Debt Free

[chiwigi]

This deserves its own thread.

Whilst many of here have been critical of the on field results, especially in finals, there can be no doubt that those in charge have done a very good job at the financial side of the club.

This has been crucial for us to continue to exist and also to be able to compete financially with the rest of the AFL clubs.

Let's leave the on field stuff aside for a moment and celebrate what the club has done well here.

From the CEO: 11 November, 2025

CEO Matthew Richardson has penned a letter to members, supporters and partners.

www.portadelaidefc.com.au

We exist to be a debt free low end contributor to a billion dollar entertainment industry.

 

[Willsy10]

This is great news.

Hopefully now we don't have to constantly hear the bs about us not being about to afford certain things.

We appear to have invested more in our footy program this year, we definitely gave the impression the last couple years that things were tight with our shoestring approach to football department expenditure.

 

[TazD]

We exist to be a debt free low end contributor to a billion dollar entertainment industry.

Thats so uninspiring Richo could've wrote it.

 

[Papa G]

Did Tredrea make us debt free?

Yes.

 

[tribey]

A decade ago most here would’ve greeted this news with something approaching euphoria, before racing to group chats to book a celebratory dinner at the club.

Now it’s akin to someone you went to school with and haven’t seen since, but mutually follow on Facebook out of habit, announcing their engagement.

clicks like, moves on

 

[Doctor Feel]

A decade ago most here would’ve greeted this news with something approaching euphoria, before racing to group chats to book a celebratory dinner at the club.

Now it’s akin to someone you went to school with and haven’t seen since, but mutually follow on Facebook out of habit, announcing their engagement.

clicks like, moves on

That person has also messaged you abruptly about joining their pyramid scheme.

To think it only took 15 years of austerity measures where we had useless hacks in the football department. Bloody good, thank god we went through all that and had a board full of accountants!

Another 'barrier' removed to actually winning shit, another excuse disappears - and yet there will still be no accountability for actually you know, winning.

 

[JimmyBC]

That person also looks depressingly mumsy and not at all the vision of sheer beauty she radiated on the class trip to the science expo.

 

[Tibbs]

Its consistent news with what we have been doing for 8 years and started in the AFL industry about 10 or 11 years ago and everybody does, so we are comparing apples with apples across the industry.'

Its become standard, but I have a dislike of clubs asking members to pay next years membership fees before next year's financial year starts.

You pay in October but don't start getting the main benefit until March. Its not like a golf membership or gym membership where you pay in October and start getting to use the facilities and a benefit from 1st November.

I agree with you that there doesnt seem any need to do it, but doesnt it all just balance out next year? I mean, if they didnt include that income this year, then it would would be included in next year's accounts, which would then show the same profit figure.

So in my mind, they just achieve the same result, but via a different process.

 

[VineValerian]

We exist to be a debt free low end contributor to a billion dollar entertainment industry.

 

[chiwigi]

This is great news.

Hopefully now we don't have to constantly hear the bs about us not being about to afford certain things.

We appear to have invested more in our footy program this year, we definitely gave the impression the last couple years that things were tight with our shoestring approach to football department expenditure.

Nah, it’ll be like the 2012 thing…do as we say or we’ll end up back in that mild debt hell again!!!

 

[Interstater]

It's like saying you own 10 properties without mortgages, but paid off your $1000 visa bill.
Pfft.

If Port have $60 million in net assets then they have had solid numbers for a while now.

What I'm much more interested in knowing is how paying off these historic debts affects Ports ability to self govern.
What controls were tied to that debt?

 

[240volt]

It's like saying you own 10 properties without mortgages, but paid off your $1000 visa bill.
Pfft.

If Port have $60 million in net assets then they have had solid numbers for a while now.

What I'm much more interested in knowing is how paying off these historic debts affects Ports ability to self govern.
What controls were tied to that debt?

From what I can gather paying off the debt changes nothing about how the club is run.

 

[Doctor Feel]

Have we paid off the SANFL license fees? We aren't really debt free then are we.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

I agree with you that there doesnt seem any need to do it, but doesnt it all just balance out next year? I mean, if they didnt include that income this year, then it would would be included in next year's accounts, which would then show the same profit figure.

So in my mind, they just achieve the same result, but via a different process.

The income has always been correctly accounted for. I'm not arguing about profit.

The crows decided to move their membership auto renewals from November to October as a trick to make their cash at bank /debt look a lot better in their 2016 accounts because they weren't doing that well and we were struggling. It was a media management strategy.

I bagged the trick on here at the time and another club did it for 2016, think it was Melbourne, bagged them as well and 3 or 4 others had done it the previous year. The crows had a $5mil commercial bill liability draw down facility and by moving $4+mil forward by 1 month, they sold it as they have no debt, but showed a liability of a commercial bill of $1.

