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Taranaki Rugby posts massive loss amidst stadium drama

Author
Newstalk ZB ,
Publish Date
Thu, 4 Apr 2019, 11:28AM
Yarrow Stadium was last year found to be an earthquake risk. (Photo / File)

Taranaki Rugby posts massive loss amidst stadium drama

Author
Newstalk ZB ,
Publish Date
Thu, 4 Apr 2019, 11:28AM

Taranaki Rugby missed out on around $600,000 in income last year, but there may be good news on the horizon. 

Last year, the grandstands at Yarrow Stadium were found to be an earthquake risk.

Now, they've posted a near-million dollar loss for last year, and are staring down another tough year.

CEO of Taranaki Rugby Jeremy Parkinson told Mike Hosking that their business model has been tipped on its head.

"You sign your players, you commit to them early, you fill your roster, and then you have your season tickets and you hope your team performs and the revenue comes at the back end of the season."

He says that Yarrow Stadium had underpinned a successful business model that had been making money for around 15 years. 

"We were one of the provinces that had half a million dollars in cash reserves, so that got us through. We had to work with our commercial partners and community funders."

However, there may still be a future for the stadium. The Taranaki Regional Council is looking into funding repairs to the stadium. 

"They are proposing a $55 million fix for the stadium, which is a reinstatement of the stands, and an upgrade," Parkinson says. 

If they can find some additional funding of $14 million, they will be able to extend the stands and build a convention centre.

He has asked all the club's stakeholders to submit in support of the proposal. 

If the fix is approved, it would likely still be two or three years before it is fixed. 

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