Darlington Rugby Club Meeting 14/12/2015 7PM

[Gow9900]

Basically what has happened with the overspend this year is this I believe from being at the fans forum and reading the information that has come out of the club etc:

We were all set to move back to town at the start of this season, we had the fundraising around this time and raised the money required to move back home. As this was being finalised, two major things happened:

1. This Upshall bloke, the alleged Dubai multi millionaire came along with his pie in the sky £20 million sports hub plan.
2. The rugby club had a change/re-shuffle of board members.

So we then had the hold up, but as expected, the rugby club wanted to speak to this bloke with all the supposedly money and big plans for Blackwell, and to be honest you can't blame them. Our plan was clearly then put on ice, and we have been left in this limbo until recently.

Whilst we were in limbo regarding the move back home, the budget had already been set for this season based on the club being back home in Darlington. This obviously factored in the increased gate receipts from anticipated higher crowds and the increased sponsorship we could/will receive when we move home. When it became clear that the move home had stalled because of the above 2 reasons listed, the club had a decision to make. Either maintain the budget we had previously set and put a team on the pitch that will see us challenging or cut the budget and have a team that wouldn't be challenging, which would have a negative impact on attendances and any money saved would potentially be lost though lower gate receipts. So the club decided to stick with the budget that had initially been set when it was thought the club was going to be home. So far this season, average attendances are up this season on last, and we are well within the promotion mix. Was this the right or wrong decision? This will no doubt be debated on this thread.

Then, the story broke in the Echo about the £20 million sports hub plans and how the council had rejected the plans. It has to also be said, that early on the council put in the bus stops on Grange Road and showed their support for the project. Now I'm not a massive fan of DBC, but it has been emphasised by both Jesper previously and at the most recent fans forum by Dave Mills that they have been massively supportive.

So once this Sports Hub plan had been rejected, the club/Dave Mills and Darlington Rugby Club have got around the table and in a short period of time made some very rapid progress, culminating in this news report today, The rugby club members have voted yes to the groundshare, so a major hurdle has been jumped today, but we obviously have a long long long way to go, but slow positive steps are being made. So that is where we are currently.

With regards to the playing budget needed to compete in the Conference. Gateshead currently have a budget of £750,000 - £1,000,000 a year (might not be true, but sounds about right) and they are in midtable in the Conference. Now whilst they may not be making the most of the resource they have, they are doing this on lower crowds than us so it is clear that large amounts of money are needed to be competitive in the Conference these days.

As an example of the financial madness that is the current Conference, Forest Green Rovers who are currently second in that league, have lost £5.4 million in the last two season as they chase promotion to the football league. Now I am not for one second saying that that kind of spend is necessary, it is clear that large amounts of money are needed to be competitive at the top of that division.

[bga]

Just going back to the DRC vote last night. If as seems likely they will "have" to ask the members to vote again once a deal has been agreed, how can this happen without revealing the commercially sensitive details of the deal? I mean they are not going to simply say (are they?) to their members in say January, "we have finalised a deal, now can we have your permission to sign it." May be worth joining the Rugby club for a few months as a social member to find out more! I have every confidence DFC negotiators will strike the best deal for the club, and I for one would not expect our Board to seek our fans permission before any deal is signed.

[Neil_Heaneys_Pace]

Confidentiality clause for anyone requesting access to the proposal.

[KCChiefs]

Unless someone pumps some serious money into the club at some stage, we'll probably bounce between this league and the conference north.
For the short - medium term i'm happy with where we are and moving back into the town at BM..

[theoriginalfatcat]

Unless someone pumps some serious money into the club at some stage, we'll probably bounce between this league and the conference north.

Yarblockos pointed out on another thread that when we get to conference north we will have the highest attendance in that league.

I.M.O we won't be revisiting the Evostik leagues ever again.

[AndyPark]

Unless someone pumps some serious money into the club at some stage, we'll probably bounce between this league and the conference north.

Yarblockos pointed out on another thread that when we get to conference north we will have the highest attendance in that league.

I.M.O we won't be revisiting the Evostik leagues ever again.

I don't think we'd have the highest attendances in the Conference North, Stockport will if they are still there when we get there.

[Darlo_Pete]

Unless someone pumps some serious money into the club at some stage, we'll probably bounce between this league and the conference north.

Yarblockos pointed out on another thread that when we get to conference north we will have the highest attendance in that league.

I.M.O we won't be revisiting the Evostik leagues ever again.

I don't think we'd have the highest attendances in the Conference North, Stockport will if they are still there when we get there.

You can add FCUM to that small list as well. But if we're back in Darlo are crowds won't be far behind.

[shawry]

doesn't matter, our attendance doesn't match our wages by a considerable amount at this level, as we move up we will need more, this will be offset by the sponsorship etc from being back in Darlo, but at some stage we are going to have to become more realistic with our expectations.

[lo36789]

Back in Darlo
greater admissions revenue
greater sponsorships
greater matchday non-admission revenue
greater non-matchday revenue

Starts to balance out our higher than average salary base.

