Very good evening tonight, well done to Steve Murrell and Marc Isaacs.
Only just got back as it was a very long presentation with all the questions and I'm sure there will be a lot of contributions on here and social media about it.
Main points for me:
1) Football budget of £2.4m would see us break even. We're currently at £2.9m spend. This is based on attendances of 7500 average per game. Steve stressed that whilst looking to bring down to £2.4m it probably won't happen this season and if there is a need for more in the short term the funding is there. Not looking to ship out loads of players for the sake of it.
2) Concerts - Up to 6 a year. It is a 10 year contract and the promoter is renting the space from the club. Minimum of £300k per year income to us (no costs, all profit) even with no concerts. If all the concerts were sell outs it would bring in £1.8m per year. Steve felt that the potential uplift would be more like £900k per year and for 2013/14 £750k was the conservative budget.
3) Catering - 10 year contract with Lindley worth £4m to the club. £200k additional revenue per annum and £200k in cost savings.
4) Other additional income will be made from sponsorship, stfcmyworld and other activities. Also cost savings with ticketmaster compared to previous ticket administrator. Total additional revenue (not full financial benefit) is £2m for 2013/14 based on conservative forecast.
5) The Legends Lounge will not be cut in half now. Steve didn't realise the Supporters Club had put in money previously to refurbish it. Instead, the club will allow fans to book tables with a full waiting service for food and drink. Any tables not booked will operate as they do now.
6) Possibility of putting a roof on the stratton bank, awaiting planning permission and would cost £150k.
7) New training facilities are necessary as the current facility has loads of kids around which causes problem. The owners of the current facility are also expanding and thus there will be even more kids around. The pitches aren't that great and the new facility will be cheaper to rent than currently. Has needed investment but this is reflected in the lower rent.
Ticketing improvements will also mean that when phoning it will cost a maximum of 10p a call. Previous telephone costs and booking fees have been necessary to cover costs. Negotiated a better deal with ticketmaster and passed onto fans.
Loads of other really good points raised and intelligent questions. And I mean loads.
