North Ballarat Football Club chairman Jenny Bromley concedes a continued poor financial trend could spell danger for the region’s VFL side.
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And Bromley is calling on the community to get behind the club to ensure the Roosters remain part of the state’s premier competition.
Bromley said cuts have been made to ensure the business – including the North Ballarat Sports Club – is more cost effective and can support the “$1million plus” investment that is required to put a VFL team on the ground each season.
The North Ballarat board has set a target of securing 1000 new memberships inside the next month to support the Roosters.
These new adult memberships are being offered for $70, with family packages available for $150.
The Roosters finished the 2016 season – its first since returning to a standalone club without any AFL alignment – in second last position on the ladder after claiming just three wins.
Bromley was categorical when asked about the club’s future in the VFL.
“From the board’s point of view, we are 100 per cent in favour of having the Roosters here in 2017 and beyond,” she said.
“We are 100 per cent in favour of making sure they are not only sustainable, but they’re successful and that means getting to the finals and replicate and maybe improve on what Williamstown have been able to do as a standalone team.
“But we need community support to do that.”
Bromley said the club’s VFL team provided a “regional pathway of excellence” and offered great opportunity for footballers from the area.
“If we look over the last 20 years that we have been around, we’ve probably invested at least $1million into football every year that the Roosters have played,” she said.
“It’s a huge investment that we’ve already made and we really want to get the community on board.”
Bromley said that it would be a contradiction of sorts if Ballarat’s VFL side was withdrawn given the extensive redevelopment that is underway at Eureka Stadium ahead of AFL football coming to the city in 2017.
The Western Bulldogs will play a round 22 game against Port Adelaide next year.
“It would be ridiculous and we can’t, as a community, let that happen and certainly as a football club, we can’t let that happen. But we do need the community support,” she said.
Last season, the club slipped behind in some of its payments, but Bromley said all players and staff were now up to date.
The Roosters’ rival standalone club Frankston was booted out of the VFL by AFL Victoria in September, with the Dolphins in massive financial debt.