CCM v MVC: Match preview
2:57
THE Mariners host Melbourne Victory at North Sydney Oval on Friday night, but why is the Central Coast club creeping into the northern Sydney region
?
The club’s owner, Mike Charlesworth, says there are two simple answers: financial necessity and pure ambition.
When Charlesworth took over ownership of the club 18 months ago the Mariners were, “roughly in $4 million worth of debt from the previous administration”.
“We’re losing less money today than we were a year ago,” Charleworth said.
“The business model is there, but we can’t lose more money - no business can continue if it’s losing money.”
Last season the Mariners played one game at North Sydney Oval, this season they will add a game at Manly’s Brookvale Oval, but going forward Charlesworth says the club will play a maximum of four matches in northern Sydney.
The average crowd at Central Coast Stadium this season is just 7619 and Charlesworth says it’s crucial for the club to build a new supporter base that will ensure the Mariners stick around for years to come.
He insists the move is not at the expense of the Central Coast community, but admits there is a danger of isolating the club’s local fans.
“We’re investing heavily in the Central Coast,” he said.
“We’re building the Centre of Excellence up in Tuggerah and we’re investing huge amounts of money in local jobs. We’re willing to commit 10, 11 games a year to be played at Central Coast stadium.
“Of course they’ve got questions and so they should, they’re football fans of the club and long may they continue to be, but from a purely commercial point of view we need to broaden our supporter base.
“We need more people attending the games and watching on TV. To really make the club financially viable we have to do something and that means doing a job in the northern Sydney region, where there are 50,000 registered players with no real affinity to any club and we’d like them to be Mariners supporters in years to come.”
But how realistic is it to expect those based in northern Sydney to adopt a Central Coast club?
“It’s a process and I think it will take several years and a lot of hard work, but it’s something we need to do,” Charlesworth said.
“
We don’t want to be pigeonholed into an area that’s got a 100,000 people - 100,000 people in the Gosford area doesn’t sustain a professional sporting club of any particular sport.”
Charlesworth, who says he is “totally, 100 per cent committed” to the Mariners, says branching out is also all about ambition.
The Mariners have punched above their weight for years - now it’s time to compete financially with the top clubs in the A-League.
“We don’t want to be sitting on the table with all the small clubs,” he said.
“We’re very ambitious. We want to be competing financially with Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory, and why not? We’ve got the opportunity to do it. In years to come we want to have top marquee players coming to the club. But we can’t do that unless we’ve got a financial model in place that actually sustains.” [\QUOTE]
