St Kilda CEO Matt Finnis is confident that his club will survive the coronavirus lockdown period, despite fears that the small AFL clubs are in trouble.
Finnis said the club was in a strong position to get through it, thanks to their decision to return to Moorabbin.
“Yes (St Kilda) will (survive this COVID-19 postponement period),” he told SEN’s Whateley.
“While it’s my job to be concerned and our people will have anxieties, I want to reassure our members that our footy club has never been better positioned for the future.
“People talk about our debt, but they don’t talk as much about the priority of a decision that we made to raise $30 million and build a foundation, an asset, at Moorabbin which will keep this footy club in a great place for many years to come.
“It allows us to connect with our people, to allow us to attract incredible talent to our football club over the last couple of years and we’ll make sure we back ourselves in to be a stronger club down the track.
“I want our members to know that we appreciate their support, we’re thriving off their support and it gives us all a lift in dark times.
“We’ll need them to get back on board when we get up and going and to come and show their support in droves for the red, white and black.”
St Kilda joined the AFLW competition in 2020 and Finnis is equally staunch that their women’s team is just as important to them as their men’s side.
“I personally don’t believe that is any more fraught than any other part of the industry because it is an investment the game is making in our future and our women are an incredibly important part of that,” Finnis said.
“I am (resolute that AFLW is a core part of their business). I’ve seen what that has done for our football club.
“I’ve seen the new fans that have been introduced to our club through the games this year.
“I’ve seen 8,500 people, 1,000 of them locked out of RSEA Park, to see our women’s game this year.
“That’s a big part of our game’s future, but ultimately we will need to cut our cloth accordingly and no part of our industry will be immune from that.
“But I’m absolutely committed and it is a big part of how we go forward.”