North Melbourne board members, from left, Julie Laycock, Carl Dilena, president James Brayshaw, Mark Brayshaw and Brady Scanlon, held a board meeting on the Spirit of Tasmania last night. Picture: Jason Edwards Source: HeraldSun
NORTH Melbourne is set to record a bumper profit of over $1 million as the club creeps closer to a deal on St Kilda's Nick Dal Santo.
Once prime candidates for relocation to the Gold Coast, the Roos will have reduced $8 million of debt to under $3 million by year’s end.
The Roos hope to be debt free by 2015, with debt to sit at $2.75 million when the financial year ends on October 31.
It has been a stunning off-season given the acquisition of new footy boss Geoff Walsh, assistant Leigh Tudor and part-time coach Cameron Ling, but Dal Santo is still the key.
The Roos believe he will commit to them over Essendon, but late yesterday both St Kilda and North Melbourne said there was no official decision on a destination for Dal Santo.
North Melbourne has offered Dal Santo a three-year deal worth around $450,000, a great offer for a player with one season left on a contract worth $650,000.
As part of the Dal Santo bid they are locked into offering St Kilda their key defender Luke Delaney for a late pick neither club would use.
Then Dal Santo could be released as a free agent and the Saints would also receive pick 22 from the AFL as compensation.
The Roos would trade uncontracted Delaney rather than allow him to cross to the Saints as a free agent because that would affect the compensation pick they would receive for Dal Santo.
But all of that was still in limbo late yesterday given Dal Santo was yet to officially agree to anything.
Meanwhile, Roos chairman James Brayshaw lauded the club’s financial progress, after the club’s Box On debt demolition campaign cleared $2 million of debt in as many years.
Long-time wealthy benefactor Peter Scanlon is believed to have contributed upwards of $400,000, with the club raising $800,000 at a recent fund-raiser.
Part of that debt was an interest-free loan of $1.5 million from Melbourne Stadiums Limited, which has finally been eradicated from the bottom line.
Eight or more AFL clubs could lose money this year - many of them significant sums - but James Brayshaw said the Roos were on track.
“We have the debt down under three million bucks, We have got a great result financially coming out soon, membership was a record at 35,000 last year. We as a board could take credit but we employ good people and let them do their jobs,’’ he said.
“As a club we are on track and heading in the right direction and the future is really exciting so we want all North Melbourne supporters to get stuck in. 40,000 members is a realistic target (in 2014).”
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