AS the days count down to Manly's grand final clash with the Warriors, majority owner Scott Penn has admitted the club is still staring at a $1 million loss this season that he will have to pay out of his pocket.
In a wide ranging interview with The Australian, Penn spoke about a variety of topics, including the club's plan to build a $50 million stadium and the anguish he felt after a decision was made recently to sack club stalwart and his uncle, Peter "Zorba" Peters.
The Sea Eagles' financial woes have been well documented this season, the shortfall being attributed to a number of factors, including the fact the club wasn't able to secure its major sponsor - anti-virus software company Kaspersky - until late in the season.
The club will pocket $400,000 if it wins Sunday night's grand final at ANZ Stadium but Penn said it would still be short. And it would be up to his family and co-owner Quantum to bail it out.
He estimated the Penn family has sunk about $5 million into the Sea Eagles to help transform them into one of the most competitive teams since they bought a majority share of the club in 2006.
"Back in '06 we posted a million-and-a-half loss and a million in '07. Even though we made the grand final in '07 we made a million-dollar loss," Penn said.
"Even making the grand final this year, we'll probably make a million-dollar loss.
"It's primarily from spending the money that we believe needs to be spent, particularly on football, and then we've been underperforming in some other areas, like sponsorship and venue.
"We've got 3000 ticketed seats and we need 8000 to 10,000 to be viable in terms of a venue."
The club has already opened negotiations with the state and federal governments about a $50 million redevelopment of Brookvale Oval.
It hopes to have schematics of the plan to present to the government next week ahead of a master plan - currently being worked on by local council and architects hired by the club - to be tabled before the end of the year.
Penn is hoping the Sea Eagles will receive the same type of government support that both Newcastle and St George Illawarra received to upgrade their stadiums.
The plan is to extend the seating capacity at Brookvale Oval to 22,000 but more importantly to cater for 10,000 ticketed members, which would significantly boost the club's coffers.
Penn hasn't ruled out relocating the Sea Eagles for the 2013 season if the upgrade goes ahead, with the SFS and Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford the likely destinations for home games.
"We're not looking to make significant profits but we also don't want to make losses," he said.
"We're looking to break even and reinvest any profits in the team.
"They're (the governments) certainly supportive but they've also been strong in saying we need a plan - show us a plan, show us what you're trying to do and how you're trying to engage the community, and we'll see if we can find some funds."
Peters spent four decades at the club but was moved on after he fell out with new chief executive David Perry.
Penn admitted he had fought hard for Peters - who is related to the Penn family by marriage - but was out-voted by the board.
"It's been incredibly hard. He's my uncle," Penn said. "It's been one of the toughest things I've ever had to go through.
"When it's family, the support is unconditional, so we backed him fully but in the end we didn't have the numbers.
"There's no question it put a bit of strain on from within the family because everyone says, 'Surely you could protect him'.
"But unfortunately when you don't have the numbers on the board for those types of decisions, it's difficult."
