Lance Franklin will help Sydney's bottom line

BUDDY Franklin has had an instant impact on the Swans bottom line with his arrival creating unprecedented membership inquiries.

Lance Franklin

BUDDY Franklin has had an instant impact on the Swans bottom line with his arrival creating unprecedented membership inquiries.

The day after he signalled his intentions to join the red and whites the Swans office had nearly 500 fans expressing interest in becoming members.

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The extraordinary number was more than three times the previous best day in their 31 year history.

“There are two big upsides to bringing Lance Franklin to the Swans,” Swans CEO Andrew Ireland told News Limited.

“The first is a big one it’s what he brings to the team as a player, which is the capacity to make our playing list stronger and win premierships.

“The second is the type of player he is and his capacity to appeal in this market.

“Sydney loves big forwards like Tony Lockett and Barry Hall.

“We think he will bring a lot to the club in a marketing and dollar sense.”

Ten million dollars is a lot of money to pay one footballer but the Swans are confident they can get the cash back and more in the coming years.

Lance Franklin is the biggest and hottest name in the AFL and he’s joined a team which already has one of the strongest brands in Australian sport.

Swans CEO Andrew Ireland is the man in charge of the bottom line and has to find the money to pay Buddy and hopefully a little bit more.

“If Lance plays to his capacity and he plays the time (nine years) and we have paid him 1.1 million dollars per year for that period of time I think people will look back and say that’s been a good deal for Lance Franklin and but it’s been a good deal for the Sydney Swans, Ireland said.”

MEMBERSHIP

Season ticket holders are the instant measure of the impact of a recruit and Franklin has sent the Swans membership department into a frenzy.

This year’s total of 36,358 members is set for another massive jump and looks likely to push over the 40,000 mark for the first time in the club’s history.

It’s worth noting South Melbourne had just 3,600 members when they arrived in Sydney in 1982.

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NEW SCG GRANDSTAND

The completion of the 186 million dollar redevelopment of the SCG will come at a perfect time to capitalise on the Franklin Factor.

“Next year the SCG will be getting up to a capacity of 48,000 and we’re very much about getting to a stage where we’re selling out the SCG, that’s our goal we make no bones about that,” Ireland said.

The new Noble Messenger and Bradman stands will feature high tech video deliver to tablet and mobile devices.

CORPORATE SUITES

New corporate suites in the redeveloped ground will also be in high demand and are likely to be quickly filled with Franklin on show at the SCG and ANZ stadium.

SPONSORSHIP

Because of the large amounts of money involved Sponsorship is the slowest of the key revenue streams to move.

The Swans are the only club in the AFL which has gone past the one million dollar mark per season on all three of their key sponsorships.

Franklin’s arrival will put the Swans in a league of their own.

QBE (Major sponsor) (VW and Citibank major partners).

Sydney also have eight premier partners and 12 associate partners whose ranks could swell on the back of Franklin’s arrival.

“What underpins crowds is a successful team and to me that’s the number one factor. Then after that fans clearly have their favourite players.

“Over the years we’ve had a number of those and Adam (Goodes) has carried a lot of the load for a long time.

“More recently Lewis Jetta is a crowd favourite and so is Gary Rohan. The two captains (Kieren Jack and Jarrad McVeigh) are highly regarded but it would be silly not to say Lance’s pure football ability is captivating.

“I love watching him, his game in Launceston last year when he kicked 13 goals and the night against Essendon this year when he kicked eight were unforgettable.