so i have had some interesting conversations with some people, sorry i havent been able to post sooner
here is my understanding of things, some arent pretty, some are hard hitting, but thats life, so here is what i know
we will start with the development:
1) we sold tower 1 profits for under the market value, however, we had no choice as we had to pay off a debt. we sold it for enough to cover the debt and keep us in a cash positive situation for a few months. ideally, we would have waited and got a better return but the bank had us by the balls and gave us a final demand
2) the money from tower two came in slowly as the units were sold. during that time, we made some commercial decisions, some good, some bad. unfortunately, the bad decisions have cost us and we have come away worse for wear
3) the units in tower 3 have not been sold, nor had the commercial sector been started. there is also a hotel that is going to built which will be a revenue stream, they are hoping this will attract people to eat in the club at a discounted rate
4) the leagues club was due to be upgraded but this was not part of the development, all costs had to be incurred by us. for those that have been in the club lately, it looks schmick. a tough commercial decision was made to change the fit out building company which upset some people, but it had to be done. we are forking out the costs for this from our pocket so we are going cheap, but good work
5) any stadium upgrade will also be a cost to use, so dont expect shark park to become a 30k capacity stadium anytime soon, an nor should it, when we average anywhere from 11-13 k
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thats that done, so lets now move on to the finances of the club and the redundancies
1) when lyall gorman came to the club, he had visions of turning us into a powerhouse, which we all wanted. he wanted it to be run like the wanderers/brisbane - loads of staff doing loads of work, making loads of money. unfortunately this was viable at the start of the proceedings, but with not much else changing, it soon became a hindrance
2) as discussed, the refurb of the club (funny how this isnt mentioned when the telegraph are reporting) came out of our pocket, hence, we ran at a loss in 2018. colour most people shocked, but generally if you add an extension to your house, upgrade your bathroom and fit out your kitchen, you are going to lose money
3) the redundancies suck, but needed to happen. the 10 people were involved in media, marketing and sales. our media team sucks, our content is poor and amateurish. have a look at the knights, who have a smaller team, yet they are killing it. the 10 people going will save us a lot of money in terms of salary ( some high) on costs, equipment ect. some of those people were given the jobs for the boys by the administration and although they are good people, they needed to go
in summary - refurb of the club + too many people doing nothing = loss of money, who knew
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lets move on to game day
1) record number of members, but where is everyone? we had 50-60k fans at the grand final yet under 20k members. if you know someone who is a sharks fan and isnt a member, punch them
2) i was once told, once wrote both here and on my blog, and will say it again, we will break even at a home game if we get 11k and everyone buys a pepsi. that was in 2011 so inflation probably means 13k and 2 beers these days. but do your bit, i know prices are high, but if you love the club like you say you do, it is a small price to pay to keep your club local
3) the club loses lots of money by not having merch available by christmas, but unfortunately they wont release stuff unless it has sponsors all over it. but when merch comes out, buy some
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lets move on to sponsorship
1) unfortunately, everyone who takes the top job, runs their mouth about contacts at the high end of town and sponsors galore. thats what unity used to get in, and whilst they did get us sponsors, we havent had a long term sponsor and partnership for a while. as it stands, we have no major and no ground sponsor
2) the talk today of fifita and dugan costing us a 5 yeear sponsor because of the podcast is bul****. it is buzz not letting go of his agenda. cronulla were under the impression opal solar would take up the clause due to the exposure we gave them. unfortunately, due to similar circumstances, they have to cost cut as well.
3) we are in a prime position with free to air games and favourable time slots this year, so if you know any business that may be keen, send the lead to the club
4) unfortunately, cronulla have never been a smart club. there was a former poster on here who ran a very lucrative business that wanted to help out with TPA's, and made multiple calls, but unfortunately were never follwed up by the club. in the end, they gave up. same goes for a major sponsor that are actually a client of mine. they offered a 7 figure deal but were told that their logo didnt suit the sharks jersey in terms of logo, look and colour. i know this happened for a fact, i have seen the communication.
5) people at the club are very confident that come round 1, the ground and major will be done, even if it is cut price and short term, it is better than nothing. it feels like 2010/2011 all over again, but this time we have the team to at least keep commercial interest in us
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now for the team/cap breach
1) the salary cap is around 10mil this year and the grant is 13 mil, so we can sign players and we can pay players. the excess money will be put into finances and being smart rather than being stupid
2) whilst it seems dumb, barry russell has saved our bacon by self reporting. our fine will be insignificant, with a chunk of it most likely to be suspended. id be guessing 250k, with 125 k suspended.
3) relocation, wont happen. we are in a bit of a pickle, but we will get through it. ironically, fans digging deep for memberships, merch, food and drink will help. dont play pokies or bet in the tab though, we dont get much from that
4) sj - 3 year deal. another signing may happen before, more likely after. not a big name like marty taupau though. braiden burns may also sign on.
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in summary
1) we will be fine. it may be bad for a year or 2, our sponsors may not be much, be exciting or even long term, but they will be there
2) barry russell knows what he is doing, so have faith
3) enjoy the offseason. stop reading the telegraph, get off facebook pages, especially ones where people still spell it fafita, gallon, homes and graeme. facebook is a cesspit that gives inbreds and opportunity to think they are funny.
4) dont worry. worrying is like a rocking chair. it gives you something to do but it doesnt get you anywhere.
5) if you want anymore info, drop me a dm. until then, i will be in the other sports thread, watching Liverpool games, and spreading westbrook propaganda
peace out
