Hobart sporting clubs feeling the pinch

Hobart Football Club president Josh Munting said clubs were finding it harder than ever to fundraise at a time when costs continued to skyrocket. He said he was sympathetic to Kingborough clubs, who could soon be slapped with new $15 hourly oval hire fees proposed by Kingborough Council. However, Hobart City Council’s fees are even higher, with Hobart FC paying $55 per hour for training sessions at the TCA ground and $90 per hour for winter matches. New Town Oval charges $94 per hour for summer matches while North Hobart Oval charges $112 per hour for winter matches. “I think council should be looking at the benefits of the various community sport organisations and what they add to the city,” Mr Munting said.“Any increases to ground hire fees compounds other increasing costs which community clubs are facing and either adds additional fundraising requirements to ever-shrinking volunteer bases or result in additional charges to participants in grassroot sport.”Alderman Jeff Briscoe, who chairs council’s Parks and Recreation Committee, said he was always happy to hear from clubs who were struggling to pay ground hire fees. Mr Briscoe said the last thing they wanted to do was deter local sport because players couldn’t afford the fees.“We don’t seek cost recovery for any of our sporting recreation grounds because we have a community obligation to encourage recreational activity,” he said.“I’m always keen to have deputations from sporting clubs if they believe their fees are too high and would discourage people from using our grounds.”Kettering Cricket Club president Reece Schuth said he was worried about the club’s finances after a tough season last year due the wet weather and home-game cancellations. Additionally Mr Schuth said they’d been hoping to get a women’s team into the next competition which would add extra pressure to the budget if the hourly fees came in.He said Covid had made fundraising hard for clubs across the board and they had a lot of catching up to do in the coming season. “We’re hoping to try and bump up those functions, and we’re definitely going to have to if this hourly rate fee comes in,” Mr Schuth said.“We’re just a little bit worried. I’m sure we’re going to have to end up cutting something, but it just seemed like quite a lot all of a sudden.”Mr Schuth said he opposed the hourly fees, but was happy to pay a one-off yearly fee which is the practice in certain other Tasmanian local government areas.Kingborough councillor Clare Glade-Wright said she opposed the hourly-fee model and would be consulting with sports clubs to hear their alternative suggestions. ‘Lack of understanding’: Sporting clubs slugged to use training fieldsSports clubs are about to be slapped with hourly rates for using their local sporting grounds under a new fee proposed by Kingborough Council.The additional charges would kick in from July 2023, ramping up year on year before reaching $15 per hour in five years. Based on current usage, it would cost the Kingborough Lions United FC over $26,000, Taroona FC over $9000 and Summerleas Eagles Cricket Club $6000. Deputy mayor candidate Kaspar Deane, who plays for Taroona FC and Kettering Cricket Club, said he was dismayed by this decision. Mr Deane, who is also a schoolteacher, said this new fee would make sport participation less affordable for Kingborough families who were already struggling with the rising cost of living. “Why council would be looking at imposing further costs on parents and members of the community at a time like this really surprises me,” Mr Deane said.“My view is councillors should be doing what they can to reduce costs for junior clubs to incentivise participation in sport, not increasing costs.”Mayor Paula Wriedt said she anticipated this would be an unpopular move, but said it was a necessary decision given council’s own rising costs. She said council spent $1.4 million per year on oval turf, and would still run at a loss even with the new hourly fees.Ms Wriedt said other municipalities such as Hobart City Council already charged fees for their ovals and had done for some time. Ms Wriedt said this would merely bring Kingborough’s outdoor sports clubs in line with indoor clubs who already pay hourly fees to use the facilities. “The reality is we spend over a million dollars per year maintaining all of the sports grounds we have throughout the municipality and those costs are escalating,” she said.“We know that a lot of those clubs have the potential to fundraise … A sausage sizzle or something as simple as that would well and truly cover a season’s worth of ground hire.”Mr Deane said the mayor’s comments were not reasonable, since clubs would need to sell tens of thousands of snags per year to cover the new hourly fees.He said the Kingborough Lions would have to pull off one incredibly profitable sausage sizzle if they were to raise the $26,000 needed to cover the new hourly rates.“I think it shows a lack of understanding in this policy from council about the hard working nature of clubs,” he said.“They’re doing everything they can do to raise revenue through sponsorship, players, fundraising, so to think they can do an extra sausage sizzle to cover $10,000 is inappropriate.”The proposal to look into sports ground fees was first moved by Alderman Clare Glade-Wright.She suggested a report be written looking into different possibilities for fees, but said she did not agree with the hourly fee structure that was eventually recommended in the report. Ms Glade-Wright said she believed council needed to do more consultation with sports clubs to find a fee model that worked for them.