I expect us to get stuck at Conference North for a few seasons (3-5 years) might need an FA Trophy/FA Cup boost to get us into the Conference.

As with anything it is always easier to maintain your position than it is to get promoted to the next. We should be able to maintain a position in the conference until we get a financial boost from a cup run or a player sale.

[theoriginalfatcat]

Unless someone pumps some serious money into the club at some stage, we'll probably bounce between this league and the conference north.

Yarblockos pointed out on another thread that when we get to conference north we will have the highest attendance in that league.

I.M.O we won't be revisiting the Evostik leagues ever again.

I don't think we'd have the highest attendances in the Conference North, Stockport will if they are still there when we get there.

Andy - I misunderstood Yarblockos post, he wrote the following (which I agree with) --


"Its not completely out of this world to think we can get into the conference on a sustainable budget. The average attendance in Conference North is 876 (and that is largely inflated by FC United). We are always going to be one of the best supported clubs in the non-league, and therefore its not crazy to think we can rise into the conference without having to run up debts."

[princes town]

If we have to raise the same income as we did with a 'rich' owner, then I'm not sure what the point of being fan owned is. We should be finding our level without having to keep fund raising to top up the playing budget.

It is acceptable to fund raise to get the ground up to spec, to buy cameras or a whole host of other things, but as soon as we are fund raising for wages then we have an issue.

I agree completely pointless being fan-owned if all the money is going into wages. In fact, Supporters direct are quite clear about living within one's means. There are times when I fear the success on the pitch is advancing far more rapidly than the structure off it. The ground is clearly the number one priority but we also have to get the business model right or else we merely repeat yesterday's bad decisions. We have to be realistic about expectations.

[spen666]

Back in Darlo
....

greater non-matchday revenue

.....

Where are these going to come from?

Effectively, the club will still be tenants this time of DRFC rather than BAFC.

[QuakerPete]

Back in Darlo
greater admissions revenue
greater sponsorships
greater matchday non-admission revenue
greater non-matchday revenue

Starts to balance out our higher than average salary base.

I expect us to get stuck at Conference North for a few seasons (3-5 years) might need an FA Trophy/FA Cup boost to get us into the Conference.

As with anything it is always easier to maintain your position than it is to get promoted to the next. We should be able to maintain a position in the conference until we get a financial boost from a cup run or a player sale.

Hope you're right about the "greater" revenues on all four counts, particularly sponsorships

[TDS]

I expect us to get stuck at Conference North for a few seasons (3-5 years) might need an FA Trophy/FA Cup boost to get us into the Conference.

We should be able to maintain a position in the conference until we get a financial boost from a cup run or a player sale.

You've said this before, and in reality it's a dangerous way to fund a potential promotion, as what happens the following season and there's no cup run but the contracts remain the same? Or the players under-perform and we see a drop in fans?

Any investment into the playing budget must be in line with regular and reliable revenue streams, not one off, random and rare (let's be honest) cup runs or player sales.

[super_les_mcjannet]

I expect us to get stuck at Conference North for a few seasons (3-5 years) might need an FA Trophy/FA Cup boost to get us into the Conference.

We should be able to maintain a position in the conference until we get a financial boost from a cup run or a player sale.

You've said this before, and in reality it's a dangerous way to fund a potential promotion, as what happens the following season and there's no cup run but the contracts remain the same? Or the players under-perform and we see a drop in fans?

Any investment into the playing budget must be in line with regular and reliable revenue streams, not one off, random and rare (let's be honest) cup runs or player sales.

I presume Lo means you would increase your budget for one year and ensure you have a fallback plan for 2nd year if promotion doesn't happen.

In fairness Lo is saying you have your normal budget and use last seasons cup run money to increase the budget for one year, so don't sign 7 new players on 3 year contracts that you can't afford, maybe have a larger squad with a percentage on 1 year contracts. Makes sense really, although obviously you may want to spread the extra cash over a couple of years so you can gradually reduce budget if things were not going your way.

[lo36789]

Back in Darlo
....

greater non-matchday revenue

.....

Where are these going to come from?

Effectively, the club will still be tenants this time of DRFC rather than BAFC.

More fans - do you dispute that?

More fans buy more drinks.
We have a bigger bar, which fits more people in, who buy more drinks.
We have a better share of revenues over the bar at DRFC than at Bishop (I can't recall if we get anything - I always thought we didn't - might be wrong there).
More fans buy more club merchandise
More fans know where the club shop is, because they go past it on the matchdays

[lo36789]

I presume Lo means you would increase your budget for one year and ensure you have a fallback plan for 2nd year if promotion doesn't happen.

In fairness Lo is saying you have your normal budget and use last seasons cup run money to increase the budget for one year, so don't sign 7 new players on 3 year contracts that you can't afford, maybe have a larger squad with a percentage on 1 year contracts. Makes sense really, although obviously you may want to spread the extra cash over a couple of years so you can gradually reduce budget if things were not going your way.

Agreed.

A cup run gives you that extra boost that turns a team that is performing fine to having 3 new players through the spine that are a cut above.

Your Marco Gabbiadini, Martin Gray and Neil Aspin.