VenuesWest, Netball WA shoot for common goal

Netball WA is forecasting a rise in revenue as it diversifies into facilities management.

Netball WA is planning for a boost to annual revenue of more than 30 per cent as its forthcoming move into the State Netball Centre creates new opportunities for income.

The association has struck a deal with VenuesWest to work together on managing the new $26 million facility, which Netball WA chief executive Simon Taylor said was likely to increase revenue by $1 million in the first year.

“This is a model that [VenuesWest] is keen to explore … it’s a management model that sees both organisations come together regularly to oversee management and to take advantage of the expertise of VenuesWest,” Mr Taylor said.

Under the agreement, VenuesWest will retain responsibility for functions such as asset management, but Netball WA will take on more operational aspects of managing the facility.

It’s an arrangement similar to the one between VenuesWest and Basketball WA, which came into effect in October.

“They see it as an opportunity to get some efficiencies with having the sport run the sport and also running the facility that that sport needs; us being in charge of booking the venue for our requirements makes a lot of sense,” Mr Taylor said.

The $1 million boost to revenue is expected to help push Netball WA’s annual turnover past the $8 million mark – up from about $6 million for the current financial year.

Mr Taylor said the association had also refreshed its program to focus on engaging children aged between five and 10, with participant numbers increasing as a result along with revenue.

“Twelve months ago we had 4,000 participants in that program, this year we’ve had 11,000 participants and we’ll continue to grow that,” Mr Taylor told Business News.

Netball WA is working on an ambitious strategic plan, which includes increasing participant numbers to 200,000 by 2018. Mr Taylor said current participation numbers of around 125,000 was a good starting point for reaching the target.

It also wants to double its revenue from sponsorship and grants to $5 million and achieve overall turnover of $10 million.

Mr Taylor said sponsorship deals had matured to having more focus on engaging with participants, rather than brand exposure.

“It hasn’t gone completely away from brand but the engagement is significantly greater and that’s probably one of the areas that we have the greatest strength over some other sports,” he said.

Netball WA was expected to have already moved into the new State Netball Centre, but a fire in July delayed the shift, also causing up to $2 million worth of damage.

Mr Taylor said the new centre would create significant benefits for netball as a whole, as well as the state’s West Coast Fever team.

“The sport in Western Australia is 90 years old this year, and over that time we’ve never really had our own home,” he said.

“We have honour boards that are sitting in warehouses because we’ve got nowhere for them to be hung.

“This is an opportunity to bring that past into the centre and to recognise the contributions that everybody’s made over that time; it’s those sorts of elements that make it a club and make it a home.”