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July 10, 2022 at 11:30PM
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Hobart Football Club president Josh Munting said clubs were finding it harder than ever to fundraise at a time when costs continued to skyrocket. He said he was sympathetic to Kingborough clubs, who could soon be slapped with new $15 hourly oval hire fees proposed by Kingborough Council. However, Hobart City Council’s fees are even higher, with Hobart FC paying $55 per hour for training sessions at the TCA ground and $90 per hour for winter matches. New Town Oval charges $94 per hour for summer matches while North Hobart Oval charges $112 per hour for winter matches. “I think council should be looking at the benefits of the various community sport organisations and what they add to the city,” Mr Munting said.“Any increases to ground hire fees compounds other increasing costs which community clubs are facing and either adds additional fundraising requirements to ever-shrinking volunteer bases or result in additional charges to participants in grassroot sport.”Alderman Jeff Briscoe, who chairs council’s Parks and Recreation Committee, said he was always happy to hear from clubs who were struggling to pay ground hire fees. Mr Briscoe said the last thing they wanted to do was deter local sport because players couldn’t afford the fees.“We don’t seek cost recovery for any of our sporting recreation grounds because we have a community obligation to encourage recreational activity,” he said.“I’m always keen to have deputations from sporting clubs if they believe their fees are too high and would discourage people from using our grounds.”Kettering Cricket Club president Reece Schuth said he was worried about the club’s finances after a tough season last year due the wet weather and home-game cancellations. Additionally Mr Schuth said they’d been hoping to get a women’s team into the next competition which would add extra pressure to the budget if the hourly fees came in.He said Covid had made fundraising hard for clubs across the board and they had a lot of catching up to do in the coming season. “We’re hoping to try and bump up those functions, and we’re definitely going to have to if this hourly rate fee comes in,” Mr Schuth said.“We’re just a little bit worried. I’m sure we’re going to have to end up cutting something, but it just seemed like quite a lot all of a sudden.”Mr Schuth said he opposed the hourly fees, but was happy to pay a one-off yearly fee which is the practice in certain other Tasmanian local government areas.Kingborough councillor Clare Glade-Wright said she opposed the hourly-fee model and would be consulting with sports clubs to hear their alternative suggestions. ‘Lack of understanding’: Sporting clubs slugged to use training fieldsSports clubs are about to be slapped with hourly rates for using their local sporting grounds under a new fee proposed by Kingborough Council.The additional charges would kick in from July 2023, ramping up year on year before reaching $15 per hour in five years. Based on current usage, it would cost the Kingborough Lions United FC over $26,000, Taroona FC over $9000 and Summerleas Eagles Cricket Club $6000. Deputy mayor candidate Kaspar Deane, who plays for Taroona FC and Kettering Cricket Club, said he was dismayed by this decision. Mr Deane, who is also a schoolteacher, said this new fee would make sport participation less affordable for Kingborough families who were already struggling with the rising cost of living. “Why council would be looking at imposing further costs on parents and members of the community at a time like this really surprises me,” Mr Deane said.“My view is councillors should be doing what they can to reduce costs for junior clubs to incentivise participation in sport, not increasing costs.”Mayor Paula Wriedt said she anticipated this would be an unpopular move, but said it was a necessary decision given council’s own rising costs. She said council spent $1.4 million per year on oval turf, and would still run at a loss even with the new hourly fees.Ms Wriedt said other municipalities such as Hobart City Council already charged fees for their ovals and had done for some time. Ms Wriedt said this would merely bring Kingborough’s outdoor sports clubs in line with indoor clubs who already pay hourly fees to use the facilities. “The reality is we spend over a million dollars per year maintaining all of the sports grounds we have throughout the municipality and those costs are escalating,” she said.“We know that a lot of those clubs have the potential to fundraise … A sausage sizzle or something as simple as that would well and truly cover a season’s worth of ground hire.”Mr Deane said the mayor’s comments were not reasonable, since clubs would need to sell tens of thousands of snags per year to cover the new hourly fees.He said the Kingborough Lions would have to pull off one incredibly profitable sausage sizzle if they were to raise the $26,000 needed to cover the new hourly rates.“I think it shows a lack of understanding in this policy from council about the hard working nature of clubs,” he said.“They’re doing everything they can do to raise revenue through sponsorship, players, fundraising, so to think they can do an extra sausage sizzle to cover $10,000 is inappropriate.”The proposal to look into sports ground fees was first moved by Alderman Clare Glade-Wright.She suggested a report be written looking into different possibilities for fees, but said she did not agree with the hourly fee structure that was eventually recommended in the report. Ms Glade-Wright said she believed council needed to do more consultation with sports clubs to find a fee model that worked for them.