The existence of the club, which had initially forecast a small profit this year, is “in jeopardy, we’ve never needed more support than we do now”, according to David Smorgon, president of AFL’s Western Bulldogs, which has seen its membership base fall by 8,000 over two years and its sponsor Vodafone choose not to renew.
The Bulldogs’ poorest financial performance in five years was attributed to crowds of around just 19,000, the lowest of any Victorian club, a fall in corporate support and a clash with Colonial stadium over a disputed amount of $203,000 (B227,000) in match returns.
Smorgon said Colonial’s interpretation of match returns was significantly different to its first-year distribution and “given the severity of the impact and the size of the claim, we may have to resort to legal action”.
Whilst the Bulldogs expect to appoint a chief executive next week, the actual result will not be known until next month. The club has had to resort to a $254,000 (B284,000) loan from the AFL, which is expected to offer a $1.0m (B1.2m) lifeline over the next three years.
