to hit hard. And he issued a stinging response to suggestions the leagues club had kneecapped the football club. "I'd be a little disappointed if people are putting out rumours that we're not paying our way because that's not true," Cummings said.
"We are paying our propagation. It varies from year to year .... it goes up and it goes down. If anyone says anything different you'd have to put the letters L I A R in front of it.
The Leagues Club has given 85% of its profits over the past 15 years to the football club. The leagues club doesn't have to stand up to anybody, it's proven itself over the years.
We've had a couple of lean years but no one at the leagues club is talking about cutting propagation.
Manly CEO Grant Mayer was pragmatic about the funding cut, saying "We've just got to deal with the cards we've been dealt and look at alternative revenue streams.
But it's business as usual for the football team".
