Melbourne CEO Gary Pert says the club will announce a $2 million profit after their first premiership in 57 years.
The Demons beat the Western Bulldogs by 74 points in September’s Grand Final, capping off an incredible year that also saw them claim the minor premiership.
They missed the finals in 2020 and even the club's board didn’t have high hopes for their financial position, however their meteoric rise in captain Max Gawn’s second season in charge was a happy surprise.
“We were at best going to break even after being smashed by COVID again, but we’ll announce a profit of around $2 million,” Pert told SEN Breakfast.
“We see that’s a direct result of the finals and the premiership, and I reckon it’ll add another couple of million to our financial result next year because we’d expect the membership is going really strong and I think we’re going to have some really big blockbuster games, again that’s always great for clubs when we get the crowds coming back to the MCG.
“So it’s had a substantial impact.”
The club had an operating loss of just under $3 million in the COVID-interrupted season of 2020.
The premiership is even more impressive in light of the club’s training facilities, with Pert suggesting the Demons have been training on a “junior oval” for many years.
However, with work on an MCG size ground in Gosch’s Paddock underway and new training facilities to soon be ready, they’re in a strong position to go back to back.
“Well, they’ve put a big fence around the oval as of yesterday (Sunday), so we start digging up the oval and turning it into an MCG size ground, which is a critical element,” Pert said.
“We’ve been training for many, many years basically on a junior football oval, now for us to be on an MCG size oval by the time we start the season next year, that’s our first step.
“By the time we get to that point hopefully we’re a lot further down the track with the State Government and the AFL on our broader facility.
“I’ve seen the designs, it looks magnificent and that’s progressing and it’ll be worth the wait in the end.”
Victorian-based Melbourne fans had their first look at the premiership cup over the weekend when the club held a function at the MCG, with 35,000 supporters celebrating the first flag in more than half a century.