Rugby Finances
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@Machpants said in Rugby Finances:
@Rapido Ouch, but CVC hold all the Aces ie Moolah
Tbh, it seems strange to me they are even considering selling a share. Guess the Top14 having club salaries almost twice size of British leagues is just too much pressure. So, I can see the incentive for celtics and Italy. But not for RFU and maybe FFR.
Pro14 had their deal with CVC stalled upon outbreak, but finalized in May. If they got that through without a covid clause then they are geniuses. I think transcontinental leagues are poked for 2 years.
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Yarrow Stadium upgrade gets $20m in government infrastructure spend
A $20 million contribution to the earthquake strengthening and upgrade of Yarrow Stadium is the big-ticket item in a $48 million government infrastructure spend in Taranaki.
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@Rapido said in Rugby Finances:
Yarrow Stadium upgrade gets $20m in government infrastructure spend
A $20 million contribution to the earthquake strengthening and upgrade of Yarrow Stadium is the big-ticket item in a $48 million government infrastructure spend in Taranaki.
That's a great call
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Opinion: What Coventry City's new ground plans could mean for Wasps
Wasps reporter Bobby Bridge reflects on latest Coventry City development and the impact it could have on Wasps
Opinion: What Coventry City's new ground plans could mean for Wasps
Wasps reporter Bobby Bridge reflects on latest Coventry City development and the impact it could have on Wasps
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ByBobby BridgeReporter
15:59, 21 JUL 2020UPDATED16:04, 21 JUL 2020
Not for the first time Coventry City Football Club has stated its intentions to pursue building a stadium of its own with the announcement of an agreement with the University of Warwick.
The statement, released on Tuesday, came just weeks after chairman Tim Fisher said: "We want to have a stadium in Coventry, in the Coventry area which we can call our own," as the Sky Blues' feelgood factor soared after securing the League One title.
Supporters of both Coventry City and Wasps were expecting a stadium announcement, just not this one.
The temporary return of the Sky Blues to the Ricoh Arena is still a very real possibility thus ending a season-long stay at Birmingham City's St Andrew's ground, but what today's news does crystallise is the football club does not see a long-term future at the Ricoh.
What does this mean for the Wasps Group that owns the stadium?
Coventry City's chief executive Dave Boddy claimed in March 2019 that the football club is worth around £2m per year to landlords Wasps at the Ricoh Arena. This is a figure that I know has been disputed by people high up the food chain at Wasps.
Where will the new Coventry City stadium be? Here's all the land owned by the University of Warwick
But perhaps this was based on figures when Coventry City were in the bottom rung of the football league and the average attendance was four figures (9,255) with the likes of Yeovil Town, Morecambe and Crawley Town unlikely to attract a big following of away supporters.
Next season, Coventry will be back in the second tier of English football where the current average attendance across the division is in excess of 15,000.
While not all promotion and relegation matters have concluded, the Sky Blues could have well-supported local rivals Nottingham Forest, Derby County, Birmingham City, Stoke City - at a stretch, maybe Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion alongside them in the division next season.
Of course, any new stadium project will take many years to plan and build, but Coventry City's intentions, given their summer recruitment so far, suggest they're aiming to cement themselves back at a level of football they last tasted in 2012.
Even in the 2011/12 relegation season, when they won just eight of 23 matches at home, they managed to attract an average attendance of 15,119 to the Ricoh Arena.
Wasps latest financial figures revealed a £6.56 food and beverage spend per head at the stadium, across a season of Championship football using the above averages, the revenues would exceed £2m - but of course not all of that will be profit. With bigger crowds, come bigger costs.
Can Wasps afford to be without those revenues long term? Given the latest developments, it seems likely we will find out in the years to come.
Sport of course is just one arm of the business at the Ricoh Arena, which hosts exhibitions, conferences and concerts.
While the financial future of the complex does not live or die upon sporting revenues, it's hard to imagine that having a second tier English football team playing 23 league games as well as cup matches each year would not yield profits on the balance sheet.
There are other factors to take into consideration. While the Ricoh hasn't been Coventry City's home ground since the 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury Town in April 2019, it still looks and feels like their home.
From the sky blue seats, to the large club crests inside and outside the complex, to the Jimmy Hill statue outside.
For all the fall-outs between the rugby club and the football club, there has always been a presumption that someday, somehow, a truce will be called. Wasps and Coventry City can co-exist, with both clubs prospering to the city's overall benefit.
If the University of Warwick proposal for a new ground gathers steam and becomes a reality, this potential for reconciliation between Coventry City and Wasps disappears. There would be a severing of the ties.
