Union to cut contract budget

The Taranaki rugby union will have to cut its player contract budget by up to $400,000 as they navigate through the financial challenges of a compromised stadium.

At last week’s extraordinary meeting of the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC), the Taranaki Rugby Football Union (TRFU) presented a request for a Yarrow Stadium rental, ground lease and service cost holiday from 2018 to 2021, or ‘‘until we are in a position to hire a facility that is economically viable and fit for purpose, whichever is the earlier’’.

It would cost the council about $600,000.

The union has been fighting for survival since the closure of the earthquake-prone main stands at the ground which saw ticket sales and season memberships for 2018 drop.

Chair of the union’s board, Lindsay Thompson, told councillors that the union was fighting for its very existence and could not afford to stay at Yarrow Stadium paying $130-150,000 a year, but the circumstances were beyond their control.

‘‘How do you insure against stadium engineering, when it is totally outside our control?

‘‘There’s no doubt that we’re going back to the model that is considerably cheaper and will involve a lot more club players in the future.’’

After the meeting, chief executive Jeremy Parkinson said the player budget had been pulled back from $1.3-$1.4 million to about $1m.

‘‘We had been in the top three in the country with our spend but now we’re going to be sitting in the bottom group.’’

Thompson told councillors that they had player contracts they had to honour, but the

remaining eight players needed to fill the roster would need to come from club ranks.

Parkinson said they had already done that in 2018.

‘‘The reality is that is what we had this year with the number of injuries to all our Super players. It’s going to be more of the same next year.’’

He said he felt the meeting was positive.

‘‘Obviously NPDC, they’re intent to help and assist. They’re not making rushed decisions.’’

He would not be drawn on alternative plans, but said they were going forward with a positive open attitude ‘‘that we can get something resolved for both parties and allows us to stay at Yarrow.

‘‘We have to do what’s best financially for the province. All options will be on the table.’’

However, the idea of deferred payment was not good for the union, he said.

‘‘All that does is add more hurt when we get out of this.’’

He said it was now a matter of working through possibilities with council chief executive Craig Stevenson and chief operating officer Kelvin Wright, and then pitching a new plan to encourage the fans back to Yarrow Stadium.

‘‘They didn’t this year and it’s left us in a big hole.’’

But they were grateful to their sponsors and the fans that did turn up for supporting them through a challenging time.