Dear Members and Supporters,

What an extraordinary year this has been. To say it’s been an unforgettable year would be the ultimate understatement. The way our Club and community has come together through the year has been incredible and I could not be more grateful for the support from all of our members, supporters and partners. For everyone at the Club, it has been incredibly humbling. There is something very special about Port Adelaide and its people and we experienced that again this year, thank you!

As we prepare for Christmas and a couple of weeks to refresh ahead of the 2021 season, I want to provide you with a quick overview of what we’ve been focused on leading into the break. As challenging as the year has been, we have been able to build a platform that sets us up for a huge 2021 campaign.

The football program is in great shape, our coaching group locked in, the playing group is well positioned to get better and the list has improved through the trade and drafts, plus there is a group of exciting talent about to emerge that we didn’t get to see in 2020 because of COVID keeping us out of the SANFL. The testing results since returning show clearly, we have a group who are driven to push harder and chase the ultimate success with on-field leaders who have absolutely embraced the expectation of Port Adelaide.

Membership continues to build on the back of the incredible commitment from you all in 2020. Member satisfaction is at its highest rating since mid-2018 and renewal intent is 96% compared with 81% at the same time last year.  Thank you for your belief in what we’re building.

Last week we announced KFC joining GFG and MG as a third major partner for 2021 with all three committed long term. This is the first time we’ve had three major partners and is a fantastic reflection of the confidence and energy around the Club. The strengthening of all of our commercial partnerships and building deeper two-way connections has been a big positive from 2020 and we can see how in turn our members have gone out of their way to support these partners throughout the year. Internally, the collaboration across our commercial, marketing and membership teams this year is a blueprint for how we do business moving forward.

Stage 1 of the Port Club transformation starts in January, with the 160 year old wharf pylons on site and ready to install. This venue is going to become the ultimate ‘Port Adelaide’ experience, and a place our members and supporters will be very proud of. Our responsibility as the current custodians is to capture, protect and nurture the history and great stories of the people who have made our Club what it is and this upgrade will do exactly that with a modern museum together with an expanded retail floor space and experience. Stage 2, which incorporates the relocation of the sports bar and bistro upstairs, becomes a focus in 2021 so we can capitalize on the magnificent views out over Alberton Oval and the vista of the Adelaide hills in the background.  

The Alberton Oval precinct re-development is progressing. Our vision for Alberton Oval to provide for the Port Adelaide Football Club of the future means we have to expand and upgrade our high performance facilities, renovate the Williams Family Stand changerooms, provide a second training ground separate to the playing oval and establish the precinct for expanded community sports use. Our entry into the AFLW competition is strategically important, from a football perspective as an AFL Club and also as we build the next generation of Port Adelaide fans and members, we have to accelerate our participation in this competition. Young girls and families are critical to our growth ambitions as we chase our vision of being the biggest team in town. We are making good progress on a planning front also with funding partners and I hope to have more to share on this in the new year.

Another important focus for me has been the development of our strategic framework, titled ‘Chasing Greatness’. We have worked through this with each of our internal teams and I have shared it with a number of stakeholder groups already including our corporate partners. I look forward to sharing this with you in the new year so that you too understand the role you play in helping our Club achieve our vision for greatness. I think it was ‘big Bob McLean’ who once said, ‘great teams don’t win Premierships, great clubs win Premierships’, which effectively means we all have a role to play and as key stakeholders in the Club that of course includes our members so I look froward to sharing that with you soon.

As positive as all of this is, this reality also is that 2020 has had a significant financial impact on the Club. The reliance of game day revenues at Adelaide Oval and several other major impacts meant our club revenue was down $18m on budget. The incredible support from our members, supporters and partners on top of sacrifices from many people to reduce costs meant we’ve significantly reduced the impact but it’s still sees our debt position worsen and the re-building of our balance sheet has to be a strategic priority.  We are finalizing the result over the break and will confirm this with you in January as well as providing a clear picture of our debt position, and most importantly what we are going to do about it in 2021 and beyond.

Our whole club has worked incredibly hard all year and since the season ended we’ve been pushing to ensure we optimized the momentum built through the year into Christmas. I’m really pleased we have been able to do that and now our teams get to take a short break and re-charge ready for a massive 2021.

On behalf of everyone at the Club, again a big thank you for your support and commitment in 2020. It has been an incredible ride and I know the support of our people and community has fuelled our players and staff. We are in a fantastic position on and off-field to attack 2021 with great confidence and as much as we all need a rest, I don’t think I can remember a year I’ve wanted to get stuck into more.

To you and your families, have safe and enjoyable Christmas and New Year, knowing our football club is ready to ‘chase greatness’ in 2021.

Cheers,
Richo