Start date of 2020 SANFL season will be pushed back to May 31 because of the coronavirus pandemic
The SANFL season will not start until at least May 31 due to COVID-19. The league says the financial implications of the delay will be significant.
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The start date of the SANFL will be pushed back to May 31 because of the coronavirus pandemic, and league chief executive Jake Parkinson says the competition will be recovering from the financial impact of this “for some years to come”.
After meetings between the AFL and CEOs of the state bodies, a “collective decision” was made to postpone the operation and commencement of each Premier State league and national and state talent program across the country.
This will mean the SANFL will lose its first seven rounds, and even then there is no guarantee it proceeds post May 31.
The SANFL reserve and under 18 league will also be postponed, while a call on the already underway SANFLW and Under 16 competition will be made shortly.
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Already facing down a big loss of revenue from AFL games at Adelaide Oval being played behind closed doors to prevent the spread of the virus, and games being cut to 17 in an attempt to salvage the 2020 season, Parkinson said it would have a “significant” financial impact not only on the organisation, but for its members.
“We haven’t come to the conclusion of that financial modelling, however we don’t need to go all the way through that to realise that the impact is going to be significant,” he said.
“We rely heavily on attendance here at Adelaide Oval from AFL games, we are also a joint major venture partner with SACA and are exposed to the costs of running Adelaide Oval and revenue is important to defray those costs and revenue will be considerably impacted by the playing of AFL games without crowds and fewer AFL games here at the stadium.
“We need to work through that modelling, however that impact will be significant and will have an ongoing impact on the league.
“We are going to need to recover from this for some years to come.”
SANFL had just gotten its debt down to $2.8 million, its lowest since 1992, from a staggering $34.2 million in 2013.
Parkinson said that would soften any financial blow, but only slightly.
“For SANFL having considerable debt, that was a position that was quite dangerous for the league and having paid down quite a significant amount of that debt, its (current) debt is a better position to be in,” he said.
“But having said that the corona pandemic will have a significant impact on SANFL finances.”
The huge call comes after the VFL season was postponed, as Richmond and the Western Bulldogs decided to suspend their state league programs as a preventive measure to the pandemic.
Parkinson said he had been in contact with the Crows and Port as to the status of their SANFL teams.
The league will continue to work with the AFL as to what happens with community football.
As to when the league resumes, if it does, post May 31, Parkinson said the season would be shortened and SANFL would draw on its two bye rounds and the cancellation of the state game with the WAFL to schedule games.
“But we don’t know when we will get back to playing footy,” he said.
Parkinson said all SANFL clubs were “looking at what their cost structures look like to try and deal with what will be a significant impact to their revenue streams”.
“One thing I have been heartened by is the alignment across all clubs,” he said.
SANFL players could now become top-up players for AFL clubs to deal with coronavirus, with a potential mini-draft to be held.
Parkinson said he did not know whether SANFL clubs would be in line for any compensation, which happens in the mid-season draft and Pre-Season Supplementary picks, if their players are picked up by an AFL club.