Time to put brakes on footy gravy train

Mark Duffield, Chief Football Writer
Wednesday, February 08, 2017 1:10AM




The next State government, Liberal or Labor, has to stop the football gravy train.

Football continues to turn its nose up at a move from Subiaco Oval to a new stadium with 50 per cent more seats, 50 per cent more corporate seats and three times as many toilets, despite a $100 million “compensation” offer.

We are not here because any government has treated football poorly. We are here because governments of both political persuasions at both State and Federal level have been too kind, for too long to a code that continues to reinforce its reputation as the spoilt brat of WA sport.

If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, then both political parties should be warned ahead of this election: football is never satisfied. Gift them a stadium in 1989, then two significant upgrades to that stadium, more than $40 million in State and Federal funds to make league-leading training facilities possible, then pole position at what will be the best stadium in Australia. The more you give, the more football feels entitled to take.

Football continues to tell us that it must be “no worse off” at the new stadium. Let me put “no worse off” in real terms.

The three-tiered stand at Subiaco Oval, which holds 7500 seats, will be 50 years old in two years. The 10,000 seat two-tiered stand alongside it will be 40 years old in three years. Replacing those alone would conservatively cost between $150 million and $200 million and would not even budge the stadium’s capacity from its underwhelming 42,500.

If there had been no new stadium built just how was football expecting to replace those grandstands? Unfortunately we know the answer. They expected taxpayers to pay for them and then hand them back “their” stadium.

Just how much money has the AFL committed to make sure the WAFC is “no worse off” when the shift to the new stadium comes?

We are still waiting for that press release.

The new government must make taxpayers their priority, not a wealthy sporting code that that has been given too much and shows precious little gratitude for it.

A $1.3 billion stadium, $40 million in AFL/community training facility grants, $29 million in grants to WAFL clubs Swan Districts, West Perth and Claremont.

Now $10 million a year for 10 years is not enough to convince football it will be no worse off?

Time to stop the gravy train.

Time to stop the madness.

https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/time-...-ng-b88379161z

WOW! A very accurate article. But it was hard to accept that I hadn't woken up in an alternate universe when I saw that Mark Duffield had penned it.

Time for them to take it or leave it.
Then the state government can announce that they're cutting game day public transport to the subi entertainment precinct.

The WAFC need to get over themselves.

Mark Duffield wrote that? I'm actually shocked.

Greedy fuggers! Someone needs to call their bluff, then watch them come bleating with both hands outstretched only to cut the offer at the last minute. Grrrrrrr

Once it is completed demolish Spewbiaco and let them find somewhere else to play. See how that works out for them.

What would the Donald do in these circumstances?

Cut all Government, funding, senior and junior, to AFL.

Prevent it being played in Government schools

Legislate to ban all councils from renting grounds or facilities to them.

Set up a high powered body, and fund it with funds otherwise destined for AFL, to ensure one world class sporting/cultural event is held at the new Facility every week/fortnight year round.

Spend not a penny more on the Subiaco ground than is required under the existing lease.

Close the railway station nearest to Subiaco during all times games are played there, ban all street parking, prevent buses entering the area, and increase and enforce tenfold parking fines and controls at those times.

Then tell the AFL that the Government will honour the existing lease to the letter until the day it expires, and demand that the AFL meet all its obligations thereunder to the letter.

Then see how quickly the AFL change their position.

What's the point of having power if you don't use it?

But that's the Donald.

It's not as if Colin's anything like him.

Fulv, you forgot Building a wall and making the WAFC pay for it.

It had occurred to me, but Subi is already surrounded by a wall ....

But how does he and his family personally profit from this? That absolutely has to be there somewhere.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shasta

But it was hard to accept that I hadn't woken up in an alternate universe

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Feb 9; 14 degrees in our back patio; trackies, jacket and runners on; pissing down outside. Maybe I was right the first time. :S