Knights members are prepared to take back their club. Source: Getty Images
THE Newcastle Knights' members board will head into Monday's crisis meeting with officials from the Knights ready to reclaim control of their embattled club amid fears the financial predicament facing owner Nathan Tinkler's Hunter Sports Group is worse than originally thought.
The move follows news of the one-time coal billionaire's crumbling empire, which hit a crisis point on Thursday when the Australian Taxation Office filed to have HSG and its subsidiaries - the Knights and A-League club the Newcastle Jets - wound up due to unpaid tax bills totalling $2.7 million.
The specially convened board meeting was initially slated for tomorrow, but was put back 24 hours to enable all board members to be present.
Chairman of the members board Nicholas Dan, a leading Newcastle lawyer, revealed taking back the licence was one of the key options the directors would debate at the meeting.
"Given the gravity of the situation and with the Hunter Sports Group having missed one ATO-imposed deadline for non-payment of back taxes, we need to have a plan in place should the worse happen," Dan said.
"We've also asked Knights chief executive Matt Gidley and former player Paul Harragon to be in attendance along with HSG chief executive Troy Palmer.
"It would be nice to have Tinkler there, but I doubt it.
"The gravity of the situation is not lost on my fellow board members, the playing group, coaches and on the broader Newcastle community. We also need to have a business plan in place ready for any eventuality, including a smooth succession in the event of the worst happening and that is to see the Tinkler organisation go to the wall."
At the same time, talks between key FFA stakeholders and the Newcastle Jets continued behind closed doors for much of yesterday with no resolution to the A-League club's plight.
Unlike the Knights, there is no financial safety valve in place for the Jets in the case of Tinkler's business empire collapsing.
While the Knights remain protected by a $20m bank guarantee which is due to expire on January 31, the Jets have no such backstop should Tinkler, who is also being pursued by a host of creditors outside of the ATO and NSW state government, fails to meet his financial obligations.
The one saving grace is that the O'Farrell government is chasing the Knights, and not the Jets, as the Hunter Stadium's primary tenant for an unpaid rent bill of $593,000 and a further $400,000 for the returfing of the surface.
FFA chief executive David Gallop has said several times in recent days that he has no concerns about Tinkler's financial position.
While Gallop declined to comment when contacted by The Weekend Australian yesterday, sources say the Jets remain a key plank in the A-League's future, particularly with the FFA's new $160m, four-year television deal with Fox Sports and SBS.
The broadcasting contract states that FFA will provide five matches each week.
No comments:
Post a Comment