A major funding cut is set to heap financial pressure on the ACT Brumbies after they recorded a major loss but club bosses hope rugby's new broadcast deal can help turn their fortunes around.
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The Super Rugby AU champions recorded a $468,484 loss for 2020 in what chief executive Phil Thomson labels "without doubt, the most challenging season in the Brumbies history".
Thomson says the figure is "significantly less than first feared when Super Rugby was shut down" midway through March, but now the club is bracing for a 30 per cent drop in funding as Rugby Australia slashes its cost line and overall expenses.
But Thomson hopes a $100 million broadcast deal to push Super Rugby on free-to-air television for the first time in its 25-year history can open the club up to more potential fans and sponsors.
"We've got some significant funding reductions from Rugby Australia next year which will put additional pressure on the business, but we've put things in place to hopefully manage our way through that," Thomson said.
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"It's a tough position for us, but we're confident we'll be able to manage our way through 2021 and build on things from a commercial point of view and a very strong relationship with our partners.
"The new broadcast deal is great and it will open us up to a new audience, that free-to-air audience which we haven't tapped into before.
"It's going to take a little bit of time for us to be able to see the benefits of that but hopefully in the long-term it will be a really positive thing for rugby."
The financial blow caused by the COVID-19 pandemic forced Brumbies staff members to take on odd jobs in a fight to secure the club's long-term future.
Thomson said putting the majority of staff on reduced hours was "the hardest decision" he and the club had ever had to make amid concerns about the viability of Australia's Super Rugby teams.
The federal government's JobKeeper package was a major boost for clubs walking a financial tightrope, allowing the majority of staff to work on reduced hours and receive government payments.
"It could have been a lot worse but through a good effort by everyone in the organisation, we got it to a reasonable position under the circumstances," Thomson said.
Crowd restrictions had an impact on the club's bottom line.
The Brumbies sat second overall when the globetrotting tournament was shut down in March, crippling hopes fans would jump on the bandwagon to boost the average crowd figure of 7492.
The ACT government's restrictions meant the club could only welcome a maximum of 1500 fans to the majority of their games in the revamped domestic competition.
That number eventually rose to 3000, with a limit of 6000 for the club's triumphant Super Rugby AU final against the Queensland Redsin September.
The path to consecutive domestic titles begins with a trial match against the NSW Waratahs in Bowral on January 30.
Participation numbers dipped at club rugby level amid the pandemic, falling by 30 per cent in senior competitions and 15 per cent in juniors.
The financial blow was slightly offset by a trend of profits in recent years. The Brumbies reported a $63,344 profit last year, rising from $57,393 in 2018 and $14,361 in 2017.
Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
