in relation to the leagues club itself, i don't think a massive amount can be done to make back the extra money the club is losing through the increased pokie tax, pokie restrictions and smoking laws. i say that purely because of the geographical location of the club compared to the hub (i'll call it that for the purposes of this post) of parramatta. that's not to say the club can't be improved to make more money. as a start i'd be looking at increasing the price of each drink incrementally by 10c - 20c over the next 12 months. ditto for every meal. this may not sound like much (though from saturday i got the impression hj will cry blue murder) but i use the example of american airlines in 1987. they used one less olive in every caesar salad and saved $40k that year. it was such a small thing that no-one noticed but it still made the organisation a financial benefit. not massive, but it is a start.
i think the club should be looking at setting up ventures closer to the hub. it was posted by a few that the nightclub in the lc should be tried again. i actually think a nightclub could be a good idea but not in the lc. it should be in that hub area. ditto for any new specailised style restaurants or cafes the club was thinking about opening. having a parking lot right outside the club helps get patrons in (this was mentioned at the last meeting) but it doesn't cash in on all the people that don't want to go out of their way to go places.
the club could also try investing in ventures that capitalised on other businesses patronage. i have one concept that i have seen used to great success by an old acquaintece of mine but i don't want to post on here. col, if you want the idea feel free to pm me.
bottom line though, the fc needs to establish financial independence (as a few of us have stated) over the next five years to take the pressure off the lc's finances. this wont happen though unless the fc get some control over the nrl team. i can't see too many sponsors getting involved with our lower grades and feeder clubs as they would with the nrl side, not to the same magnitude anyway.