The Adelaide Football Club has tonight reported a cash operating profit of $3,828,935 (2017: $3,432,052) for the 2018 financial year.

The fourth-straight year of growth can be attributed to ongoing improvements and refinements across the organisation, as well as strong support from corporate partners and record membership.

It has allowed the Club to fully eradicate its debt, while increasing investment in both the men’s and women’s football programs in line with AFL-imposed limits.

Crows Chairman Rob Chapman spoke at the Club’s Annual Members Meeting and outlined strong performance across a number of key off-field indicators including:

Record membership, corporate and coterie support

Record revenue of $56.06m

Paid down $1.2m to now be debt free

Expansion of schools program Growing with Gratitude

Delivery of high-quality community programs including multicultural initiatives

Growing media platform with live broadcast and video production focus

Acquisition of Adelaide Bite baseball team

Further development of the Club’s esports and video gaming platforms

Chairman Rob Chapman proudly announces a cash profit of $3.8 million and that the Club is now debt free.



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#weflyasone #AFCMediaLIVE pic.twitter.com/bBh44BvhMR — Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) February 28, 2019

The Crows also continue to be a major contributor to the State’s football economy, with payments to the SANFL and South Australian Government.

Taking into consideration abnormal and non-cash items, the Club’s statutory profit was $1,506,002 (2017: $648,715) with this figure including depreciation and a donation to the Crows Children’s Foundation.

Chapman said Members and fans should take comfort that their Club is in a very healthy position.

“We are blessed to have such a strong, passionate and loyal following and our 700,000-plus supporters across the country underpin the prosperity of our Club,” Chapman said.

“With a view to sustained off-field strength, we continue to invest in exploring and growing non-traditional revenue streams and improving our capability across the entire organisation.

“It should also be said that our unwavering focus is always on winning football games and ensuring our players, coaches and high performance team have the resources to fulfil their potential and our shared ambition.”

Crows CEO Andrew Fagan said there was a great deal to achieve in 2019, starting with a return to finals football and further building a membership-based relationship with as many of our fans as possible.

There was also a focus on embedding a range of new business initiatives and acquisitions into the organisation, including baseball and esports among others.

“We are fortunate to have a group of players, coaches and staff who are among the most talented and hard-working people I have come across during my time in professional sport,” he said.

“The Australian sporting landscape is always presenting fresh challenges but I am confident that we have both an operating model, as well as the quality of people, to support our pursuit of sustained success both on and off the field.”