Perth Glory, Western Force face months of chaos after being locked out of HBF Park ne

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10-05-22, 08:10
The InnFORCEr

Perth Glory, Western Force face months of chaos after being locked out of HBF Park ne

Nick Taylor
PerthNow
May 9, 2022 7:49PM

Perth Glory and Western Force home games will be thrown into chaos with clubs kicked out of HBF Park for several weeks next season.

The move could be a financial disaster for both sides with two concerts and stadium upgrades for the Women’s World Cup in July next year forcing them out.

Optus Stadium is the only realistic option but the clubs are likely to demand financial compensation from the government if they are forced to use the more expensive venue.

Work on the $35 million HBF Park upgrade, bringing it into line with FIFA requirements, is due to start at the end of the year.

English singer-songwriter Harry Styles plays at the stadium on February 20 with another artist pencilled in for the first weekend in March.

The stage will remain on the ground between shows before six weeks of turf restoration for the five internationals.

Glory will be unlikely to play any A-League fixtures at HBF Park between October, when their season opens, and January before being turfed out for up to seven weeks a month later.

The Force would have to play their first nine Super Rugby games on the road from mid-February and be left with five consecutive home games in May.

Glory have played Australia Cup games at Dorrien Gardens but it is not suitable for the A-League, chief executive Tony Pignata said.

“Keeping us out of HBF Park would be a disaster after our two terrible COVID years,” Pignata said.

“Potentially losing four months at HBF Park is ridiculous.

“If we had to play at Optus we’d have to get some compensation.

“We are one of the major tenants of HBF Park. VenuesWest needs to sit down with us and come up with a solution.”

Force chief executive Tony Lewis said the club was “extremely frustrated” to be left without a home until late April.

“About a month ago a general chat with VenuesWest informed us of the two concerts and the absolute unrealistic grass maintenance program meant HBF was not available to late April,” Lewis said.

“We have requested VenuesWest re-look at the grass maintenance program and work on a solution that is fair, equitable and consistent for a long-term hirer.

“The burden of cost both financially and from a high performance perspective is something we need addressing.”

A VenuesWest spokesperson said: “With the return of world class international concerts and the necessary timing of the pitch upgrades there are unavoidable disruptions to the fixtures for Western Force and Perth Glory.

“VenuesWest continues to work closely with Western Force and Perth Glory and is looking at opportunities for the teams to play at other venues around Perth.

“Works to upgrade the pitch have been carefully planned to ensure an optimum playing surface.”

https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/we...ason-c-6736028
10-05-22, 10:32
andrewM

Considering that WA got a pretty lousy deal for the Women's World Cup, that sucks big time.
Given that Glory and the Force are the bread and butter tenants for HBF park, that sucks even more
Big thumbs down VenuesWest
10-05-22, 10:44
Jules

Seems so strange they can't do this before the season starts!! There is a big chunk of the year this venue is not used is there not?
10-05-22, 10:45
Tazzmania

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewM

Considering that WA got a pretty lousy deal for the Women's World Cup, that sucks big time.
Given that Glory and the Force are the bread and butter tenants for HBF park, that sucks even more
Big thumbs down VenuesWest

Agreed, all we got allocated was 5 group matches, no last sixteen round or finals and who knows who they will even base out this way.

and we also get set aside for a penciled in unamed artist!!!
10-05-22, 11:30
jargan83

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jules

Seems so strange they can't do this before the season starts!! There is a big chunk of the year this venue is not used is there not?

Struck me a bit weird too given the final Force fixture is May 28 and the next event there is a Justin Bieber concert in November (obviously that's not factoring in the start of the next A-League season)

Perhaps possible constraints with the construction industry?
10-05-22, 13:40
shasta

Quote:

Originally Posted by jargan83

Perhaps possible constraints with the construction industry?

