Once the NRL’s paupers, Cronulla Sharks insist club is ‘sustainable’ as they prepare to post $5 million turnaround

The Sharks also played all home games away from their traditional base at PointsBet Stadium last year while its leagues club is being refurbished.

Cronulla chief executive Dino Mezzatesta said the club hopes to return to PointsBet Stadium in 2022, even if the ground only has limited capacity. It is likely to only increase the club’s profitability, especially when the leagues club is operational again.

“This makes sure we’re sustainable and we’re very proud of the result.”

Dino Mezzatesta

The Sharks’ 2019 financial result was the worst of any Sydney-based NRL club, but a remarkable 12 months has finally provided surer financial footing at the end of 2020.

“Even if you take away the increased NRL grant and JobKeeper subsidies we were still going to be in the red, so we’ve put together a fairly comprehensive remediation plan,” Mezzatesta said.

“We’ve got an exceptional executive team, which was restructured and they brought into the plan very quickly. If we extend that further, the entire group brought into it very quickly.

“We worked with our key sponsors from day one and made sure we were in touch with them about their business and their requirements and our business and our requirements. You put all that together and you get this end result, which is impressive.

“This makes sure we’re sustainable and we’re very proud of the result.”

So stark has been the off-field reversal in fortunes of the Sharks, they’re even poised to announce a better financial result for 2020 than the might of the Broncos.

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Brisbane reported a $470,000 loss last financial year after their worst season on the field, which saw them collect the wooden spoon and agree to a severance package with coach Anthony Seibold.

The 16 NRL clubs lost a staggering combined $33 million during the 2019 reporting period, but the numbers will be far better in 2020 given the NRL propped up all with emergency funding packages during a COVID-impacted season.

Yet, the Sharks’ result will be one of the most significant given their history of posting troubling losses and a renewed focus from chairman Steve Mace and the board to shore up their future.

“Our culture is we’re no longer a football club, we’re a football business,” Mace said.

The board has also signalled its intention to transform the club into a powerhouse on the field, trying to lure the legendary Bellamy to the shire from 2022.