Hull Stingrays owners Mike and Sue Pack were greeted by a packed Hull Arena bar tonight at the Stingrays first fans forum of the year ahead of the 10/11 Elite League campaign and were open and frank about the clubs past, present and future.
The pair tackled a large number of issues ranging from seating arrangements at the Hull Arena to finances and, while the initial tone of the forum was concerning to the 150+ crowd, there were shoots of positivity that eventually sprouted from the meeting.
Mike Pack opened the meeting by revealing the basics of the Stingrays business plan. In short, last season the club projected costs of £380k, made up of £170k in ticket sales and £180k in other income with a shortfall of £30k which the two owners would cover themselves.
Unfortunately, the reality was that the clubs costs rose to £430k, partially due to replacing injured players, and, while its ticket sales rose to £180k, the income from other things such as 50/50 tickets, merchandise sales and sponsorship reached just £100k, leaving the Packs to foot the enormous £150k bill.
A huge credit should go to the couple for sticking by the team in such circumstances, especially given that previous owners have simply bailed at that point, leaving the club in the lurch. Of course, that means that next season they have to get it right because as the Packs spelled out, there is little or nothing left for them to give the Stingrays financially.
Going forward into next season the business model has changed somewhat. Once again they project that the clubs costs will be around the £380k mark, however, instead of accepting that they would be required to put in £30k at the end of the year they have increased expected ticket sales to £190k, a £10k increase, and put up other income to £190k, also a £10k interest. The important thing about these figures is that the Packs no longer want to put in any more significant money, that means they must work hard to sell £10k worth more of tickets and increase their income from other sources by £90k on last year and £10k on the projected figure from last year.
While the silver lining was that the Packs have been working so hard in the two months since the season finished that they are beginning to work towards the figure for extra income, which is the main reason they had no time to reveal the ten plus signings Sylvain Cloutier has made.
Something which has made the £190k target little harder to achieve, or at least has made the couple work that bit harder, is that Excel Laminating, the company which has put thousands of pounds into the club for seven years now, will not be the teams main title sponsor this coming season. Although they may be involved in sponsorship elsewhere within the club, their seven year association as title sponsor, the second longest ever behind Wella and Basingstoke according the Sue Pack, will come to an end.
The search for a replacement company has begun and although the owners refused to name names, it is thought that they are close to agreeing a deal with an unnamed company that will significantly boost their chances of reaching the £190k figure.
Reaching the all important £190k on both sides will not be easy, however, the Packs stressed that with a lot of hard work and innovative ideas from everybody it is realistic and achievable.
