£250k loss for St Helens

Nov 27 2007 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

ST HELENS lost £250,000 during their treble-winning season in 2006, the engage Super League club revealed yesterday.

The Grand Final runners-up and Challenge Cup holders also expect to announce a loss for 2007 and, although chairman Eamonn McManus insists the club are in a stable financial position, he admits that a move to a new stadium is the key to a profitable future.

McManus said: “2006 was a year of unparalleled success for the club on the field. However, this was not adequately reflected in the commercial performance of the club.

“This was most disappointing. In the pursuit of headline-grabbing revenue increases, not enough control was accorded to costs.

“In particular, the much-heralded town centre merchandising store proved not to be cost effective and it is consequently planned to be relocated in 2008.

“2007 is likely to be an equally challenging year mainly due to a material write-off incurred due to the winding up, without warning, of our then main sponsor Earth at the beginning of the season.

“Our new chief executive Tony Colquitt, who was appointed in mid-2007, has quickly identified problem areas and is now putting in place a sensible and more realistic business plan.”

St Helens hope to move out of their Knowsley Road home and into a new 18,000-capacity stadium on the 46-acre site of a glass works and McManus has called for action.

He added: “Staying at Knowsley Road does put the club at a continuing financial and commercial disadvantage and it is imperative to the future of the club that the planning application for the new stadium is successful and goes through smoothly within a reasonably quick timeframe.

“Otherwise the financial constraints which Knowsley Road imposes on the club will become increasingly burdensome and more difficult to manage.”