ST KILDA president Peter Summers says it is quality people – not growing expenditure programs – that should be responsible for winning premierships after the Saints were forced to reduce their football department spending for the 2014 season.
As rival clubs commit more funds to coaching, high performance and medical staff, Summers confirmed at St Kilda's annual general meeting on Friday night that the club had been forced to reduce spending in this area.
The Saints reported an operating loss of $1,198,587 for the year ending October 31, 2013 and made a statutory loss of $2,614,837, with the club failing to meet membership and sponsorship targets.
It was the club's allocation of games at Etihad Stadium, however, that Summers said was having a major impact on revenue and dragging it back in the football department arms race.
He said it was an issue that could decide premierships, rather than the quality of people club's employed.
"It is precisely that aspect that the football public wants to see, that premierships are winnable if you have talented, hard-working people who make great decisions, rather than success being heavily weighted to the size of expenditure programs," Summers told the meeting of members at the Frankston Arts Centre.
"It is in nobody's interest for us to have a competition where only a few sides can realistically compete regularly for premierships.
"One of the major components of club revenues is match returns.
"These are heavily linked to where and when matches are scheduled, and we have repeatedly stated that we are financially disadvantaged in relation to the returns from playing at Etihad (Stadium)."
Summers said St Kilda made as much revenue playing one match in New Zealand or two games at the MCG as it did playing eight games at Etihad Stadium.
He said the issue facing tenants of the Docklands stadium was not one of equalisation but commercial fairness.
"Right now we are being disadvantaged by the allocation of games and the agreements that are in place that compensate for that," he said.
"We are one of those clubs that are creating a very valuable asset for this competition by effectively paying off Etihad Stadium.
"We will press for this to be resolved as soon as possible.
"This is not to say we, the St Kida Football Club, don't have a role to play in our own destiny. We do, and we are totally focused on improving our operations."
Summers said the Saints were budgeting for a profit in the current financial year and were "determined that we will get that outcome".
He also addressed cultural issues at the club and said "establishing a culture of excellence" was a key objective for board.
Directors Russell Caplan, Paul Kirk, Danni Roche OAM and Jack Rush QC were re-elected to the club's board.
