Concerned Dave Cormack has admitted calling the season has cost Aberdeen £1million and there will be more losses to come as he doesn’t expect fans back in stadiums this year.
The Dons, like every other club in Scotland, are in financial meltdown and the chairman has had to put a number of cost-saving measures in place, including bringing in £2m of investment and asking his team to take wage deferrals, to get his club through the crippling COVID cash crisis.
Pittodrie chairman Cormack has confirmed the calling of the season means the club now has to offer part-refunds to season ticket holders, advertisers, hospitality guests and sponsors that is expected to go into seven figures.
Aberdeen, at least, have the consolation of finishing fourth and going into the Europa League for a seventh consecutive season.
Cormack said: “The cancellation of our remaining fixtures from last season now leaves us with the daunting prospect of a further £1million of potential losses through part refunds across season tickets, advertising, hospitality and sponsorship.
“Where possible, our appeal to supporters, who are in a position to do so, is to leave the partial refund with the club to help address our funding shortfall and continue to support our community outreach work as part of the #StillStandingFree campaign.
“We could have wriggled out of offering partial refunds, but we don’t believe that is the right thing to do and that has been our whole ethos throughout this crisis.
“It’s about who we are as a club, at the heart of our city region, supporting our fans and the wider community.
“We know that many supporters are experiencing hardship and it’s therefore important that a partial refund is made available.”
Cormack knows it has been a hard time for Scottish football and he doesn’t see any signs of recovery this year. Football might return behind closed doors but he doesn’t see fans back in grounds until 2021.
He confirmed: “Now that the SPFL has brought the 2019/20 season to an end, I wanted to update fans on the club’s financial situation.
“Like every other club, we face a major, and ever-growing cashflow challenge as a result of the continued suspension of football.
“At the end of March we announced that AFC had taken swift steps to address the financial consequences of no games in the short-term with some cost-cutting measures, but mainly through deferral of salaries and furloughing relevant groups of staff.
“We also secured an additional £2million from investors.
“Two months ago our assumption was there would be no games in front of fans until September.
“It now looks likely that this will not be the case until early 2021.
“Our goal was, and remains, to do what we can to safeguard jobs and support our community. We can only do so by ensuring the ongoing viability of the club. “
The Red Army has already snapped up more than 5,000 season tickets for next season. That revenue is vital but knows that fans again might not get full value with the lockdown.
Cormack explained: “The support we have had from the Red Army has been exceptional, particularly through the sale of 5,000 season tickets for 2020/21 and that’s something we won’t take for granted!
“I restate that we commit to providing full value for season ticket sales, and will address this when we know 100 per cent when we will be playing again.
With no income until football resumes, all our energies are focused on three priorities:
“Financial planning based on the various scenarios of when and how football can resume
“Measures to deliver value for our fans who have bought and continue to buy season tickets for the new season
“Planning for getting back to playing as quickly but as safely as we can, both behind closed doors and in front of fans.
“As a lifelong fan myself, and as I have stated many times, it’s our club. “Let’s come out of this crisis a stronger club and a stronger community. We will get through this, but only with your support, and only if we are together!
