Pies prepared to spend up to $500,000 over AFL soft cap, eyeing home game on Gold Coast

The Magpies continue to privately rail against what they sees as ridiculous restrictions on football club spending, preparing to break the bank for a cutting-edge football program.

6/10/2023 CEO Craig Kelly with president Jeff Browne during the Copeland Trophy awards night at Crown. Aaron Francis / Herald Sun

Collingwood is prepared to spend hundreds of thousands in luxury tax to adequately fund its football department this year as it explores selling a home game to Gold Coast in 2025.

The Magpies continue to privately rail against what the club sees as ridiculous restrictions on football club spending which means assistant coaches paid only $120,000 are often lost to the game.

This year as the league lifted the soft cap to $7.275 million – still well short of the $9.6 million cap pre-Covid – it reduced the taxes for spending over that figure.

It means Collingwood is prepared to spend up to $500,000 over the cap to properly resource its program with coaches, medical experts, welfare consultants and psychologists.

It will mean the Pies will have to stump up a 75 per cent tax on that figure – as much as $375,000 – which is then handed back to the AFL.

Pies coach Craig McRae and CEO Craig Kelly. Pic: Michael Klein

But the Pies are prepared to spend that money to run a cutting-edge football program at a time of significant cost increases in football clubs as well as across Australia.

It comes with the Pies actively exploring selling a single game to the Gold Coast market in exchange for what would need to be a huge financial windfall from the Gold Coast council.

The Pies believe they could be in a position to broker a deal as early as next year, selling a single home game normally played at Marvel Stadium.

Collingwood would ideally play an away game against Gold Coast then a week later play against another non-Queensland opponent at Carrara.

The Pies would need to compensate members by acquiring seats at other MCG away games given it would give members one less home game at Marvel Stadium.

Collingwood made a $7.5 million profit last year, with $35.59 million from match-day activities.

The club would need a significant financial lure to head north given it would need to off-set any costs in the reduction in memberships and acquiring reserved membership seats for alternate games.

The Pies packed the Gold Coast’s stadium in July 2023. (Photo by Chris Hyde/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

It comes with Collingwood still hopeful of football boss Graham Wright returning to his position in mid-September after a summer holiday in Europe.

But amid significant conjecture about his future the Pies will plan for his continued absence given the likelihood of rivals attempting to poach him.

The AFL is considered likely to offer him a role in the future while he would be a natural fit as Tasmania’s football boss.

Wright is also seen to have aspirations to be a club chief executive at a time Richmond has a vacant position.

Those factors mean the Pies are training up former Carlton coach and Pies assistant Brendon Bolton as their football boss, aware it might become a full-time position.