Ron Gordon aims to double Hibs' player budget in three years

Club owner unveils ambitious plan
Ron GordonRon Gordon
Ron Gordon

Ron Gordon has revealed he intends to double Hibs’ player budget – already the highest it has been – in only three years as part of his ambitious plans for the future of the Easter Road club.

The American-based businessman, who paid off the Edinburgh outfit’s £2.25 million mortgage and injected £1.25m into its bank account when he bought out Sir Tom Farmer last summer, unveiled a five-year blueprint when he addressed his first annual shareholders meeting last night.

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While Gordon has adopted a low-key approach since taking over the reins from Sir Tom, the multi-millionaire insisted the past eight months have been spent conducting a rigorous review of the club’s operations.

Six taskforces were set up to assess every facet of the business with employees charged with visiting other clubs – including Tottenham Hotspur – to investigate their best practices and how they could be implemented at Hibs.

And with the club in a strong position – debt free and with more than £5m in the bank – Gordon is intent on overseeing many successful years on the pitch backed by a financially sound, sustainable and innovative business.

He has set ambitious targets of increasing turnover 50 per cent by 2023 and 100 per cent by 2025 but supporters will be most excited by his aim of doubling the player budget in just three years’ time.

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Intent on “growing the brand” while providing a much enhanced matchday experience for fans, Gordon revealed the player budget had been “bumped up a bit” during a January transfer window in which Stephane Omeonga, Marc McNulty, Paul McGinn and Greg Docherty were all brought to the club.

“We went beyond what our border was,” he admitted, while claiming the quality of the team had been “up-ticked”, before adding: “I think our goal over the next three years is to double the budget we have right now.

“There are no guarantees in football, just because you have the most money does not mean you’re going to win. It does give us the possibility that we can be more competitive on a more consistent basis.

“It goes back to the whole idea of growing the business side, if we can increase our revenues, which if you look at Scottish football right now, we’re fifth from a turnover perspective and I’d like us to be fourth, third.

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“We have a long way to go because Aberdeen has a substantially higher number budget and turnover, the same thing with Hearts. We need to move up that ladder. A lot of the funds that are going to be generated operationally are going to go into the football programme.”

Gordon admitted doubling turnover in the projected period was a “very ambitious goal”, current turnover this year is expected to be £10m, down from last year when the club enjoyed European income.

But he believes the club is undersold, adamant ticket sales can be improved as can commercial revenues with a new team in place.

He said: “We don’t have to increase tickets that much, my goal within the next five years is to hopefully get to a situation where we have sell outs on a consistent basis, not just the Hearts game or the Rangers game. Season-ticket wise we are at 13,000 right now, but if we can get to 13,500, 13,700 that gives us a stronger base.

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“The other area is sponsorships. That is an area that has been difficult, but we have put together a new team in sales and hopefully they can deliver.

“Other than Celtic, which probably has a massive portfolio of partners at a substantial price, the rest of the clubs, I think, are struggling. I find it amazing although maybe I’m being naive or foolish, but is there a more emotional connector in Scotland than football?

“I think football has a level of emotional connection in Scotland that is amazing. It’s one of the things that attracted me to this club. I think we undersell that because we need to have more money in the game.”