DEBT IS HALVED
SLIGO GAA recorded another strong financial performance in 2019 with an overall surplus of €68,839, the organisation’s annual convention in the Clayton Hotel on Thursday night was told.
Treasurer Peter Greene presented a detailed report on Sligo GAA’s accounts for the year, which indicated an income of €1,168,003 for the year, with expenditure of €970,256 which left an operating profit of €197,747.
This compares with 2018’s income of €1,311,338 and €900,906 in expenditure. Peter said that it gave him great pleasure to present another report indicating a strong financial performance. He said that as he reached the end of his 5 year term as Treasurer and 14 years in total with Sligo GAA finances that it’s been an enjoyable and testing time. He added that the county went through an extremely difficult situation, with debts of €1.4m in 2014, but now the county was experiencing progression to a much better space, with the debt now standing at €655,470.
He credited the County Board and the people within the clubs for their hardwork over the years.
Peter said the demands faced as an organisation and particularly managing over one million finances annually was high.
“We all want success, but success needs money for our county teams,” he told the Convention. Peter said the trophy cabinet was bare for too long and said the County Board was committed to investing in all Divisions and coaches, adding there was also a new Strength & Conditioning coach, Louise Keane, brought on board and said they have increased the budget for the U20 squad and development squads also. He said the role of Treasurer was ensuring the county remains profitable and that it was becoming more clear from a national prospective that this was becoming more unsustainable.
“We have been very prudent in the way we’ve operated and strategic in the running of Club Sligo, but the message for delegates tonight, is that we need your support.” He said that Club Sligo had generated a net income of €171k this year and has 400 members in 2019 and sincerely thanked John Clifford and his committee for their work and wished Declan Rouse the best for 2020. He explained 14 clubs had generated the minimum of 6k each, totalling less than 80k, and 11 clubs had generated 120k which averaged at €10k each. “Therein lies the challenge for 2020 and beyond and we fully appreciate that clubs are trying to survive in a challenging arena,” the Treasurer said.
One area that was extremely positive he explained was the increase on gates receipts which was the best in the last 5 years.
“One of the most consistent growth areas for the last 5 years was gates. The figure was €80,000 in 2015 and I want to thank Richard Brennan and Joe Taaffe who have been pivotal in the gates’ improvement each year. It’s not an easy task, going out on cold, wet, wintry days and sometimes getting abuse from people about the small fee to enter a match which is not acceptable.”
Peter praised the work of Liam Óg Gormley and his fundraising committee for the fantastic numbers at the cúl camps and said they were once again a huge success this year with the Coaching & Development teams, raising €21k this year. The Treasurer thanked the clubs and particular Owenmore Gaels for the use of their facilities in Connolly Park during the National League.
Looking at expenditure, he said that there was increases in the county and developments team costs, which was countrywide. Team expenses were up from €519,729 in 2018 to €572,471 this year, over €52k. He explained the main reasons for increases were higher numbers, increases in management, catering, travel and medical costs.
In the county’s senior football and hurling panels, player mileage had gone up from €88k to €94k. He said that players had to be commended for agreeing fixed fees which had worked well in particular regarding long journeys.
In terms of the successful All-Ireland back to back winning senior hurlers, the hurling budget had increased significantly, he said, adding that success comes at a price. “I want to congratulate Daithí Hand, his management team and his players and wish them all the best in the Christy Ring competition.
In terms of Markievicz Park, Peter thanked Paddy Galvin and Tom Gallen for having the park in pristine conditions and said the investment in the pitch should be fruitful in the long-term.
The Centre of Excellence held a total of 1,188 events this year and the Treasurer thanked Eamonn McMunn and Padraig Clancy for maintaining the running of the centre. He said the €55k overall spend of the two facilities was well controlled and said Sligo GAA was continuing to invest in machinery which was a wise move.
Sponsorship was a critical part of the income stream at €160k per annum with 13 sponsors in all and Peter said their support is invaluable and thanked them all. He also thanked the Clayton Hotel for sponsoring the senior hurling team this year and also paid tribute to Ronan Watters who supported the team for many years previously.
There was €16k in royalties from O’Neill’s sponsorship which includes 3k jersey sales and Peter thanked Darren Egan and AbbVie for their continued sponsorship and wished AbbVie every success in 2020. He said the naming rights for Markievicz Park and the Centre of Excellence were ongoing and it is hoped to conclude these at the next convention. The Treasurer said that where Sligo GAA now stands is the County Board overall debt had reduced from €1.4m in 2014 to half that. The total debt repayments of €126k per annum are being met from cashflow.
Markievicz Park has been renovated at a cost of €100k with only €15k debt. The catalyst for the debt reduction over the past 5 years has been Club Sligo, he added.
Peter indicated that there is a new Club Sligo project for 20202022 which will be launched in January. He said he hopes everyone buys into it as Sligo GAA needs stringent management cashflow. Included in the new Club Sligo is prizes of €1500 a month. The club objective will remain at €6k per club and €3k per hurling club. In conclusion, Peter thanked all of the clubs for their support over the past number of years. He said that through the hard work of Club Sligo and all of the sponsors, there was a better future for Sligo GAA.
With the Treasurer having completed his five-year tenure, a new bye-law was passed by a majority indicating that he could stay on for another year. Former Co Board Secretary Gerard O’Connor had put his name forward for the position but he told the Convention that he would reconsider if the bye-law was passed which it was and with Peter’s intention to stay on, he was going to defer his position, with Mr Greene continuing as Co Board chairman for another year.