Coventry City's furnishings would likely be removed and most traces of them from a 'former ground'. Where would this leave Wasps' reputation in the city where it played its first home game in December 2014?
In a region where they will need to attract increasing amounts of support to help fill seats for matchdays? There would be no happy ending and, in many quarters, a black mark placed against the Wasps name.
But the severing of ties could yield some benefits for the Wasps Group. CoventryLive reported in June 2018, that the association with Japanese electronics company Ricoh was at an end and a search for a new sponsor was ongoing. London marketing agency Mongoose Sport & Entertainment were brought in to spearhead that search.
But, nearly two years later, no new name adorns the arena. To no longer have the court saga rumbling on in the background would surely help the Wasps Group sharpen its focus on the future and matters that are fully under its control. One can only imagine the amount of working hours lost and finances that have been drained during the dispute.
Having undergone one huge project to relocate the club in 2014, Wasps would be entering another phase of their life in the Midlands as soon as planning permission is granted and a brick is laid for Coventry City's proposed new home. Freed from the arm wrestle with the city's football club, but operating in the shadows the dispute will leave behind.
It would seem rash to do anything before 2022 when the Wasps Bond matures, and Wasps will need to either sell, go bust, or refinance.
Probably just a byzantine intermediate play by the owners of CCFC.
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@Rapido Can WASPS buy in to that venture and finance it by selling their current ground?
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@antipodean said in Rugby Finances:
@Rapido Can WASPS buy in to that venture and finance it by selling their current ground?
Do you mean buy into the new CCFC stadium? And sell the Ricoh to CCFC?
The 2 organizations struggle to work together. The owners of CCFC are pretty awful operators. Private equity, I think. I think they're trying to drive wasps either out of business or out of the stadium., so they can buy it cheap. But who will outlast who? I reckon SISU (the CCFC owners ) will prevail eventually.
Wasps bond worth approx 40 pence. Market reckons bondholders wont be getting much of their capital back on maturity.
Wasps have 45-50m debt. Ricoh complex bought for 20-something million. Not sure if they've added to it, maybe a new hotel. 22m worth of bonds issued to buy the stadium. Were losing 5m a year before covid. First bond due in 2 years.
Can see why you'd be sniffing blood.
But, can see with QE and negative interest rates that bondholders may refinance? Who can predict this shiy anymore...
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Sale Sharks owner Simon Orange blasts government over crowd size limitations
As limited crowds watch England's cricket team play the West Indies, Orange blasts the UK government for its lop-sided policy
Fair enough complaint about a stadium compared to an indoor venue. TBH. But I think singing and chanting is the biggest risk in outdoor stadium setting, which could be addressed by spacing/distancing.
Also, I highlighted in the article some speculation on upcoming reduced RFU central funding to the Premier clubs.
Sale Sharks owner Simon Orange blasts government over crowd size limitations
Posted on 28th July 2020
Sale Sharks owner Simon Orange has launched a stinging attack on government officials for dragging their heels over allowing fans back into grounds.
Cash-strapped Premiership clubs already reeling from the effects of the coronavirus had been gearing up to welcome fans back in early September.
However, despite cricket and horse racing being granted ‘test event’ status as the country emerges from lockdown, rugby will continue to suffer.
Exeter supremo Tony Rowe has issued a stark warning that the long-term outlook for Premiership sides will be “catastrophic” if venues remain closed.
With clubs losing up to £1m-a-month, Orange told The Rugby Paper: “We’re continuing to fight but it’s a disgrace that the government are allowing people into pubs, restaurants and shops but not allowing them into outdoor stadiums, which are safer.
“There are so many inconsistencies from the government over what people can and can’t do. They’re allowing crowds at horse racing and cricket but not rugby and I can’t explain why that is the case.
“We’ve got an outdoor stadium at the AJ Bell which holds 12,000 people where we could safely house 4,000-5,000 supporters while social distancing. Across the Premiership, clubs are gearing up for that and yet our businesses must remain closed.
“It’s outrageous that the government keep telling us they want to get businesses back up and running but we’re not allowed to do it. At the very least we should all be able to allow season ticket holders in and get the corporate side up and running.
“I’m hoping Premiership Rugby are pushing hard in discussions with the DCMS because we could get crowds back by mid-August, never mind October.”
Meanwhile, clubs are facing a double financial whammy with the RFU set to reveal further funding cuts that will impact its deal with Premiership Rugby.
Premiership clubs currently receive £27.5m between them annually as part of the RFU’s £220m, eight-year deal signed in 2016. However, a review clause in the contract means that payments over the final four years are directly linked to RFU finances.
