PORT Adelaide's surprise rise through the AFL ranks has delivered a boost to the club's coffers.
Speaking ahead of the club's annual general meeting on Friday, president David Koch has revealed that the benefits of a successful season extended far beyond on-field success.
"In the business of sport, your big corporate revenue comes after performance," he told SEN radio.
"We achieved that last year, now we're starting to see the fruits of that.
"At this moment, our corporate revenue is $2 million ahead of all of last year and we've just started February.
"Our memberships for last year were a record 41,000. We think we'll get to 40,000 this weekend and our membership guys are targeting 50 (50,000)."
Koch expects to bank further gains from gates this year as the club moves to the 53,500-capacity redeveloped Adelaide Oval.
Port hosts the season's first match at the Test cricket venue in round two against the Crows, and expects a sell-out.
Koch said the club has budgeted an average attendance increase of 26,000 to 30,000 in 2014 - up more than 10 per cent.
"We think they're achievable numbers," he said.
Port Adelaide posted a $1.7 million loss in 2013, down from more than $2.1 million in 2012, despite boosting the club's football department by $700,000 last year.
Those baseline figures has given Koch, despite Port's upward trajectory, a pulpit to square off on the favourite topic of smaller AFL clubs: equalisation.
Not that Koch refers to it that way.
"I don't call it equalisation, I call it compensation," he says.
"We should get an equal number of Friday night games and marquee games as other clubs.
"Getting prime-time games means bigger corporate sponsorship, bigger gates and merchandise, higher membership."
The Power have only one Friday night match scheduled in the 2014 season, against Carlton in round 22, and just four matches on free-to-air television.
"It's our right to be treated equally ... we're not a glamour club, we should be compensated for glamour clubs taking our spots," he said.