Port then joined them in 2017 moving auto renewals from 17 November to 17 October, so $3.3m in cash receipts was brought forward by a month and Koch spun it that they maintained debt levels at $8m in 2017 and invested fully in the footy department. If they didn't do this trick debt levels would have been $11m in the 2017 accounts. I bagged the club at the time. Renewals are now 10th October not the 17th and before the move to AO it was 17th December.

The club has done a bloody good job wiping out debt after it blew out to $12.5m after covid. And its been a consistent approach given the 2017 change.

My real beef is that its mid September and I get a happy clapper type email saying membership renewals will be on the 10th October when we have just got kicked out of finals in straight sets, or been humiliated by huge home QF and PF losses, and this year didn't even make the finals.

 

[Workingclass]

A decade ago most here would’ve greeted this news with something approaching euphoria, before racing to group chats to book a celebratory dinner at the club.

Now it’s akin to someone you went to school with and haven’t seen since, but mutually follow on Facebook out of habit, announcing their engagement.

clicks like, moves on

Where's my premiership?

 

[Portwrld]

Where's my premiership?

Reminds me of this

 

[Buget]

Helps that you collect several million dollars of next year's membership fees, before next season starts or next financial year starts.

ALL CLUBS DO THIS BULLSHIT TO MAKE CASHFLOW LOOK GOOD FOR THEIR 31ST OCTOBER BALANCE DATE.

Whilst I agree with you, it’s not like they can account for the income twice.

Now they have moved forward the renewal date they cant really move it back without having an adverse affect to their balance sheet.

From a member retention perspective, it probably makes sense to do it earlier than late - before people move on with their lives over summer etc.

 

[El_Scorcho]

From what I can gather paying off the debt changes nothing about how the club is run.

It doesn't, but it should.

The AFL took control of the club off of the SANFL who had bled us dry, and brought on Koch with financial stability being really his only priority.

Okay, so we've recovered from the treatment of the SANFL and COVID, we're a financially stable, mid sized club. Why can't we have a member controlled board like all the Victorian clubs?

Of course, it would take the current regime asking the question, which they never will. We have to take the club back by force or at least a lot of shame and pressure, probably starting with the Crows getting member control.

 

[240volt]

It doesn't, but it should.

The AFL took control of the club off of the SANFL who had bled us dry, and brought on Koch with financial stability being really his only priority.

Okay, so we've recovered from the treatment of the SANFL and COVID, we're a financially stable, mid sized club. Why can't we have a member controlled board like all the Victorian clubs?

Of course, it would take the current regime asking the question, which they never will. We have to take the club back by force or at least a lot of shame and pressure, probably starting with the Crows getting member control.

Agree with what you’re saying but as it’s been stated by others there’s no process to return the club to a member controlled board.
Crows had that part in when they joined we didn’t.
Nice to go back to the Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee Vampire days of charging the Castle with burning stakes.
Unfortunately the laws of the land won’t accept that.

 

[El_Scorcho]

Agree with what you’re saying but as it’s been stated by others there’s no process to return the club to a member controlled board.
Crows had that part in when they joined we didn’t.
Nice to go back to the Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee Vampire days of charging the Castle with burning stakes.
Unfortunately the laws of the land won’t accept that.

This is absolutely a change that can be made if the right people are willing or can be strongarmed into it.

The Crows don't automatically get it back either. The AFL just cedes back control of the board to the club, but that doesn't automatically mean members get to vote in directors.

Our board could absolutely get member control for us if they wanted it and pushed for it.

Our best chance at the moment is the Crows supporters pushing their club hard for member control, getting it, and then bullying us relentlessly until we are shamed into making the change too.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Should have posted this early but this was my first thought when I saw Richo's comment and this thread title.

 

[Launchpad McQuack]

Yeah it's great they've cleared that debt but jagging a flag or two already with a more ruthless mindset would have seen us clear it years ago.

Have we paid off the SANFL license fees? We aren't really debt free then are we.

Still in debt to SANFL (indirectly) and Ken Hinkley. Nice job, team.

 

[tribey]

Have we paid off the SANFL license fees? We aren't really debt free then are we.

2028 or 2029. That time’s flown.

At which point the next stadium deal will no doubt be that much worse for both AFL clubs as the income shortfall will have to be made up somehow — and opening such a massive ground to hold double-header SANFL finals in front of 6 people probably won’t get it done.

 

[Doctor Feel]

We aren't really debt free then are we lol

 

[Steve Dore]

We aren't really debt free then are we lol

Bitcho's definition of debt is probably limited to loans, lines of credit and such. A debt to the SNAFL or AFL probably doesn't count.

Edit: He'd be correct because debts are borrowings and the money we owe to the SNAFL for our licence, which we have already paid for fully once, is a liability but not debt in the accounting sense. Debt is a liability but not all liabilities are debts. Similarly the $400K we owe Hinkley is a liability but not a debt.