National Rugby League side Parramatta Eels is "about to complete another year smeared in red ink" but the financial impact of finally securing a major sponsor is "more than matched by the symbolism" in the eyes of CEO Bernie Gurr, according to Brent Read of THE AUSTRALIAN. The club ended its "painstaking" search for a new backer after signing a two-year deal with property development company Aland. The deal has "come too late to prevent the football club suffering another mega-loss" -- a year after the Eels recorded a deficit of more than A$11M ($8.3M) "in the wake of the salary cap scandal." However, it means the club will have a major sponsor on the front of its jersey "for the first time in more than 12 months." Gurr suggested that, "as much as anything," this reflects the amount of work the club has done to repair its "battered image in the wake of the salary cap scandal." Gurr: "It is two things. It is financially very important and I am very comfortable with the financial deal we have done. Number two, symbolically. Parramatta has had that much negative symbolism and negative perception in the last six, seven, eight years." He added, "Symbolically now to get that behind us ... this is a very good indication we have taken a pretty big step past that because we had significant reputation damage." The Eels' "heavy debts" in '16 "owed much to the cap scandal." The club's losses this season are "largely a legacy of that debilitating controversy, as well as an ongoing court battle with former major sponsor Dyldam Development." The Eels launched legal action against Dyldam in late '16 over allegations the company had "failed to meet its sponsor commitments." That case is continuing and "so are the legal costs" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 11/16).