I'm not sure that would be an issue. The article says "grass maintenance". Any construction issues off the pitch would likely be work-around-able given some cooperation between the parties. Can anyone see a reason to do a grass maintenance program and then allow 5 - 6 weeks of consecutive Rugby matches immediately before a football tournament? Imagine what the pitch would look like if we had a lot of rainy match days. Shirley earlier would be better, with the Force playing away in April-May. :confused:
10-05-22, 13:55
jargan83

Quote:

Originally Posted by shasta

I'm not sure that would be an issue. The article says "grass maintenance". Any construction issues off the pitch would likely be work-around-able given some cooperation between the parties. Can anyone see a reason to do a grass maintenance program and then allow 5 - 6 weeks of consecutive Rugby matches immediately before a football tournament? Imagine what the pitch would look like if we had a lot of rainy match days. Shirley earlier would be better, with the Force playing away in April-May. :confused:

I saw an article on Austadiums earlier today, the works include:

New LED floodlighting
Upgrade of the playing surface via removal of the current surface and leveling of the surface
Upgrades to power supply, including a new switch room
New player races and bench areas
Player facilities
10-05-22, 15:52
andrewg

Total lack of State Govt support for two ball codes that aren't AFL and are trying to recover from the impact of Covid-19??

So there's nowhere else to hold some rock concerts??
10-05-22, 18:32
chibi

Off to the Velodrome we go
10-05-22, 22:00
Buddha Handy

Quote:

Originally Posted by chibi

Off to the Velodrome we go

The WACA is not used for anything, they should convert that for a few months of rugby and soccer
11-05-22, 05:46
Sheikh

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buddha Handy

The WACA is not used for anything, they should convert that for a few months of rugby and soccer

That's undergoing it's own re-building at the moment. The two northern stands have been pulled down and the WACA will be re-developed as a ~10-12,000 capacity ground.
11-05-22, 07:01
.X.

please excuse my ignorance.

Have Cricket Test Matches, International One Dayers, etc moved to Optus?
11-05-22, 07:09
chibi

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buddha Handy

The WACA is not used for anything, they should convert that for a few months of rugby and soccer

I'd love to see that. East Fremantle will be playing there soon also
11-05-22, 07:22
jargan83

Quote:

Originally Posted by .X.

please excuse my ignorance.

Have Cricket Test Matches, International One Dayers, etc moved to Optus?

Only happened 4 years ago :iconrofl:
11-05-22, 07:27
.X.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jargan83

Only happened 4 years ago :iconrofl:

sorry mate - the daily going ons at the WACA isn't exactly front-page news here.
11-05-22, 10:24
shasta

Even if the WACA is an option mid way through the re-development, the capacity is only about 10,000 IIRC. No matter where these matches are held, the loss of revenue will be more than simply extra cost of ground hire. There is likely to be a hit to membership numbers and ticket sales.
11-05-22, 12:05
Sheikh

Quote:

Originally Posted by .X.

please excuse my ignorance.

Have Cricket Test Matches, International One Dayers, etc moved to Optus?

Yeah, X. The WACA will only be used for state shield and cup matches. All internationals and the Big Bash have been moved to Optus. There was talk of some 'smaller' test matches (eg, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, I guess) staying at the WACA as they don't expect to need more than 10,000 seats, but I guess that any of those tests which aren't held at the MCG & SCG will go to Hobart, Adelaide, Canberra, etc.
11-05-22, 12:40
Jules

I don’t think our crowds have come any where near 10000 this year sadly.
11-05-22, 12:51
AndyS

And you can probably count on them being a damn sight less if they expect people to watch from 40m away on a flat field. If they are going to do that, the state government should eat the fee for Optus and give the corporates and members lounge access.
11-05-22, 13:01
Sheikh

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jules

I don’t think our crowds have come any where near 10000 this year sadly.

It'll be 10,000 when the new north stand gets re-built (planned for September '24). I'm not sure what the capacity of the southern stands are, but they must be less than 10,000 and the grass banks on the east and west sides seem to be out of action during the redevelopment.

There are some pretty pictures here: https://www.wacricket.com.au/waca-gr...roject/gallery