We can get a goodish feel. Food and beverage cost growth has been widespread across the hospitality industry at large, and we know energy costs have grown substantially. These factors would be driving the reduced profit in their venues.
There’s lots of ins and outs, ups and downs. Overall though, the clubs business is under pressure for growth due to poor on field fortunes (1), member & fan disengagement (2), and insufficient diversified non football revenue streams to prop up the underperforming football results (3).
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They’ve dithered on non football business opportunities for 20 years. The land at The Hangar is a moot point in reality. It’s just one possible option they’ve tabled… Its had a couple of people in recent years join the club to do a strategic analysis for the Board to direct investment to but no progress. Apparently they’re now getting focussed on it (again), I will believe it when I see it.
Windy Hill desperately needs investment, the opposing side (AFLW) has to use the WH fitness Centre as the current rooms are not at acceptable level. The media areas are substandard, the major grandstands require restoration etc. It probably needs $20M as a minimum spent.
The Hangar is now 10 years old, expanded recently. But the original player areas are now 10 years old. We know you can’t stand still and the original facility will no doubt need refurbishments, extensions and improvements in the next 3-5 years. Let’s say $10M+ needed soon.
Thats $30M+ they need to solve for over the next 3-5 years and how long can the Club tell itself its footy performance improvement will solve its problems? In reality, it needs to fix footy (on track 
) and refocus on building its strategic business and improving its overall financial performance.
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Perhaps they should walk away from the Windy Hill redevelopment. It sounds great and I love the history but have they got the capacity to carry it out to the level required? Don’t shoot me, just thinking aloud.
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It’s hardly a crisis situation lol
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The club needs to focus more on business
The issue with Windy Hill isn’t its use on weekends. It’s obvious it needs it.
But the internal functions need to bring back revenue during the working week.
At the moment, it’s just the gym and the swimming pool. Which is the same asset they had twenty years ago.
The social club has changed a bit but not that much.
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We get presented with very high level numbers, but we’re still told about a loss.
Everything on-field and off-field indicates that we’re just a mid range, mediocre club.
Not a force, not big four, not successful and not innovative.
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Sounds like we need to bring back Xavier Campbell to put more focus on the business side of things.
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We have a stable club with good management and money in the Bank.
If you think you can do better @dmaplestone then you should stand for Board instead of being negative.
In fact, many business’s are finding it tough, Bombers have new major sponsor, great recruitment outcomes and a positive future.
It’s a reasonable question. WH is very important aspect of the Clubs past and spirit. The Club did a good job reconnecting fans with the venue via the AFLW this year. The fans loved it. In simple terms, if Essendon is well run on all fronts, it will be able to support the reinvestment in WH. It just needs some amped up focus and commitment to restoring the strategic performance of the Club whilst not compromising its current momentum on fixing footy… In 2-3 years it could easily have a really great plan developed, sources of funding secured, improved operating performance and a start date ready to go.
That’s true. It’s simply highlighting improvement is required and addressing mediocrity in off field performance. It can certainly be turned around quickly with focus and terrific people in the key roles under Vozzo and around the Boardroom.
I would never recommend that the Bombers spend one more dollar at Windy Hill. They do not own it, and contracts in place give them not that much control.
It is last century in so many ways.
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Calling it as it is, Mr Fox. The numbers don’t lie. Its competitors are outperforming on / off field and Essendon is losing ground on the key metrics. On field has dragged off field down but it’s still been in a malaise for sometime. Club said it’s ‘resetting’, their words… Whatever, it’s just muddling…
On field is more positive with some excellent progress the last 12 months, despite late season fade-out.
Can you actually read a balance sheet ?
Which means X, the best financial CEO in the AFL according to Brasher, was all about TRAVLA, and had no vision for diversifying EFC.
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Well of course, Richmond have won 3 premierships recently.
We haven’t won a final in a lifetime.
What would you expect?
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Yes, possibly better than vast majority in truth…
My issue is around the operating performance. That’s actually the P&L and its performance btw. Its membership is declining in numbers & revenue, it’s merchandising sales have declined again and are in the bottom half for AFL clubs, it’s social media numbers aren’t growing as fast as its rivals due to poor quality and quantity of its content overall. Its fan engagement and member satisfaction is poor and this area has been highlighted by the Clubs own external report as an area requiring improvement.
On a broader strategic point, it has mulled over how to generate new, non football revenues for over a decade, and appears no closer to solutions or realised plans to boost revenues at a time it has major capital investment needs stacking up. To this end, It has likely scaled back ambitions at Windy Hill whilst it has limited cash reserves (currently only $6.0M) with the project seemingly delayed or hit challenges with no updates about its progress. It will in the medium term need to invest in improvements at The Hangar too as it’s now a decade old. Not that I care, but it eventually wants to exit pokies but to above, isn’t strategically in a position to do so with no alternative revenue streams to replace it.
Lastly, it is 12 months away from the conclusion of its 25 year deal at Marvel. 75-80% of members / fans want home games back at the MCG. This year we saw Richmond, Melbourne and Hawthorn strongarm the AFL to secure more seating at its home games from Collingwood. Essendon was strangely quiet, is quiet nowadays period, and Collingwood continues to have its members occupy the majority of the Ponsford Stand at Essendon home games. So, there’s work to do on home game arrangements plans.
So, whilst it’s promising and exciting the progress and direction in footy. I’m confident this is being turned around despite serious concerns around our fitness and conditioning still and our capacity to develop our talent. The off field part of the Club, now with generally new leadership and management have a big task ahead to return Essendon to the innovating, respected, leading powerful force in the AFL off the field too.
It’s not being negative, it’s being frank and open about where the Club is placed right now.
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Miracle this club is still putting up ok numbers considering the Saga, inept management over the past 20years. Essendon is lucky it has a large supporter/membership base, wealthy backers and pokies, else it would be Farked in another era.
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I might be wrong here, but I believe this part of the club, the strategic stuff like this would typically sit with the Board to drive and work through, with the executive team doing the grunt work.
I think Xavier was excellent at your typical AFL commercial stuff: Sponsorship, hospitality etc. the broader strategic business opportunities I don’t think as much. He certainly was good at diversifying his own revenue streams though it appears 