NORTH SYDNEY LEAGUES CLUB - Our Club. Extraordinary General Meeting Sunday June 26, 2005 at 10.30 a.m.
Our ticket is responding to widespread community concerns over many years. Our Club is in trouble. Our Club needs experienced business people to right the ship and make it strong again. We can no longer afford excuses and poor management decisions over many years that have resulted in decline in membership and member services.
Now is the opportunity to ensure the future of our great club.
Why do we need change? • The Leagues Club is struggling financially due to poor financial management decisions. • The future of our Club is more in the hands of the banks than management and members. • Upcoming problems for registered clubs (e.g. pokies tax, casinos) have been known for 10 years. • Smart business people would develop strategies to deal with these issues. – not simply make excuses. Our board has had many, many years to prepare - but they have produced no new ideas or detailed strategies to deal with these huge problems. • Our board over-borrowed for renovations ($10 million); o none of these funds were diverted to the Tweed o there has been no improvement in the club’s performance as a result of this huge debt – quite the opposite • These over-borrowings mean massive repayments to the banks which have destroyed club profits: o grants have been reduced o services terminated o drinks prices rising o jobs under threat. • Our board relies only on poker machine revenues as the only solution.
What our ticket will provide. Do NOT believe the scare campaign or the lies about our ticket.
We are experienced business people who have been members of the Leagues Club for many years. We want to use our skills to make the Leagues Club strong again.
IGNORE THE LIES • “All monies will go only to the Football Club” - WRONG. • “This is a minority, disaffected group with a secret agenda” - WRONG. • “Jobs will be lost and assets sold” - WRONG. • Tweed Seagulls – renovations will not proceed – WRONG.
We will deliver the following: • an honest and transparent process. All decisions made will be under the full scrutiny of members. • Our Club will be a proud community club for all ages – once again – not just a “pokie palace”. • We will make our club financially viable again. • We will take our club out of the hands of the banks and give it back to the members. • We will return the services to our elderly members as they used to be.
Please attend the meeting and vote for our ticket. The future of our great Club is in your hands.
Mike Gibbons Greg Khashadorian Jim Lawson Harry Bedrossian
NORTH SYDNEY LEAGUES CLUB - BACKGROUND TO TICKET June 2005
Introduction NS Leagues was formed by the football club 50 years ago to support rugby league and other sports and community activities in the area.
In the last 7-8 years, the results under the current board have been disastrous: Leagues club is struggling. Football club is on the brink. Poor management decisions have directly caused this situation.
The future will be tough. Pokies tax – smoking restrictions – competition from casino and pubs – combined threat to ongoing viability is significant.
We are responding to widespread community concerns. We believe the current board is out of its depth. This is a business – it should be run by business people. The times of having a director on the board because he is a “mate” or “a good bloke” are long gone.
Poor Management of Current Board
1. Questionable Financial Management $10 million - Over borrowing for club refurbishment. • Repayments of this loan have crippled profits. • Community grants have then been reduced significantly. • Services have then been reduced or cut. • Prices have then been forced up. The result has been a disaster. Such expense can only be justifiable if there is a resultant rise in revenues/profits. But – club attendance is worse than it’s ever been.
At the same time – despite the club’s major problems; • Overall salaries for executives has risen. • Around $60,000 of members’ money was spent on trips to Las Vegas for directors – including first class travel for former CEO.
2. No Concrete Strategy for the Future We have been waiting 8 years for some clear direction, proactive strategy from the board. Through the 80’s and 90’s, registered clubs were a “cashcow” – huge revenues, low tax, no huge burden on the board. However, as times get tough, the board needs to have business people supervising operations, implementing concrete strategies, ensuring the club is run professionally on behalf of its members. In recent consultations, the strategy offered by the existing board was simply – “get more pokies players and up your take on the pokies”. We believe this is the wrong approach. At the recent AGM – in answer to this issue on “strategy”, the board delivered “management speak”, “corporate mumbo jumbo” and generalities – but still no clear direction. We believe the current board is out of ideas. We believe fresh faces and new ideas are desperately needed.
SOLUTIONS
The times ahead will be tough. People with “fire in the belly” are needed to turn the Leagues Club around. We need new people, business people, with fresh, creative ideas to get this Club back to its former glory days. The existing board has had many, many years to prepare and many opportunities to put concrete plans in place – but they have done nothing. No more excuses. It’s time for change.
Our Intentions We want NS Leagues to be a community club once again - not just a pokie palace. Pokies will be there and generating revenues – but the prime focus of the club is “Community” - to get people of all ages and walks of life to come to NS Leagues.
We need to get the community back to NS Leagues, to rebuild attendances, to make the place buzz Monday to Sunday – not just on badge draw night.
Strategy A. We need to offer services, entertainment, options that will make people come to the Club. How? • Questionnaire (forms at the club, emailed, faxed) inviting detailed comment from existing members. • Research other registered clubs that are trading well – leverage off their experience and success. For example, should we introduce a TAB?
B. We need to increase membership and profile quickly. How? • Encourage existing members to bring on friends and family – rewards programme or “tell a friend” programme. • Market the club properly in the area once B. above is in place. • Joint ventures or alliances with major organizations on Club promotions or initiatives. • Charity/community profile – raise the profile of the Club’s contribution.
C. Community Focus – make this a club friendly to all ages. • Sunday night disco for the younger brigade • Discos for younger age groups (with parents present downstairs, if required) • Re-introduce a family atmosphere. • Possibility: Shield gambling facilities from blatant public view.
Once the Club is financially strong again, with greater membership, greater revenues, greater profits, then this will protect all members, organizations, clubs from having their grants cut, prices rise, services removed. This will assure our future. This will take the Club out of the hands of the banks.
Response to Board Accusations
Ironically, the current board is using my presidency of the Football club as a smokescreen to scare members. They are saying that, if this ticket wins, every spare cent will go to the Football Club and nothing to other intra-clubs. This is ironic – seeing as the constitutional obligation of the current board is to look after the Football Club which founded the Leagues Club – but look at the terrible position the Football Club is in. We do not want this to happen again to other clubs.
Issue – all money sucked out by Football Club? Answer: The Bears may never now get back into the NRL. If they do, it will be as the Central Coast Bears – in 5-10 years time. The Leagues Club has confirmed publicly that they will not be funding this NRL entity. This removes the “scare tactic” of the Football Club sucking the Leagues Club dry.
Issue: the Tweed? It is an absolute falsehood, as is claimed, that our ticket winning will see 200 jobs lost at the Tweed. Further, we undertake that, should we win, we will look to appoint a further director from the Tweed to the board – subject to members’ approval.
Issue: new CEO – Hans Sarlemyn We very much look forward to developing, discussing and implementing new ideas and strategies in conjunction with Hans.
Mike Gibbons BA LLB Ph: 9299 7866