The positive financial result, announced by Adelaide chairman John Olsen at the club’s annual general meeting last night, is in stark contrast to the $2.84m statutory loss the Crows recorded in FY20.

The profit comes off the back of a 25 per cent increase in revenue – from $38.39m to $48.11m – and a cash operating profit of $3.59m, with the club touting its “football-first approach” following the sale of its short-lived baseball and esports ventures last year.

Adelaide’s membership base grew 10 per cent to 60,232 people, while the women’s team also recorded a 40 per cent increase in members.

The club’s debt remains at $4.5m, the same as FY20, although Olsen said the board and senior management “have a plan to eliminate that by 2025”.

“Our top priority will always be winning games of football and we’re fully invested in both our men’s and women’s programs,” Olsen told the AGM on Tuesday.

“Hard work and commitment from everyone involved with the club led to a sizable increase in revenue.

“[The statutory profit] is a big turnaround from the previous year when we actually had a loss.

“This can be attributed to a careful management of operating costs as well as our members and corporate partners continuing to stand by us during the pandemic period.”

Adelaide’s financial results for FY21. Photo: Adelaide Football Club

Olsen said a strong balance sheet has “never been more important” given the Crows are still on the hunt for a new long-term home, after the State Government knocked back their bid to build a facility at the former Brompton Gasworks site in favour of a Melbourne-based developer.

The Crows chairman said finding a location for the “intergenerational project” has been “complex, exciting and at times terribly frustrating”.

“It continues to be a work in progress … we are currently in discussions with the City of West Torrens and SANFL regarding Thebarton Oval,” he said.

“A lot of energy is being put into this, there’s a lot of discussions that take with various parties and that takes time, but I just want to reinforce the point that it is a high priority.

“We’re working almost daily on the objective.”

Meanwhile, the results of the club’s board elections were announced last night, with media personality Graeme Goodings winning comprehensively with 31.8 per cent of the members’ vote to earn a two-year term as a director.

The long-time Seven News anchor and occasional FiveAA host has been an Adelaide Crows ambassador since 1991. He replaces former member-elected director Nicholas Takos, who resigned from the board in December after taking issue with the club’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

Would like to thank all the members who voted for me for a place on the Adelaide Football Club Board. I will do my best to serve you proudly. Congratulations Jamo for being re-elected for another term. @Adelaide_FC #weflyasone

— Graeme Goodings (@GraemeGoodings) March 1, 2022

Members also voted to re-elect Rod Jameson to the board for another year. The former Crows premiership player, who has served as a director since 2015, garnered 30.6 per cent of the vote share in the seven-way contest.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank executive Richard Fennell and club legend Mark Ricciuto have also had their terms on the board extended.

Voting results from the Adelaide Football Club board elections. Photo: Adelaide Football Club