Parramatta’s horror 2016, punctuated by a salary cap scandal, player dramas and boardroom trouble has resulted in an incredible $11 million loss.
The massive financial haemorrhaging was announced in a letter penned by interim Eels boss and Parramatta Leagues Club CEO Paul Bevan on Tuesday.
In the letter written to Leagues Club members and Eels fans, Bevan described the Eels annus horribilis as “tumultuous”.
The Leagues Club will pick up the loss, which Bevan described as “unacceptable and unsustainable”, but will still post a profit “in the neighbourhood of $4 million”.
The $11 million shortfall, the biggest in NRL history, included:
* $1.12 million in fines and penalties as a result of sanctions from the NRL over salary cap indiscretions
* $1.24 million to consultants and legal adviser, a significant part of which funded failed Supreme Court legal battles on behalf of the ousted “Gang Of Five” directors
* $952,000 in player terminations, after Kieran Foran departed the club due to personal issues and Anthony Watmough was forced into retirement by a knee injury
* $700,000 in lost sponsorship revenue
* $742,000 provision for sponsorship bad debt
“The impact on the club and members funds is unacceptable and unsustainable and urgent action was needed to mitigate these issues,” Bevan wrote.
“There is more work to do on the Eels and a premiership to pursue however the biggest bushfires are out or under control.
“I look forward to the commencement of incoming Eels CEO Bernie Gurr and all Eels members and fans can look forward to a better year in 2017 under his guidance.”
Bevan outlined a number of changes the club had made to ensure a brighter future.Those included a salary cap management overhaul and the cessation of legal action against the NRL.
“After years of uncertainty the Club now has 100 per cent confidence in its cap and has confirmed this status with the NRL,” Bevan wrote.
“The recent round of signings and re-signings for the Eels has been actioned with complete certainty of compliance with the salary cap.”
The Eels were hit with a 12 premiership points deduction for their salary cap dramas which effectively ended their year.
Star playmaker Corey Norman added to the club’s troubles when he was found guilty of drug possession and banned for six weeks by the NRL as a result of that brush with the law and a number of other off-field dramas.
Winger Semi Radradra is facing allegations of domestic violence.
But the that might not be the end of the Eels troubles with Bevan writing of “an investigation currently being conducted by the NSW Fraud Squad into invoices to the Eels that were allegedly inflated”.
“I would like to make clear that the intervention of the NSW Police is in relation to possible offences committed against PLC members by individuals associated with the Football Club,” Bevan wrote.
“This is an ongoing investigation and the Club intends to keep members updated as much as possible.”
Mushi
Guest
Um did you read the article?
Magnus M. Østergaard
Roar Guru
THIS. Great summary Sammy. Younwould imagine this would also increase crowds. Bathurst is only 2.5 hours away from Pepper Stadium and a lot of Regional NSW is under 4 hours away from ANZ stadium. The Central coast is only an hour and a half. I am not sure of the numbers but I beleive the average Cowboys fan travel time was 3.5 hours. If a club but in enough work and incentivised hotel stays along with ticket prices you would certainly increase crowds which seems to be everyones bug bear. We have to bear in mind that the average crowd stayed solid which included both Thursday and Monday night football which are both TV nights.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Ah, okay. Thanks for that.
BA Sports
Guest
Jerry - You say Parramatta is becoming the second CBD for Sydney - so a big commercial hub - and you want to relocate them?! That sort of thinking would have got you a spot on the old Board - your clearly a business genius..
Sammy
Guest
Well in a 16 team competition, "11 NSW Clubs" sounds better than "9 Sydney Clubs" (its actually eight-and-a-half). The population ratio between Country NSW + ACT and Sydney Metro is pretty even, 45% to 55%, yet almost all of the NSW Clubs are based in Sydney. A few of the Sydney Clubs (not many) should formalize their alliances with regional areas which will provide a pathway for regional juniors and also drive regional memberships. These Clubs can take one NRL home match per year to their adopted regional area and can assist in setting up regional Feeder Clubs for the new Platinum League (NSW Cup). The Penrith Panthers have a Leagues Club in Bathurst and have strong links with the Blue Mountains and the Central West in addition to the Hawkesbury districts. Referring to the team as the "Mountain Men" enhances their regional image. The Roosters have a Leagues Club in Woy Woy and are linked with the Central Coast juniors and Wyong Roos, but with some clever marketing they could be perceived to represent the Central Coast. The "Easts" identity can be expanded to mean "East Coast". The Wests Tigers should think beyond the "Inner West LGA" and embrace the "Greater West". South Sydney could also look at the Southern Highlands - the Group 6 Rugby League (Bowral, Mittagong, Moss Vale) is a great competition and that area is under threat from AFL. Newcastle plays out of "Hunter Stadium" and they have always been seen to represent the Hunter Valley in addition to Newcastle. On the other hand St George Illawarra's major sponsor is St George Bank which doesn't help their campaign in the regions that they should represent - the Illawarra and Shoalhaven.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Can you expand on what you mean by that?
Sammy
Guest
The NRL is criticized for its high concentration of Sydney Clubs, and at present, the weakest Sydney Club becomes a target for relocation to Perth. A few years ago it was West Tigers, then Cronulla. A simple solution to the Sydney concentration problem is for Sydney clubs to adopt more of regional NSW as part of their identity.
Brendan
Guest
If anyone should go to Perth its the Roosters. They have no juniors, no members, no fans and no plan for the post Politis era. Ship them off now, Pearce can go dog walking with whoever likes over there
Magnus M. Østergaard
Roar Guru
They were ruthlessly dismembered. Bring them back! WA Red Frankensteins
Oingo Boingo
Guest
The reds didn't die , the super league murdered them .
Soda
Guest
Exactly, could not disagree more with Jerry there. Parra as a town is on the up and up. Parra as a team has had it tough, but they too are going to pick up. With Perth though, if they are going to have a team, it needs to be there own. Relocating a team is not the answer. I don't why Perth always gets brought up with expansion talk. Perth is still in the too hard basket for mine at the moment - too far away and not enough interest from WA - dropping a nrl team there will be set up to fail within 2 seasons just like the Reds.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Disagree with that proposal. Parramatta ought to stay exactly where they are.
Jerry
Guest
Send the Eels to Perth. Keep the blue and gold strip. The "Perth Eels" has a good ring to it. The new Parramatta Stadium can then be a shared home ground for Wests Tigers, Canterbury Bulldogs and half of Penrith's home games. Parramatta Council is becoming second CBD for all of Sydney and the Eels have lost their former geographic identity. The Parramatta junior league clubs can move into the Balmain (inc Ryde), Penrith (inc Windsor), Canterbury (inc Liverpool) and Western Suburbs (Campbelltown) Junior Leagues. Parramatta are the only NSW Club that has not won an NRL premiership (excluding Canberra - ACT).
Ches
Guest
NRL has contracts for TV broadcasts and Parramatta has an incredible number of fans. The NRL will bail them out if needed
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Sensational, yes. The club is a powerhouse in waiting but screwed up royally to post that $11 million loss. My poor dad has been waiting since 1986 for something decent to come out of that place. About time that rabble of a club got its act together.
Parrafan
Guest
Lifted straight from the email "That said, the underlying performance of the Leagues Club remains solid and whilst the Leagues Club profitability will be impacted this year the company will still report a consolidated annual profit result in the neighbourhood of $4m." Stop cherry picking to get a sensationalist headline.