Scottish Rugby could lose £18m because of Covid-19 - Mark Dodson
- Published
Scotland played France in an empty Murrayfield last weekend
Scottish Rugby could lose £18m by May as a consequence of Covid-19, warns chief executive Mark Dodson.
Speaking at the second stage of the union's AGM on Thursday, Dodson insisted that the "business is stable" after a restructuring with the bank.
However, the meeting was told that turnover was down £5.5m from £61m, mainly due to a lack of gate receipts.
"We face ongoing challenges that may obstruct our progress and alter timeframes," Dodson said.
"But Scottish Rugby was a strong business going into this pandemic and will still be a strong business when we come out of this crisis."
Players and executives took wages cuts in April, while other staff were placed on furlough.
Despite that, though, Dodson cautioned that the ongoing absence of spectators will lead to a significant drop in revenue.
Indeed, in a statement, Scottish Rugby warned that the 2021 Six Nations could be played without fans and next year's Autumn Tests could conceivable suffer too.
The chief executive reiterated the need to "work in tandem with government" to either gets fans back in or negotiate "some rescue package".
The financial figures remain subject to a final audit and will be presented for approval at the third stage of the agm in December.