With the game’s governing body already making huge job cuts in the face of projected losses that could eventually total £107m, payments to Premiership Rugby could be halved while England players are also expected to take a significant hit.
A club source told TRP: “Clubs have been told that their monthly distribution from central funding that is usually £400,000 each could drop to just £75,000, in the short-term at least.
“Debts will inevitably increase and the club chairmen will either need to dig into their pockets to make up the shortfall, cut player wages even further or sell another chunk of the business to CVC. None of those options are particularly palatable.”
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Sale owner Simon Orange
Sale owner Orange reveals 'master plan' after signing Manu Tuilagi
EXCLUSIVE BY NIK SIMON: Sale Sharks owner Simon Orange's tongue is only slightly in its cheek as he outlines his side's three-point plan: 'Sign Manu, win the league, fill the stadium'.
Sale owner Simon Orange reveals his 'master plan' for the Sharks after securing England star Tuilagi
By NIK SIMON FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY
PUBLISHED: 07:32 AEST, 26 July 2020 | UPDATED: 21:48 AEST, 26 July 2020
Simon Orange's tongue is only slightly in its cheek as he outlines Sale's three-point plan: 'Sign Manu, win the league, fill the stadium'.
The club's owner makes it sounds simple, but he is under no illusions about the challenges that lie ahead for the struggling sport.
Wages, welfare and revenue lie at the heart of the formula, with Orange keen for rugby to reinvent itself with Saturday night fixtures and more innovation.
'Rugby's finances aren't in a great place, are they?' he told The Mail on Sunday. 'Each owner is having to put two, three, four million pounds a year into the clubs. I just don't think that's sustainable and I don't think it can last.
'We can't keep relying on wealthy people to support the sport because that's a bit of a precarious business plan, isn't it? People might not want to keep ploughing millions of pounds into their club, no matter how much they love it.
'It's absolutely possible — if not probable — that clubs will fail eventually, because the owners can't just keep on funding them. We're doing it for a short time at Sale, but we're speculating to accumulate.
'The sooner things are sustainable, the better. That means doing two things: bringing the costs under control and increasing the income.
'CVC are experts at increasing income, so hopefully we can do that whilst keeping control of the coffers.'
Control the coffers? Does that not fly in the face of a club who have just added Manu Tuilagi to a starstudded cast including Faf de Klerk, Lood de Jager and Tom Curry?
'Let's just say we're nowhere near what Leicester were paying for Manu!' said Orange.
'It was one of the quickest deals we've done and hopefully one of the best deals we've done. We called him up on the Friday — and he was with us by the Monday.
'Like every deal for a big-name player, signing Manu was a commercial decision tied in with a playing decision.
Orange says the signing of Tuilagi can have both professional and commercial benefits.
'Everybody knows he's top quality. When crowds are allowed back, people will want to come to see him, won't they? And hopefully they'll be coming to see a Sale side who are competing at the top and trying to win it.
'There's no reason we shouldn't be competing straight away. That's the grand master plan: sign Manu, win the league, buy a new stadium and get people interested. Simple!'
Sale were second in the table before the Premiership ground to a halt because of coronavirus. Like every other club, they have spent the lockdown months agonising over their accounts.
Millions of pounds have been wiped off the balance sheets, but that has not stopped the Manchester club from taking giant leaps into the future.
They were the first club to tie down every player on cut-price long-term deals, while advancing proposals for a new 12,000 capacity stadium at Crossford Bridge.
Orange infamously claimed last year it was easy to cheat the salary cap. He stands by his claims, but insists the landscape has changed in light of the Lord Myners report.
'If your goal was to cheat the salary cap, it was easy,' he said.
'Myners has done his report — which has full support — so now it's much harder to break the cap. Plus, the consequences are more severe.
'I'm hopeful we're in a position where clubs just aren't going to want to do it now. Saracens got relegated and the consequences are even more dire now.
'It was a running joke. The credibility of the league was questionable when you had one team winning the league every year with three times the number of internationals that anyone else could afford.
'We needed to sort ourselves out. It was a hard step but it's been a step well worth taking.'
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Maybe first idea revealed for CVC to "increase value".
A
rugbyPremiership channel, on some platform.Don't have a strong opinion on this. Although seems a bit mid-2000s? But, who knows, assume homework has been done.
