The Bears and the Magpies are bracing for a devastating financial impact if, as expected, the Tamworth Country Music Festival is cancelled in 2021 because of the pandemic.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Both clubs host festival campers at their grounds annually in January - the money derived from doing so a major component of their revenue streams.
Read more:
Norths committee member Shane Wadwell Snr said the Bears' committee would meet soon to discuss the situation, but he conceded the club was in "turmoil".
"It's gonna be devastating for us," he said. "I don't know how we'll get through the start of football next year."
News of the festival's expected demise comes on top of Norths taking a major financial hit after the 2020 Group 4 season was cancelled because of COVID.
Wadwell said: "We've got a lot of good people there [but] it's gonna be a lot of hard work, I know that ... I don't know: I hope we get through it; it's gonna be tough.
"It sort of gets as through to the next year, every Country Music [Festival]."
Magpies president Mitch Hanlon said the club used festival money to pay off the principal each year on the loan used to construct its clubhouse.
It has to pay $25,000 by January 30.
"That won't be happening," Hanlon said, adding: "Now we're gonna have to negotiate with the bank ... It's the worst year of our lives, really - work wise, sport wise."
Hanlon said the Magpies had already taken a major financial hit because of the truncated New England rugby season, COVID crowd restrictions and sponsorship dollars evaporating.
"Yeah, it's a tough year," he said. "But having this [the festival's forecast demise] makes it tougher."
Tamworth Cricket Incorporated will also take a financial whack if the festival is abandoned. It had expected to contract out the canteen at Riverside 1 in January, to service campers during the event.
Inc chairman Terry Psarakis said the festival revenue was used to operate Cricket House - the organisation's headquarters - but "not a lot of money was involved".
"Look, it is handy money, don't get me wrong," he said, "but it's just enough to keep us going - it's not actually a huge profit-making one.
"It's nothing like the Magpies, or even the North Tamworth Bears, who, I believe, get an enormous amount of money from having campers during the Country Music Festival."
Tamworth Regional Council will decide the festival's fate next week, but the festival's organiser has recommended councillors vote to scrap council-run events during the major tourist magnet.
The festival regularly lures 40,000-plus visitors, contributing more than $50 million to the local economy.
