http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-million-for-2017-season-20180130-h0qmes.html
Parramatta Eels post an official loss of more than $10 million for 2017 season
Parramatta are officially NRL's biggest spenders after posting a loss of more than $10 million to run their football program last year.
The Eels made their first finals appearance in eight seasons, finishing the regular season in fourth place, but success came at a hefty cost. According to the club's annual report, the blue and golds posted a $10,156,596 loss, expected to be the largest of the 16 clubs. The previous season – one marred by a series of dramas including the salary cap scandal – resulted in the club posting a $12,016,648 loss, the largest in NRL history.
Fairfax Media revealed Parramatta was poised to again go over the $10 million mark last November, with the audited figures confirming the budget blowout. While some costs, such as legal expenses, were halved, team expenses rose from $1.29 million to $1.47 million over the past 12 months. A better-than-expected performance from the Parramatta Leagues Club saved the group from posting a loss.
While most NRL clubs are in the process of finalising their financial figures, none are expected to come close to Parramatta's loss.
Eels CEO Bernie Gurr said the fallout from the salary cap fiasco, coupled with the move from Parramatta to ANZ Stadium, adversely affected the bottom line.
"[The loss] has come down a couple of million off last year, a 16 or 17 per cent improvement," Gurr said. "There were still some legacy items there, plus we're rebuilding our traction with the corporate market.
"The third thing is we did move stadiums and that did have an impact on our profit-loss account. That's three major things that impacted us.
"The good news is it will go down again. We have a very rigorous budgeting process and you'll find it will go down substantially again.
"When you are trying to repair businesses, Rome wasn't built in a day and clubs aren't rebuilt in a year. We're trending in the right direction, we stabilised the club and rebuilt a lot of trust with our stakeholders. All the while, we continue to provide full support to our football program, which is the hub and the core of our business," he said.
"That's manifested itself last year with the results we had and we have strengthened our roster again this year. We have brought on a new head of performance for our football program and the it has been ticking over well in the off-season.
"When you look at the big picture, you're looking for things to be transitioning in a positive manner – trending in the right way, so to speak. "
The Eels went the entire 2017 season without a sponsor as corporates were wary of aligning with a brand that had been tarnished by off-field scandals and poor performances. However, the addition of Aland as a major backer and an increase in NRL funding should help the bottom line in 2018. Eels chairman Max Donnelly has previously indicated he wants the football club to be less reliant on the leagues club.
All clubs will have added incentive to get more bang from their buck this season. The NRL is introducing a "soft" cap on football department spending of $5.7 million per season to ensure clubs don't spend themselves into oblivion.
"My view is that every club will be compliant," Gurr said. "I know how some clubs constitute their footy departments and I'm comfortable we will fit within the parameters of any footy department cap.
"Clubs have reached a point now where, if you look at the growth of footy departments over the last 10 years, suddenly you went from seven or eight full-time staff to having 15 or 16 or 17.
"The large growth in that has occurred, you won't get exponential growth in football departments. You get to a point where the law of diminishing returns takes over and doesn't justify the expense."
