Melbourne unveils plan to win two premierships and eliminate its debt within four years
Melbourne has blamed its disastrous injury toll for a $1.5 million loss last year, the first time in six seasons the Demons have failed to turn a profit.
Melbourne
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Melbourne believes it can win two premierships, eliminate its debt and reach 75,000 paid-up members within four years.
The Demons have set out a five-point plan for 2020-2023, in which they expect to play finals each and every year in both the AFL and AFLW competitions.
The four-year plan also states the club’s goal to win at least one premiership in both the AFL and AFLW competitions, aims to deliver $4 million of operating profit over the next four years and become a “big club” once again with a bumper membership.
Starting construction of a new home base facility and creating an environment that inspires excellence and attracts new talent are also part of the plan.
Speaking at Melbourne’s annual general meeting, Demons chief executive Gary Pert said the club would not shy away from its lofty on-field ambitions.
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“On-field our ambitions over the next four years is to play in every AFL and AFLW final each year for the next four years, winning at least one AFL premiership and one AFLW premiership in that time,” Pert said.
“We’re not here to make up the numbers. We’re not here to finish in the middle of the pack. We look at our players, we look at our coaches, we look at our programs, we look at where it’s at. And honestly, if you were to ask me if I think we were going to play finals the next four years, I’d say, ‘If our players are fit, playing the best they can with these coaches and the program we’ve got, I think they will’.
“We need to be improving from where we are now, constantly pushing the boundaries to get better and better.
“We need to be playing finals, winning finals, making the grand final and winning a premiership and we believe we can do that in the next four years.
“If we’re able to do that, then the club starts to build a whole new momentum.”
Pert said the on-field performances would create a ripple effect to memberships, which grew to 52,421 last year.
A target of 75,000 members by 2023 has been set, along with MCG average home crowds of above 50,000.
“You win two finals in 2018 and you grow membership by 10,000 before the next season even starts,” Pert said.
“If we’re winning finals and winning a grand final in the next four years we’ll get to over 75,000 members.
“I have no doubt we’ll break that target.”
DEMONS BLAME $1.5 MILLION LOSS ON INJURY TOLL
Melbourne has blamed poor on-field performance and an injury curse for a $1.5 million operating loss last season.
The Demons won just five games in 2019 and were hit hard by injury in what chairman Glen Bartlett described at the club’s annual general meeting last night as “the perfect storm” after five consecutive years of profits.
“Our on-field performance had a real impact on our off-field result,” Bartlett said.
“The Anzac Eve game and the Queen’s Birthday game … weren’t our home games in 2019. So we were really banking our budget on Sydney, Richmond, Collingwood home games at the end of the season. Unfortunately buy then we were out of contention (for finals) so the drop-off from those budgeted crowds provided a shortfall from budget of about $1 million.
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“We also broke some records — not records you want to break — for lost games through injury, which put us about $600,000 over our budgeted injury payments.
“With big home games including the Anzac Eve game and Queen’s Birthday and hopefully some others, including Round 22 against Carlton, we’re very positive about season 2020.”
Bartlett said the Demons now had an operating debt of about $2 million, down from $8 million six years ago.
He added Melbourne was “working on other initiatives” to offset revenue lost from pulling out of pokies ownership last year.
Bartlett said improving facilities was the club’s “No. 1 off-field priority” but while there was “movement at the station” he could not elaborate further.
Melbourne chief executive Gary Pert said membership growth of about 10,000 was the positive in a “difficult year” but said he would “like to see” membership grow into the “50s, 60s, 70s”
Melbourne had a final official membership tally of 52,421 last season.