Tipp finances hit hard by Covid
By Shane Brophy
Tipperary County Board are projecting a deficit of €60,000 this year.
In the third quarterly accounts presented to delegates at the County Board meeting last week, the financial year which runs from November to October is likely to show a deficit that is much better than what was expected earlier this summer, primarily due to Covid-19 restrictions.
“When we were giving our budgets to Croke Park at the half-way stage we were projecting a loss of €200,000,” admitted County Secretary Tim Floyd.
“Fortunately, with things opening up again with games resuming at a minimal rate, not the way we want them, but at least there is income and if things keep going the way they are going we are projecting a loss of €60,000.”
The reduced level of the expected deficit is helped by future projected income of €300,000 from gate receipts, season/concession tickets and the new online streaming service which is expected to generate €50,000.
Commercial income projections will improve from €375,000 at the half-way stage to €500,000 because with a county championship being played, sponsorship from FBD Insurance will be coming as well as a County Council grant while county team sponsors Teneo have already paid their sponsorship of €200,000 which provided much needed cash-flow earlier in the year. Income from associated bodies is expected to be up €100,000 also.
Expenditure isn’t expected to change an awful lot as the inter-county teams will still be training for seven to eight weeks and longer if they go deep into the championships.
Last year the county board recorded a loss of €371,000 but that included a number of one-off items, including funding refurbishment works and insurance premium payments on Semple Stadium. The closing of the GAA Merchandise shop in Lar na bPairce Thurles led to a write-off of €105,000 projected profit from the previous year which didn’t materialise due to unsold stock and other issues.
Club gate receipts in 2019 dropped by €67,000 while Tipperary’s national league gate share also fell which contributed to the €371,000 loss. The County Board had €380,000 in reserves at the start of the year, of which €200,000 was invested in Croke Park and a further €80,000 drawn from the Tipperary GAA Clubs Draw.
“We really started out this year from scratch,” admitted Tim Floyd.