The Wests Tigers have responded to reports made by The Daily Telegraph on Thursday, suggesting they are doing everything they can to turn the financial plight of the club around.
The news publication reported that, in figures obtained, the Tigers have the lowest commerical revenue of any team in the competition, and that they generate the worst revenue from stadiums in the league.
The Tigers have now taken the step to release a public statement regarding the article.
"Wests Tigers would like to clarify statements made by The Daily Telegraph in an article published on Thursday, June 26, relating to 2024 NRL club commercial figures," the joint-venture's CEO Shane Richardson said.
"Since the start of 2024, the club has been transparent relating to our commercial figures. We identified that we were significantly underperforming across key commercial metrics.
"The club has made significant strides this season across all key metrics, however, we will not rest on our laurels as we strive towards being a top four club."
The Tigers also moved to clarify that their stadium policy is still a work in process.
"The suburban stadia strategy last season (five games played at Campbelltown Sports Stadium and Leichhardt Oval respectively) significantly hampered our corporate hospitality and game day revenue which is why we continually stress the importance and need for this club to be playing out of modern, state of the art and fit-for-purpose venues," Richardson said.
The Tigers claim they have improved their financial results over the last 12 months, growing hospitality by 51 per cent, game day revenue by 27 per cent, membership by 27 per cent, and sponsorship and merchandise by 16 per cent.
The Tigers also claim they have improved their crowds by 24 per cent and game day TV viewing by 8 per cent.
“The Tigers also moved to clarify that their stadium policy is still a work in process.”
There is the rub. It would be more accurate – I suspect – if the CEO had said: “The stadium policy is into the too-hard basket. We cannot abandon Leichardt Oval without alienating the Tigers side of the JV, and we really need to drop Campbelltown Sports Stadium too. But we can’t, so we carry on in this unhappy strategy”