Adelaide Football Club Rob Chapman says Crows fighting for survival

Adelaide Crows chairman Rob Chapman says his club is fighting to survive the coronavirus revenue hit and signals plans for North Adelaide headquarters will be shelved.

A concept image of the Crows’ proposed training centre at the North Adelaide Aquatic Centre.

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Adelaide Crows chairman Rob Chapman has declared the club “is in survival mode” and signalled controversial plans for North Adelaide headquarters would be shelved.

In an exclusive interview with The Advertiser, Mr Chapman said club staff had been put on special paid leave for seven days while the entire operation’s future was assessed.

This will include determining future staff levels and whether members could be offered any fee refunds.

Mr Chapman said a disastrous revenue hit from the coronavirus-triggered AFL shutdown until at least the end of May meant the Crows’ operations would change “not just for this year but structurally into the future”.

“The club is in survival mode, let’s make no bones about that,” Mr Chapman said. “That means we’ve got a set of circumstances that everything else other than surviving sort of takes a back seat.

“So we aim to institute proceedings to give the club the very best chance of surviving but I know we’re not different to everyone else in the community and we feel for them as well. The total AFL business needs to re-engineer itself in the first instance to survive and, in the next instance, to fortify itself and prepare itself for what the new normal looks like, whenever that is.”

“Something like new facilities might just have to take a back burner,” Mr Chapman said.

Asked about the future of plans for a $65m training and administration complex at the site of the Adelaide Aquatic Centre in the northern parklands, Mr Chapman said staff, players, sponsors and members were the club’s priority in the wake of the coronavirus’s financial hit.

“If we’re cutting into the muscle of the club’s business, something like new facilities might just have to take a back burner,” he said “Now, if that’s the case, if that’s what we decide, all will not have been lost. I think we’ve gone through a process in a professional and respectful manner. We’ve learned a lot and we’ve got a lot of information there as well in the future.”

The comments are a strong indication that the proposed redevelopment will be postponed.

This is a strong indication that the Crows’ plans for the aquatic centre, – including an Olympic-size pool and unfenced ovals – will be postponed rather than abandoned.

Mr Chapman did not rule out some refunds for members struggling with annual payments but pleaded for more time to assess the situation.

“Our members and the level of commitment that they’ve showed to our club in recent weeks has been nothing short of outstanding,” he said.

“I think in the next few weeks we’ll be able to give them more information about what that membership looks like.”.