Kilburn Football and Cricket Club needs to raise significant funds in a month or will lose its home
A longstanding inner-north football club needs to raise $50,000 in four weeks — or it’s going to be booted out of its home-ground, and may then fold entirely.
A longstanding inner-northern football club needs to raise up to $50,000 in four weeks or it will be booted out of its home.
Kilburn Football and Cricket Club has racked up four debts totalling more than $120,000 — owing money to the Port Adelaide Enfield Council, power company AGL and the Australian Tax Office.
The council has given the club, established in 1923, up until September 17 to show how it can repay its debts.
The Chics owe the council around $22,000 and AGL up to $50,000.
If they can’t, the Chics will fail to have their lease renewed at their Blair Athol Reserve home. It is likely the club will then fold.
The Chics have struggled to contend with rising electricity, Adelaide Footy League and Adelaide Turf Cricket Association fees, as well as council charges and rates for its Lionel Ave home.
At a meeting held at the clubrooms on Sunday, Kilburn president and football player Dale Agius said the club needed to raise $40,000 to $50,000 before the council deadline.
“We are currently facing some financial hardship … we accept this,” he said.
“It’s our responsibility to repair it (the financial position), we might not like it but we need to fix it.
“There have been some past mistakes, some past errors … but what we need to do is focus on how we are going to raise some serious funds.
“And get the community together, get everyone together to work collectively and put in a plan forward to the council that we are deadset serious and we can present them a very clear plan financially, for both key sports and to the community that we can keep going in the future.”
Agius said the club had already launched a “very creative membership drive” that has already raised $1500.
He said they would also call on existing and potential new sponsors to help secure the financial future of the club while it will also hold a number of functions over the next four weeks.
Kilburn financial director Danny Parks said he believed the drive could raise up to $20,000.
“We need the money in our pockets to have a bit of bargaining power,” he said.
The Adelaide Footy League, SANFL and SACA have indicated that they are willing to help the Chics’ financial situation.
Agius said the club was planning to engage with the local Afghan community in Blair Athol, while female footy could be looked at to get people to the club.
It was also suggested that the club approach Blackfriars Old Scholars to strike up an arrangement in light of the Adelaide Crows’ plans for the North Adelaide Aquatic Centre and the surrounding Parkland ovals.