Western Australia – The State of Compromise.
It has now been a month since the release of the Major Stadia Taskforce Report and I have been reading reaction from politicians, public and sport fans and I wanted to put down some of my thoughts.
Its an age old adage that if a government is going to hold and inquiry into anything then they pretty much know what they want the outcome to be before they start.
With the greatest respect to Mr Langalout and his team I think their report is just what my title says….a state of compromise. So who has to compromise the most?
The Governmment?
They know they need to spend some money on a stadium so the simple solution is to get all the sports disagreeing on the stadium solution while throwing in the odd “red herring” of a children’s hospital. So they don’t need to compromise much at all….
The Western Australian Football Commission?
They have to give up an aging, near end of life stadium and the rights of the landlord to grab buckets of money from RugbyWA . But in return they get a state of the art stadium and become a tenant just like everyone else.
The Western Australia Cricket Association?
They have to give up and aging, near end of life stadium and share with WAFC and others with overlapping season. To their credit they have done a very good business plan to redevelop the oval with apartments and office space overlooking the ground. In return for giving that up they get a bigger stadium tests and one-dayers.
Football Federation Australia & Perth Glory?
Depends if the government force them to play at the new stadium but a small crowd in a BIG stadium wont do much for their support.
RugbyWA?
They have to give up renting an aging, near end of life stadium from a hostile landlord. They gain an up to date stadium with seats and corporate boxes ALMOST as far away as they are now with twice as many seats as required which will dull the atmosphere of the event as well as having to play second fiddle to WAFC because the taskforce recommended that the WCE and FFC have priority on the use of the oval during their season.
Despite the Recommendation 4 in the Taskforce report that
“The State Government develop a larger capacity rectangular stadium at some point in the future when the number of events and business case support such a development”
– this will NEVER happen because as soon as RugbyWA want to leave the bigger stadium the governing trust will say that will lose them money and the move would be blocked.
It seems to me that RugbyWA and we the rugby public have to do the most compromising in this situation.
Maybe the government needs to get back to origins here…..AFL was invented for off season cricket players fitness and hence was played on an OVAL.
Rugby, Soccer and Rugby League are played on a RECTANGULAR field.
END OF ARGUMENT.
So let the Cricket and AFL bodies get together and build their solution and the government should build a PROPER RECTANGULAR STADIUM for Rugby, Soccer and Rugby League.
So how do we as Rugby Fans get this to happen??
My strategy.
