Season 2023 saw the Sydney Swans transition into a new training and administration facility, the Basil Sellers Richard Colless Centre (T&A).
The costs associated with this historic development and relocation contributed to an underlying operating loss of $474,717 for the financial year ending October 31, 2023.
The total project cost to date of this centre is approximately $70 million. With the inclusion of one-off facility grant revenue recognition, depreciation, and amortisation, the club’s statutory profit is $10,930,658.
Further increases in club funded expenditure to fully resource both the men’s and women’s programs was the main factor contributing to the financial result. Despite the underlying operating loss, due to strong support from the club’s corporate partners, members, and generous donors, the Swans were debt free as of October 31, 2023.
Key items contributing to the financial outcome include:
- Operating income increasing year-on-year by 8% to $61.8 million
- 65,332 Sydney Swans members, which is a new club record
- Membership and match day revenue of $18.2m (up from $16.4 in 2022)
- Depreciation and amortisation expense of $4.4 million (inclusive of the lease for the Basil Sellers Richard Colless Centre)
- Grant income for the T&A development of $15.8 million
- Strong on-field performance highlighted by finals appearances in both the AFL and AFLW programs, being one of only four AFL clubs to achieve this.
Sydney Swans CEO Tom Harley said he is proud of everything the club has achieved this year, including limiting the financial loss in a year of transition and growth.
“It’s been a huge year for our football club with our new T&A facility being the biggest project our club has undertaken since moving to Sydney. The impact of our new home on our men’s, women’s and Academy programs cannot be understated, while it has also given our members a place to call home and enabled us to deliver new community initiatives,” Harley said.
“We would like to thank everyone who has joined us on the journey this year as both our men’s and women’s teams made the finals and our women’s team celebrated a historic first finals victory.
“To the 65,332 members, we thank you for your loyalty and support in what we know has been a challenging economic environment. We thoroughly believe that the Sydney Swans experience is better as a member, and we will continue to deliver and improve on that promise in 2024.
“To our wonderful partners, especially Principal Partner QBE and Major Partners Volkswagen and realestate.com.au, we are incredibly grateful for everything you contribute to our club, and we can’t thank you enough for your commitment.
“Our club is in a strong position to achieve our goal of sustained success on and off the field. Next year we will be striving to achieve a new benchmark of 75,000 members as we celebrate 150 years of South Melbourne and the Sydney Swans. There is much to look forward to and everyone at the club is excited about the season ahead.”
