The Adelaide Football Club has reported a cash operating profit of $2,685,517 for the 2019 financial year. 

The financial result can be attributed to a healthy commercial program and comes on the back of a challenging on-field period, which resulted in key personnel changes within the football department.

Crows Chairman Rob Chapman spoke at the Annual Members’ Meeting and paid tribute to the loyalty and commitment of the passionate Members and supporters who are the backbone of the Club, with membership reaching 104,066 last year.

He also highlighted the continued rollout of important community programs, including a leading football-based science and technology education program for children, significant progress with the Club’s Reconciliation Action Plan and changes to further strengthen the impact of the Adelaide Crows Foundation. 

The Club was able to further develop its new business initiatives across baseball, esports, technology and media services, while strengthening its relationship with key partners Toyota and Optus.

Taking into consideration non-cash items, the Club’s statutory profit was $238,473 with this figure including depreciation.

Chapman said Members and fans should take comfort that their Club was well-positioned off-field and ready for the new era under Senior Coach Matthew Nicks. 

“As is the case with any professional sporting club, a downturn in on-field performance has an impact on all other areas of your operations,” Chapman said. 

“However, we have worked hard in recent years to create a solid and diversified platform that allows the Club to withstand these periods and continue to invest heavily in both our men’s and women’s football programs. 

“I have said it many times previously but we are steadfast in ensuring our players, coaches and high-performance staff have what they need to realise our shared goal of winning football games.”     

Crows CEO Andrew Fagan said the rejuvenation of the playing list, coupled with key personnel changes to the football department, pointed to exciting times ahead. 

“We have emerged positively from a period of significant change but quite rightly we are still pursuing improvement across all areas,” Fagan said.

“Sporting clubs around the world are looking for new and improved ways to provide fans with greater insight into their inner workings and we are no different.

“We are excited by what can be achieved in this space and look forward to our Members and supporters joining us on this journey.”

Fagan said a proposal to build a state-of-the-art community and sporting hub, which would also house the Club’s new headquarters, at the current North Adelaide aquatic centre site was also a priority.

“We are committed to building a facility which meets the needs of as many existing stakeholders as possible, as well delivering new and additional benefits to the community,” he said. 

“Critically, it will also be a place where our Members and supporters can visit on any given day of the year and we look forward to working with the City of Adelaide and other interested parties to realise our ambition.”