Maybe that’s true for the big suburban beer barns, but the cbd/fitzroy/St Kilda/Collingwood/etc scene was going strong well into the late 90s loooong after BAC limits came in, but in the late 90s that was all 100% killed by pokies.
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This is a terrible take.
I am clearly younger than you, because I never went to any of the venues you mentioned. Mainly because they were garbage old persons venues. Yet I still went to see live music 7 nights a week in my 20s and still managed to see many international bands at unis etc.
And then I thought love music dies when the Punters Club closed
But guess what, I was wrong. The venues change, and the bands change, and even the musical styles change, but just because it’s not how you remember it doesn’t mean it’s dead.
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Hi Blitzers,
I started a thread on Bomberblitz in February 2023 in response to an article in the Age talking about Essendon’s 191 Poker Machine licences. This issue seems to be in the news fairly regularly now, and even led to the formation of No Pokies at Essendon (NoPE) Inc, an organisation of Essendon supporters opposed to Essendon’s poker machine licences (of which I am a member).
As many of you have expressed your support for this issue (and some against, as well), I thought it was time to start a new thread that specifically deals with the “No Pokies at Essendon!” issue.
I know that there will be strong opinions both ways on this issue, but hopefully we can all be respectful of one another as Bomber supporters.
Oh, and if anyone wants to find out more about NoPE, you can email them at [email protected] or visit their website at www.nope.org.au
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You have been asked this before, what is your plan to replace the lost revenue if Bombers rid themselves of pokies?
And with regards to the Melton Club, can you ensure that any new Owner will support problem gamblers as well as the current Management ?
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Great question. How do we fund the huge redevelopments of Windy Hill, then The Hangar if we don’t have the revenue / profit replaced?
It can only occur when the business case and plan is developed and finalised. I’m not aware of any replacement of revenue and profit so it’s not feasible at present.
Other clubs including Collingwood have managed unless I’m mistaken.
Other clubs like Collingwood generate much more revenue and have millions more in cash reserves. It’s chalk and cheese. We have low cash reserves, low profitability compared to similar clubs and no ‘non core’ revenue streams (other than pokies).
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Collingwood have also won two flags and many finals since 2004.
No sure Bombers have any ideas.
Holding poker machine licences is a reputational risk. If we move away from holding poker machines the club may find that sponsors are more interested in supporting us.
The club would need to 1. Increase revenue from existing sources 2. Find new sources of revenue and 3. Reduce spending
It won’t happen over 12 months but club needs to acknowledge that poker machine revenue comes from age pensions, disability pensions, carer payments. Poker machines go hand in hand with family violence. In short pokies are a tax on those that can’t afford it and wreck communities.
That is all conjecture and your opinion. There is no evidence to say that the poker machine at either Melton or Windy Hill are badly managed and these are the outcomes.
We do not have problems attracting sponsors though groups like NOpe would be detrimental to our future.
And what about other clubs that have given up the pokies?
Hawthorn, Collingwood, Melbourne, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs have all ditched pokies since 2013 and won seven premierships between them since they did.
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LOL
That is quite a link.
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It’s not just Collingwood with their advantages that have made ditching pokies work.
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Ditching pokies doesn’t result in premierships. Again, until the club develops replacement business it can’t happen.
I actually think success on the field is linked to our poker machine ownership.
By taking revenue that is linked to social distress we have set ourselves aside from being a good community club. Just take the money and run. Have we become a big business that fields a football team?
Poker machine revenue has been easy money (that is starting to change and revenues will drop). Easy money means low accountability. Easy money means big projects that look good on resumes. Easy money leads to complacency. Why do we have a narrow revenue base? It’s because the Board has assumed the pokies rivers of gold will last forever. Other clubs have seen the writing on the wall and exited. We should too.
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We can dream up all these theories all we like but the bills need to be paid, the footy dept needs to be funded. We aren’t in a position to ditch pokies in the forceable future.
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All those other clubs are thriving financially and on field since ditching the pokies.
They’ve all been able to manage. WTF can’t we:
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“Wtf can’t we?” Have a look at their trading performance and balance sheets. That’s why. Compare their profitability to ours.
We need do do two things to eliminate ponies.
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Improve our core business performance (win finals / improve marketing output)
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Develop a non core business to replace ~$10M+ of annual non football revenue.
The clubs you mentioned have achieved on field success, realised gains on sold Pubs / Hotels and / or already have non core businesses delivering big revenue (Eg: Richmond - Ardent Leisure).
Totally agree with you @Joe .
I think it is important the the club comes to acknowledge the social damage that pokies is doing to the local community, and start looking for ways to shift away from relying on pokies revenue.
Putting its head in the sand and saying we can’t afford to change is an unsustainable approach for the club.
I love playing pokies. Put in $100/month at crown before I hit the roulette tables.
I just don’t think a sporting club should be benefiting financially from them.
The club has no idea on how they can be financially viable without them apparently.
That’s just not good enough in my view.