As seen on a reddit link.
https://www.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/comments/i3go00/premiership_rugby_eyes_dedicated_channel_in_new/ -
FIji made a profit last FY.
https://fijisun.com.fj/2020/07/19/fiji-rugby-makes-profit/
A few weeks a back, was article that FIji hosting Maori ABs cost a fee of $250k NZ. Article didn't mention if thefee was worth it (in terms of gate revenue etc)
Fiji had to pay $250,000 match fee to host Maori All Blacks
The Fijian Rugby Union had to dish out a whopping NZ$250,000 match fee to host the Maori All Blacks in 2019, it has been revealed.
I was curious about the Maori ABs tour the year before to Canada, Brazil, Chile. There were fees, but no news of amount. Can assume similar. All 3 were copmmercial successes, though.
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GB sevens captain sounds warning for entire game over RFU's swingeing cuts
The country’s leading sevens players have sounded a warning after the RFU’s decision to cut its men’s and women’s squads for financial reasons
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RFU scraps Sevens to cast a shadow over Team GB's chances at the Olympics
Exclusive: Players express their frustrations at now being out of a job, a year out from Tokyo Games
The Rugby Football Union has scrapped its professional sevens programme. The England men’s and women’s squads were informed this week that once their contracts are up at the end of this month, they will not be offered new deals. Leading players believe this could severely damage medal chances for Team GB at the Olympics....
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@Rapido said in Rugby Finances:
RFU scraps Sevens to cast a shadow over Team GB's chances at the Olympics
Exclusive: Players express their frustrations at now being out of a job, a year out from Tokyo Games
The Rugby Football Union has scrapped its professional sevens programme. The England men’s and women’s squads were informed this week that once their contracts are up at the end of this month, they will not be offered new deals. Leading players believe this could severely damage medal chances for Team GB at the Olympics....
Depends on perspective doesn't it?
The Rugby Football Union, who have furloughed 62% of their staff and are facing losses over GBP200M, are focussing only on revenue earning activities. Sadly, their Olympic programme is cancelled (although it is likely the Olympics won't proceed).
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@nzzp said in Rugby Finances:
@Rapido said in Rugby Finances:
RFU scraps Sevens to cast a shadow over Team GB's chances at the Olympics
Exclusive: Players express their frustrations at now being out of a job, a year out from Tokyo Games
The Rugby Football Union has scrapped its professional sevens programme. The England men’s and women’s squads were informed this week that once their contracts are up at the end of this month, they will not be offered new deals. Leading players believe this could severely damage medal chances for Team GB at the Olympics....
Depends on perspective doesn't it?
The Rugby Football Union, who have furloughed 62% of their staff and are facing losses over GBP200M, are focussing only on revenue earning activities. Sadly, their Olympic programme is cancelled (although it is likely the Olympics won't proceed).
No doubt the likelihood of the Olympics going ahead next year factored in to their thinking. Also the ability to secure funding outside of the RFU for the Olympics.
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https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/53722770
Downside of owning your own side hustle infrastructure. Can only imagine how much Wasps are hurting.
Not saying it isn't the right approach. But normal plans out the window for a year or more.
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Rugby feeling the financial effects of Covid-19 admits Tigers chief Kay
Tigers have seen England internationals Manu Tuilagi and Jonny May move elsewhere in search of more lucrative deals
Covid-19 has brought rugby’s finances into ‘stark reality’ admits Leicester Tigers director Ben Kay
“For a number of years most people have been concerned about where rugby is going to get its house in order in its finances,” Kay told i. “What this pandemic has done is bring that into stark reality and put a lot of clubs in jeopardy of not being able to meet their financial requirements.
“No one wanted to be giving out pay cuts or making redundancies but it has been a necessity for the majority of clubs, to actually survive.
“I was sad to see Manu go, and everyone at Leicester has a huge amount of affection for the Tuilagi family but he couldn’t accept the offer that was made, and we had to make it not an emotional decision but a decision on what is best for the club.
“What’s interesting is the correction, in a very short space of time. People said how can Leicester afford [Fiji wing] Nemani Nadolo, but with the money he is on now compared to what he was on in France, and what Jonny May was on at Leicester, there have been a few players who have very much reset their expectations. There are surprising people on a lot less money than you’d think. Jonny May has gone to Gloucester for not far off what we were offering, and that was a big drop in finances for him.
“The market has changed for the foreseeable future and unless a player has that big contract in place now, it will be even harder to find the money they were expecting.”
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another salary cap shenanagin
Premiership club in salary cap probe, source tells TRP
A season where Saracens were mired in scandal faces a new potential salary cap storm
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@Rapido said in Rugby Finances:
another salary cap shenanagin
Premiership club in salary cap probe, source tells TRP
A season where Saracens were mired in scandal faces a new potential salary cap storm
