Port Adelaide president Brett Duncanson is confident the struggling Power will be able to turn themselves into a sustainable business, despite announcing a $3.16 million loss for 2011 on Monday afternoon.
In an oddly-worded press release from the club, the Power actually announced an operating profit of $887,971 but this factored in over four million worth of grants from the SANFL, that comprised of 2.05 million, which was held over from 2010, and $2 million made available through an AFL loan to the SA Football Commission.
The $3.16 million loss is still better than last year's $3.69 million dollar shortfall despite the club's 16th-place finish, but it represents the fourth consecutive year the club has lost money after $1.4 million and $2.9 million losses in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
Duncanson, though, believes the upcoming move from AAMI Stadium to their new home at the Adelaide Oval in 2014 will enable the club to eventually turn their perilous financial position around.
"That's why they've come through and secured the grants over the following two years leading into Adelaide Oval," Duncanson told 5AA radio on Monday afternoon.
"Then the model that falls out of Adelaide Oval does create a sustainable business for the Port Adelaide football club."
"(But) we want to underline that it is still a loss before grants."
"We're not hiding behind there's any profit there that we can put flashy lights around, it's not acceptable."
"We're moving forward and (there's) some very good indicators post the end of this season that we're seeing both on and off the field that things will turn around a lot quicker than we hoped."
Duncanson said two or three significant corporate sponsorship deals were set to be announced before Christmas, but indicated some of these were at a crucial stage in negotiations.
However, he assured supporters there would be an extra $1 million dollars added to the football department budget in a big boost for second-year coach Matt Primus, who was hamstrung by a lack of assistants throughout 2011.
"In that budget next year, we've injected another million dollars into the football department," Duncanson said.
"(It) still puts us in the bottom quarter (of spending across the AFL) but it gives Matty the resources and the people he requires around him 'cause we simply didn't have the money to spend before the grants for 2011 for Matty."
And, in further good news to Port's embattled supporters, the club president actually gave the thumbs up to the training ground fight that broke out between Jay Schulz and Jackson Trengove last week.
"I'll take my president's hat off and put on my supporter's one, but I thought it was fantastic," he said.
"Look it must have been a slow week in the media but I saw Schulzy today just in passing, and he was laughing about it and I know Jackson, who's a very passionate young man, laughed about it."
"But in all seriousness, that's the intensity they're putting out on the track and we believe it's a great sign for us and I'm sure ... it's happened forever and great for our guys to be showing that sort of passion and flying the flag."