Latics facing rocky road ahead

New stadium ‘essential’ for the future
THE FINANCIAL figures make for grim reading, with Athletic chief executive Alan Hardy admitting the club faces “challenging times”.

Athletic have posted a £1.524 million loss for the year ended December 2009 — a massive increase on the £414,000 deficit of the previous 12 months, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

Turnover fell by £277,000 to £3.26m as a result of lost income on matchdays, through reduced crowds and dwindling commercial takings.

Operating losses were up to £1.275m, from £1.012min 2008. Total operating costs for the year 2009 were £3.9m, out of which £2.3m is made up of ‘football costs’ — meaning transfer fees paid out and wages for players and coaching staff.

And one of the major costs incurred by the club last year was a £550,000 exceptional write-off relating to work on the planning application for the redevelopment of Boundary Park for housing.

Despite a massively disappointing year on the field, Athletic’s spending on the football side actually rose by £300,000 in 2009.

Having slashed the wage budget which manager Paul Dickov has to work with, Hardy believes that a tight control on player demands is a short-term necessity in order to stem the losses.

And the ultimate goal of a new, sustainable home in Failsworth remains the ambition.

“If we can take comfort — and there is very little — we are not alone in facing these challenges,” Hardy said. “We are trying as hard as we can to reduce expenditure and increase our income.

“We have to look at every aspect. And the biggest single item, by far, is our football operating costs.

“Failsworth is essential for the club’s future.

“The struggle to get a new ground has had a major impact on the losses in recent times, as it has taken so long to materialise.

“When we submitted our plans for Boundary Park early in 2007, with the intention of redeveloping the current site into a new ground, we didn’t get planning permission until December.

“By that time the recession had hit, which in turn meant a redevelopment of Boundary Park was no longer a viable proposition.

“That meant we had to look elsewhere to provide a stadium of which Latics fans can be proud.

“Financially, the figures aren’t positive. But football-wise, things are.

“We have to have a positive outlook. If we can continue to play as we are, staying in contention for the play-offs, then the football this season can have a big impact on our finances.”

The released figures also show that the club’s net liabilities are on the rise too.

Mainly made up of directors’ loans from owners Simon Blitz and Danny Gazal — both no longer directors of Athletic, with the pair unwilling to bankroll the club beyond this season — the figure stood at £4.630m on December 31, 2009, up from £3.570m 12 months earlier.

Those net liabilities have grown in the 10 months since, the club confirmed, though Hardy said as far as he was aware there was no sign that Blitz and Gazal were about to call in the loans.