Well Wim, I thought about your comment and I guess if we didn’t have all these moralistic BBlitzers keep ranting on about it then I wouldn’t get grumpy and I would just ignore it all.
EFC are undertaking a legal activity that generates around $4 million profit. In Melton they are running a good club that offers low cost good meals and entertainment for many people.
I often wonder what those who constantly whinge about pokies actually do about it. At least @Dons1984 is part of a group taking some action for their beliefs.
My estimate is that selling the licences could raise as much $30 million. So if someone can find another investment that give the same or more return then I will stop bleating.
I love how uppity people get about the ‘whingers’ opposed to pokie machines, when the reality is that people just don’t want the club they support to profit from an industry that is designed from the ground up to take advantage of some of society’s most vulnerable
When Collingwood announced the sale of its 156 machines to the Melbourne Racing Club in 2018, Eddie said it was a prudent commercial decision that would strengthen the Club’s balance sheet significantly. He added that Collingwood was in a strong financial position , with net assets of $32 million.
Was there something about Collingwood being gifted its new facilities?
Ah no they didn’t. Have you ever actually read an annual report? The total amount from fundraising, donations & contributions, including donations for the hangar expansion totalled just under 1.7M in 2022 up from 470K in 2021.
OTHER INCOME
Fundraising, donation and contributions* 1,699,373
I thought X made a decent profit for the club in offloading the e-sports licence at a price way in excess of the purchase price.
I suppose that the club would want a buyer at a decent price for its pokie licences ( with the transfer requiring approval by the regulator) as the alternative to simply surrendering its licences to the regulator.
ADD
I’d guess this would be all new for Vozzo, as WA pokies are restricted to the Casino.
That’s misleading to a large extent. That’s not liquid assets than can be converted realistically to cash.
Issue is the trading of the club. Club loses money on its football operations. The cashflow it generates from Melton and Windy Hill is what is necessary to ensure yea-round funding to support the footy department.
The club needs to knuckle down and build a plan to ensure a sustainable business outside of footy. Once it has that in place it can then plan to sell off pokies. Until this is done it simply can’t live without them.
I’m in business. I think I know how to read an annual report. And by the way, the club has generated tens of millions in donations from high net worth supporters the last decade and that’s not up for debate. It’s a fact.
I believe I read somewhere a year or two ago that pokies were in decline. The amount that people were losing was still roughly the same, but less people were using them.
I agree with @dmaplestone - I’d like us to develop a plan to get out of pokies. Richmond have leisure centres, maybe we can look at doing the same.
The SANFL is building one of those X-Golf Franchises in a bid to bring in more income that can be sent to grassroots programs.
I think more clubs will try to get to diverse into this type of thing
The club have been talking internally for years about what this plan would look like. They’ve even employed someone in the executive team to identify opportunities. It’s time to deliver on this and make it happen.
Correct. There’s so many opportunities and options. It’s just a matter of building a strategy, identify opportunities and make it happen.
The clubs been distracted for years by scandals, sagas and other things that have meant it’s been focussed on eliminating debt and restoring its football operations. Strangely, for all it’s apparent over focus on commercial parts of the business, the ‘non core’ business hadn’t been focussed on and other than some rent income from Western United, it has done little. It’s been talking about this parcel of land behind the Hangar for a decade!
Total revenue from donations 2013-2022 was 11.7M. Unless you are claiming that tens of millions in donations are off the books then you’re simply wrong. Thats the actual facts.