The Otago Rugby Football Union has released a quarter of its contracted players, is struggling to meet rising interest costs on its $6 million of debt and is desperately hoping a stadium will be built so it can offload ownership of Carisbrook.
ORFU chief executive Richard Reid yesterday declined to reveal what the loss would be or whether it was comparable to the record $1,144,414 the union lost last year.
‘‘We're not avoiding it. We will be recording a substantial loss,' Reid told the Otago Daily Times.
‘‘I can't give the figure yet because our stakeholders need to be informed. We've got a constitutional requirement to follow a process, and we will do that.''
The ORFU must release its accounts 10 working days before its annual meeting on February 26.
Reid is confident the struggling ORFU will bounce back financially by slashing player costs and getting a major income boost from hosting an All Black test this year.
Otago has reduced its number of contracted players from 35 to 26, the minimum each of the 14 premier unions is required to have on its books.
The test between the All Blacks and the Springboks in July will likely pour close to $500,000 into the union's coffers.
‘‘We've got to cut our cloth and live within our means. We've got to look at our income and our expenses and work out how to deal with that,'' Reid said.
‘‘I'm confident the 2008 budget is prudent and achievable. It's not going to be easy. But we've been very realistic looking at the next year as to what our income streams are and what our expenses are.''
The ORFU remains the only major union to own its own ground and has made it clear it wants to be a tenant at the proposed Awatea St stadium.
Reid declined to say whether the ORFU or its board had made poor decisions, but acknowledged the union would face that question.
He did not believe Otago rugby's financial woes warranted any more scrutiny than the challenges being faced by other unions such as Southland and Bay of Plenty.
‘‘A lot of rugby unions are in the same boat. And so are major bodies like New Zealand Rugby League and New Zealand Football. I don't think we are any different to a lot of other sporting bodies.''
