I truly hope that you and your families have remained safe and healthy since I last wrote to you.

It has been a horrific period for a large number of Australians, especially since the latest phase of actions taken by governments to minimise the spread of COVID-19. The health consequences of this virus are clearly serious and the terrible economic cost is also being felt across the country. 

Our Club and the broader AFL are clearly not immune to this and the recent heartbreaking decisions we have had to make have been well documented. Like always, we will continue to fight hard to ensure we can find a way through.

Earlier this week I asked you to put forward any questions you may have about your Club via our website. The majority of the responses focussed on similar themes and my responses are outlined below. 

How are the players keeping fit during the hiatus? Does the Club provide them with a program to follow?

I can assure you the players have a very clear understanding of what is required of them during this lay-off. If you get a chance check out a few of their social media accounts and you will see that they are putting in the work! You might also see some of the other things they are doing to try and keep themselves amused, energised and connected during this very strange time. 

Each of the guys has an individual strength and fitness program and they are in constant contact with members of our high-performance team who are tracking their progress daily. This is similar to the program in place over the Christmas break but it is geared towards a rapid return to play once we are given the go-ahead for games to resume. 

The football department swung into top gear the moment various governments announced border controls as we were keen for players from interstate to return home if they wished to see family and loved ones before being ‘locked out’. About a third of the playing group took up this opportunity. Those remaining in Adelaide who don’t have adequate gym facilities at home have effectively raided the Club gym at West Lakes to ensure they have all they need to complete their programs. 

Just as important is the need for players, coaches and football staff to stay connected during this period. There are plenty of phone calls, text messages and emails flying around, along with anything from group fitness sessions to cooking classes being conducted using video conferencing technology. 

When will we learn what is going to happen with our membership money?

Firstly, I want to thank you for your patience as we try and work our way through these extremely confronting and difficult times. We have been overwhelmed by positive and supportive messages and many of these have been shared with players, coaches and staff. Much of it has been uplifting to hear and it has helped inspire people more than you might realise. We aren’t surprised about the passion shown because you have been doing it from the beginning. However, I want you to know those working day-to-day at the Club constantly talk about how special it is and everyone in the Crows family feels very proud. 

I think you now appreciate that the last few weeks have been about your Club’s survival and in particular understanding the true scale of the issues, and beginning to chart a course to get us through it. We have been doing this as a Club and collectively as a football industry. That is why we have asked for time to come back to you regarding your membership.

It goes without saying that retention of our membership will be critical to our capacity to emerge from what many are describing as the game’s worst-ever crisis. Like all sporting clubs, membership is our greatest strength and we need you now more than ever. We have been amazed by the response of so many that have pledged to stand firm with us during this time regardless of what unfolds. Indeed, we have even had some Members make donations to the Club beyond their membership to assist us in this fight. 

Equally, we understand some Members, due to changes in their personal circumstances resulting from the coronavirus, have questions regarding their status and benefits. If that’s the case, like we do every year, please contact the Club and we will work to accommodate your specific needs.

Outside of that, we ask for a little more time from you so we can fully understand both the extent of the problems we face, as well as what the structure of the 2020 season will be when it returns at some stage in coming months. We will then be better placed to provide all Members with various options to consider. 

In the meantime, we will continue to service your needs as best we can and provide more digital content than ever so you remain connected and engaged with the players and Club. I pledge to also communicate as often as possible. 

How does this much talked about financial crisis affect our North Adelaide development?

Unfortunately, the significant impact of the coronavirus together with the uncertainty that it has created within the AFL and the broader community has forced us to put this planning process on hold. As we all know, these are unprecedented times and we must make the health and wellbeing of our people the utmost priority, while also focussing on the Club’s survival in the face of the biggest financial crisis the sport has ever faced. On Friday afternoon, I reluctantly wrote to City of Adelaide CEO Mark Goldstone to officially withdraw from the process as we can’t meet the required obligations and timelines of the formal process right now. If there was an opportunity to merely pause the process we would have elected to do that. We still consider our proposal to be compelling and were excited by the widespread support from the South Australian public, including those who contributed to the council’s public consultation process which showed nearly 60 per cent to be in favour of the project. We plan to revisit the opportunity at a later date should it remain a viable option.

Why has the club invested in baseball and esports initiatives?

I have been asked this question many times since we acquired the Legacy Esports and the Adelaide Giants franchises. Put simply, we did this to diversify and strengthen our Club operations which in turn would help sustain investment into our football programs. This is exactly what has happened. These operations are fully resourced and they do not impact the role of people in our football department, and they remain 100% focussed on winning footy games.

Each of these acquisitions has, in turn, led to further diversification and revenue generation opportunities. For example in baseball, we run the Giants but also host training camps for professional and university teams from Asia. This recently included one of Korea’s largest baseball teams conducting a six-week training camp in Adelaide, with over 100 players and support staff injecting more than $1m into the South Australian economy. We also entered into an agreement to deliver financial shared services support to Baseball Australia, as well as being contracted to deliver live streaming services during the season.

Our ownership of Legacy, which has attracted sponsorship support from well-known brands such as Samsung, Optus and Harvey Norman, has also presented an opportunity to establish META High School Esports. It is a competition platform that now operates tournaments across Australia and New Zealand.

I hope the above gives you greater clarity across the topics that seemed to be of most interest. I should also add that we will be moving forward with our plans to create a Member advisory panel in the near future.

Once again, we will continue to communicate with you as often as possible during these constantly changing and challenging times. Despite skeleton staffing, we are also upping the amount of content on our website and social media channels, while The Crows Show will continue to air on Channel 7 Adelaide on Saturday mornings so please tune in!

Finally, please take care of yourself and each other, and stay safe. 

We Fly As One! 

Regards,

Andrew Fagan
Crows CEO