After the snow comes the floods and the legion of accountants totting up the tens of millions of pounds lost by British sport during the winter of financial discontent. It is thought that the deluge of snow, ice and now rain could have cost sport £100 million in lost revenue and impending repair and maintenance costs.
Football is thought to have lost more than £10 million, with the Football League adding another six postponed fixtures at the weekend to the list of 72 matches called off during the past month. There were also six games off in the Blue Square Premier and ten more postponed in Scotland.
Racing has been devastated, with more than 50 meetings cancelled since the snow arrived last month and as much as £3 million lost in betting turnover, with courses such as Towcester and Huntingdon losing between £60,000 and £100,000 on cancelled meetings.
But it is small clubs and golf courses used by millions of amateurs that have suffered worst, forced to shut their gates for weeks on end.
Experts warned yesterday that even if the snow ends, the cost of mopping up and getting back into action could be so prohibitive that some clubs will go to the wall. The CCPR, the umbrella organisation formerly known as the Central Council of Physical Recreation that represents more than 150,000 sports clubs across the country, warns that many operate on a margin of a little as £1,000.
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“The concern is that the conditions may affect the ability of clubs to make ends meet during what are already trying times,” the CCPR said. “Many clubs operate bars and social facilities, which help subsidise the upkeep of their sports facilities. If bookings and bar takings fall away, then that will make it difficult for clubs to balance the books.
“The average sports club operates on a margin of plus or minus £1,000, so even the smallest reduction in revenue has the potential to push it into deficit.”
The weather has forced the closure of dozens of pay-and-play golf courses that rely on a regular flow of players through the doors. The National Association of Public and Proprietary Golf Clubs and Courses, which has about 120 members, was forced to cancel its annual meeting because none of the courses is open.
“We have members who haven’t been open for four weeks or more,” Eddie Mitchell, the organisation’s secretary, said. “It is not just a case of waiting for the snow to go away because the ground will be so wet. These small courses do not have the drainage to cope with the amounts of water that are going to be left behind, so many will struggle for a long time to come.”
Simon Chadwick, the professor of sport business strategy at Coventry University, warned that many professional football clubs and smaller amateur sides will be forced to go to their banks for help.
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“There is the question of cashflow because fixtures have not taken place, so clubs are having to manage in the meantime,” he said. “Then there is money that is lost because crowds have been affected and people have stayed away or events have simply had to be cancelled.
“But there are also staff and running costs that still have to be paid and they have had to be paid for a long time during the freeze.”
For many clubs in the Football League, the financial wolf is always at the door and every postponed match means that cash is not being paid into the bank to pay players’ wages and run empty grounds. Even small clubs in the Coca-Cola Leagues One and Two have lost between £50,000 and £80,000 in gate receipts with every postponed fixture. Notts County, who are desperately seeking finance to stay afloat, have suffered the postponement of three consecutive home games at a time when the club could least afford them.
If the weather can remain calm long enough, the next headache is fixture congestion and the state of pitches.
“Some professional teams haven’t managed to get a game on for weeks and for amateurs that effect will be magnified right across the country,” the CCPR said. “Leagues will have to concentrate games and matches into a shorter space of time and that will have an affect on the quality of some pitches, as well as increasing the risk of injury.”
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A freeze on finances
£5m: lost in betting on football in one weekend
£60,000: potential lost gate receipts at a typical Football League match
300: races cancelled at 50 race meetings since mid-December
78: football League matches postponed since start of the snow last month
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£40: total December takings at Letchworth Par 3 Family Golf Centre
Words by Kevin Eason