“An uncertain financial future”. This is the expression that stands out from the report of the regional chamber of accounts published on Tuesday. She has just taken an interest in the financial situation of Stade Brestois: “L’debt remains reasonable. But the effects of restrictions linked to the health crisis on subscription and ticketing revenues are combined with major uncertainty weighing on television rights. With revenues therefore fragile and dependent on a difficult maintenance in Ligue 1, the financial future appears uncertain. notes the report.
We are not worried but we are very vigilant. -Pascal Robert
Rather raw terms that are not shared by the club. Pascal Robert is the manager of Stade Brestois: “We are not worried. We control the financial part of the club, the future is not uncertain. We work with the money we have and we are careful.” In addition, the director states: “We think we will end the 2021/2022 season in the positive. The debt is not that important.”
15 million less
In addition to the health situation, the television rights crisis with the end of the Mediapro contract did not do the business of the club: “We had planned 15 million more budget over the four years. So we adapted and it was necessary to compensate for this lossespecially with player sales for example.” Sales which are not taken into account in the report of the room. “In this report, certain significant elements do not appear as the sale of Faivre during the transfer window”, completes the director. A sale which represents a contribution of more than 15 million euros for the club, all the same.
A new stadium pointed out
The regional chamber also emphasizes “the envisaged construction of a new stadium in the next few years”. According to her, this construction “must also take into account these weaknesses and this unfavorable context.” However, the director of the club believes that this new stadium is precisely a additional financial windfall for the club : “The arrival of this new stadium is to respond to requests and provide additional financial products. Today we have 26 boxes and we are overbooked. If we had the double we would sell them. Finally, we will have a tool that will allow us to meet the demands of companies in the tip of Brittany and generate additional revenue. That’s the point.”
Better define the management of public subsidies
In a second step, the regional chamber of accounts invites the club to review the legal, material and financial relations with the support association and the local authorities. The agreement that binds the Société Anonyme du Stade Brestois (SASB) to its support association came to an end last summer. The chamber considers that this is an opportunity to improve this agreement: “The previous agreement was characterized by inaccuracies and inconsistencies affecting its readability and not allowing a strict separation of the professional field (responsible for the company) and the amateur sector (responsible for the association). The management of public subsidies, for the benefit of one or the other of the two parties, must in particular be better defined, as well as the methods of use of the sports equipment entrusted by the communities.
Take into account the actual turnover and the amount of work
The regional chamber also observes that the SASB is linked to several local authorities by subsidy and service contracts, as well as by the provision of the municipal stadium and training facilities. However, according to the chamber, “the amount of royalties paid by the company, fixed, is disconnected both from the actual turnover and the amount of the work it has financed for several years on the public domain that it uses”. The Chamber invites the various partners to take these realities into account in the next provision agreement.