Tweet
THEIR Chairmans' Club is home to some of Australia's richest and most influential businessmen.
But the collective worth of multi-millionaire backers such as Nick Politis, David Gyngell, Mark Bouris and John Ibrahim has not stopped the Sydney Roosters from asking their humble fans to fund a new $300,000 gym at the club's Moore Park headquarters.
In a move that's drawn outrage from the Chook Pen's rank and file, members were last week approached to donate their hard-earned toward a "High Performance Project".
Thousands of members have been mailed a brochure detailing exactly how their money will be used to buy cutting-edge equipment including: a vibration platform ($15,000), GPS units ($35,000), a Woodway treadmill ($40,000), a cryosauna ($40,000), blood testing machine ($45,000) and altitude room ($80,000).
The brochure also contains entreaties from coach Brian Smith, star players Mitchell Pearce and Braith Anasta, and in-house sports scientist Lachlan Penfold.
An accompanying letter from CEO Stephen Noyce advises potential contributors that all donations are tax deductible, because the project is registered with the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF).
"Our Head Coach, Brian Smith, believes that this is the best use of funds to ensure that our boys are at their competitive best," Noyce wrote.
But while the scheme resembles a charity, there's been love lost among Roosters fans.
A members-only forum on the club's official website has been inundated with complaints from irked supporters:
"We dish out our hard earned every week, and buy merchandise and now they want more!" crowed Big Rooster. Old Boiler added: "In the last year we have all given to charities ... floods . . . earthquakes etc. It is not something that tugs at my heartstrings."
Noyce last night claimed full responsibility for the idea, and, contrary to the online rants, reported a positive response.
"You're the first person who's contacted me with any concerns or negativity about this," Noyce said.
"We've already had quite a number of people get back to us with their donation forms."
Asked if the Roosters could afford to fund the project without any assistance from fans, Noyce replied: "I think you're missing the point.
"There's a lot of passion and loyalty at this club, and this is a further opportunity for people to engage with us.
"As you've seen from the brochure, there's no hard-sell. There's no obligation."
Noyce also revealed AFL club Western Bulldogs had re-developed their Whitten Oval training base through fan donations via the ASF.
Rival clubs Wests Tigers and Cronulla have redeveloped their gyms over the past 12 months without the financial aid of regular fans. The Daily Telegraph understands both teams received help from corporate backers for the refits, and funded the remainder of the project with their own cash.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1226080288825
But the collective worth of multi-millionaire backers such as Nick Politis, David Gyngell, Mark Bouris and John Ibrahim has not stopped the Sydney Roosters from asking their humble fans to fund a new $300,000 gym at the club's Moore Park headquarters.
In a move that's drawn outrage from the Chook Pen's rank and file, members were last week approached to donate their hard-earned toward a "High Performance Project".
Thousands of members have been mailed a brochure detailing exactly how their money will be used to buy cutting-edge equipment including: a vibration platform ($15,000), GPS units ($35,000), a Woodway treadmill ($40,000), a cryosauna ($40,000), blood testing machine ($45,000) and altitude room ($80,000).
The brochure also contains entreaties from coach Brian Smith, star players Mitchell Pearce and Braith Anasta, and in-house sports scientist Lachlan Penfold.
An accompanying letter from CEO Stephen Noyce advises potential contributors that all donations are tax deductible, because the project is registered with the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF).
"Our Head Coach, Brian Smith, believes that this is the best use of funds to ensure that our boys are at their competitive best," Noyce wrote.
But while the scheme resembles a charity, there's been love lost among Roosters fans.
A members-only forum on the club's official website has been inundated with complaints from irked supporters:
"We dish out our hard earned every week, and buy merchandise and now they want more!" crowed Big Rooster. Old Boiler added: "In the last year we have all given to charities ... floods . . . earthquakes etc. It is not something that tugs at my heartstrings."
Noyce last night claimed full responsibility for the idea, and, contrary to the online rants, reported a positive response.
"You're the first person who's contacted me with any concerns or negativity about this," Noyce said.
"We've already had quite a number of people get back to us with their donation forms."
Asked if the Roosters could afford to fund the project without any assistance from fans, Noyce replied: "I think you're missing the point.
"There's a lot of passion and loyalty at this club, and this is a further opportunity for people to engage with us.
"As you've seen from the brochure, there's no hard-sell. There's no obligation."
Noyce also revealed AFL club Western Bulldogs had re-developed their Whitten Oval training base through fan donations via the ASF.
Rival clubs Wests Tigers and Cronulla have redeveloped their gyms over the past 12 months without the financial aid of regular fans. The Daily Telegraph understands both teams received help from corporate backers for the refits, and funded the remainder of the project with their own cash.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1226080288825
Comment