DUNDALK CHIEFS NOT PANICKING OVER €1.2M LOSS

THE release of Dundalk FC’s accounts for 2019 last week showed that the club made a pre-tax loss of over €1.2 million for the financial year ending November 2019.

The figure of €1,226,067 is on top of the €676,001 loss from 2018, bringing the total loss of club owners PEAK6 in their two years at Oriel Park to €1,902,068.

A large reason for the year-onyear increase in losses was the in-investment in the Youth Development Centre at Oriel Park. The accounts show that the club spent €1,525,219 on property, plant and equipment in 2019 — an increase of half a million euro on the previous year.

Staff numbers also grew from 34 in 2018 to 39 last year.

A further €236,942 was also paid to ‘group companies’ while agent and intermediary fees jumped a massive 1167.6% from €5,449 to €69,070.

Despite the €1.2 million loss, the club still had €1,345,391 in the bank as of November 30th last.

STAYING CALM

DUNDALK FC chairman Bill Hulsizer says the club remains calm about the losses experienced by owners PEAK6 since taking over at Oriel Park in January 2018.

Accounts filed by the club last week show they lost over €1.2 million in 2019. This brings total losses experienced by the Americans since arriving in Dundalk to €1.9 million following a loss of almost €700,000 in their first year here in 2018.

While the figure has alarmed many fans and League of Ireland followers, Hulsizer told The Argus at the weekend that PEAK6 always expected to lose money in their first few years at the club.

He said this was inevitable given they moved the club from being part-time to full-time on their arrival in Ireland and given the money they had invested in the Youth Development Centre - estimated to be in the region of €500,000 - to upgrade it to a state of the art training facility with a gym, changing rooms, physio rooms and media suite.

Reacting to the figures, Hulsizer - the father of PEAK6 founder Matt - said: ‘As an investment company, we seldom make investments in a company that immediately give us a return because the return is not instantaneous. Every once in a while you get one like that but we knew Dundalk was going to lose money if we did the things we wanted to do like develop the Lilywhite Training Centre.

‘We are transitioning a part-time football team into a professional football team and we’re hoping the rest of the league will follow because our goal is to have the Irish Premier League as one of the most respected leagues in the world.

‘Are we concerned that the team showed a loss? Yes, of course we’re concerned, but we’re more concerned because we’re competitive, not because we lost the money.’

The 77-year-old said there was no fear of PEAK6 running away from Dundalk as a result of the figures.

‘We’re certainly not running away whenwhen we’ve invested more money and we hope to turn it around.

‘I’d say don’t look at the loss, look at what we did with the money.’

Asked how much had been put into the Youth Development Centre upgrade, Hulsizer said: ‘I couldn’t tell you exactly but it was heavy duty. We made some mistakes in doing it but we think we’ve fixed them now.’

He also said he was unsure if all of last summer’s European prize money - in the region of €1.2 million - or the league winning money (€110,000) or Unite the Union prize fund (€50,000) were accounted for in the 2019 accounts.

‘I don’t think we have any open balances but I can’t swear to that because I haven’t discussed it with my financial director.’

There is a strong possibility that the loss for 2020 will be even greater given the club have continued to pay players and staff throughout the Covid-19 lockdown despite not having fixtures with which bring in gate receipts etc. However, Hulsizer said he did not know what impact the pandemic would have as yet on the club’s cash reserves of just over €1.3 million.

‘We don’t know at this point because we don’t know how long Covid-19 is going to last.

‘We’re hoping that the Government roadmap is good and we’re back playing soon. I can’t promise you the future because it is not mine to give but all I can say is that we’re working as hard as we can with the FAI and with the Government to make sure there is Irish football in the near future.’

Asked did he expect to see League of Ireland football this year, the chairman said: ‘I’m hoping we will and what I can say is that we’re doing everything in our power to support that.

‘Two weeks ago we were ahead of the curve on being ready to return and we slowed down because the Government and the FAI asked us to. We’re operating and staying within the rules and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.’

RAISING INCOME

While club owners PEAK6 might not be hugely concerned about the losses the club has reported in their first two years in Ireland, no business can afford to go on losing money forever.

That’s why a major marketing and fundraising push has been planned for some time - the first glimpse of which we got to see last week.

A new Dundalk FC membership scheme, which will be mainly overseen by media officer Gavin McLaughlin, is the first step towards raising revenue. Fellow new hires David Minto and Aaron Lawless are also working on plans on behalf of the board to ensure that Dundalk FC finally begins to capitalise on its on-field success off it.

While Bill Hulsizer did not reveal targets in his interview with The Argus at the weekend, it is understood that the club believe it is possible to bring in an additional seven figure sum from marketing and fundraising events and activities throughout the year.

That might seem ambitious from the outset but when you consider Sligo Rovers received €491,939 from fundraising and donations last year, it is not beyond the realms of possibility if executed correctly given Dundalk’s successes of recent years.

Already almost 170 people had signed up to the new membership scheme as of Monday morning and while the €15 monthly cost might be small, it has the capacity to bring in an additional €30,000 in revenue to Oriel Park in the next 12 months as it currently stands - without taking into account a wider scope for growth.

While not giving too much away on exact plans, Hulsizer confirmed to The Argus that it was the club’s intention to improve marketing off the field.

‘We know we’re the best club on the pitch and we want to be the best club off the pitch and I think the people of Dundalk are going to support that because they have been nothing but marvellous.

‘If you don’t think money is important to us, you’re wrong. I told you my goal is to win the Champions League. People may think that it’s silly. Would I fire my coach if he didn’t win it? Of course not but in the same way as I aim high for the team I expect my staff to be the best in the world. I want the best physio, the best operations’ officer, the best commercial officer, the best financial officer because by nature we’re competitive.

‘Are we panicked over the money that we lost? No. Do we wish we didn’t lose it? Of course, but we’re certainly not saying we’ve got to run away from this.

‘We need the fans and the community more involved in Dundalk and we’re doing our best to do that.

‘I’m not going to lay our plans on the table because that would be making a promise I’m not sure I could keep because I don’t know the future but we are

ARE WE CONCERNED THAT THE TEAM SHOWED A LOSS? YES, OF COURSE WE’RE CONCERNED, BUT WE’RE MORE CONCERNED BECAUSE WE’RE COMPETITIVE, NOT BECAUSE WE LOST THE MONEY.