Who's got the balls?

[blueandblack]

Its just advertising for all involved (including the tv station)

[Swee_82]

Agree with Peter van-whats-his-name (Political Commentator dude) Barnett had the early running but, to use the local vernacular, the wheels fell off in the 'premiership quarter'

And attempting to dodge the 'whats your greatest moral failing' question was downright silly- just looked shifty. Was doing other things at the time, so not sure what Carps answer was, but I vaguely remember hearing the word 'Dockers', which I would whole-heartedly agree with.

[shasta]

Hi Shasta,

I am in the process of getting an official response and will post it in full here on the forum. I will update this thread with the progress and do all that I can to raise the profile of this issue with the Liberal Party.

I tried to reply to your email address earlier but the message bounced back undeliverable.


Regards,

Shane Bathgate

Can't do more than that. Thanks Shane.

A recently retired work colleague has too much time on his hands. Fills it by filling other peoples in boxes.

[ShaneWarnbro]

Hi All,

After speaking today with the Hon. Barry House, MLC, I can advise that the Liberal Party of Western Australia would support the upgrade of Members Equity Stadium to accomodate around 25,000 supporters.

With the haste in which Labor has gone to the polls the clock has been ticking but we are working hard to present further details prior to the election which will address the concerns raised here about the issue of a rectangular stadium. As soon as I receive any further details I will post them up for your consideration.

Shane Bathgate
Liberal Candidate for Warnbro

personal contact details:
M: 0412 012 811
E: smbathgate@aapt.net.au

[jono]

Mr Bathgate.

As i am sure you are aware. a 25,000 seat stadium will look absolutley fantastic for the force. Due to the fact that the force will almost fill it every week (no empty seats, looks great on television and from a sponsors/RugbyWA point of view). Which will in turn see the number of memberships jump back up conciderably as people worry about if they are going to consistently be able to buy a ticket; and therin lies the problem... tickets

BUT. I don't believe this will be a viable long term option. As for rugby and the force to continue to grow in support. They must be accessable by new fans as well as old ones.
25,000 seats will only go so far for so long. It would not be long until the stadium is at capacity every game; and fans are missing out on their opportunity to see the game because they are unable to afford a membership. or are unable to get one because they stadium itself is full for members. What Mr Bathgate, would happen if an individual or family supported another super rugby team and could not affors to fly everywhere to see them play. They would have to be content with watching their preferred team every second year in Western Australia. IF they were able to get a ticket. Or if a faimly were die-hard rugby fans but were again unable to afford a membership, and used rugby as a 'once-in-a-blue-moon' treat for a good night out. But were forced to miss this opportunity because the stadium was at capacity already?

I support an upgrade to members equity, but i think both sides of parliment need to seriously think ahead for the future of rugby union.
look at the numbers playing union in the younger grades. there is a positive increase of registerd players throughout all grades and age divisions. 'Ring-ins' contribute to a growing number of the Force's fans. When people bring a friend to the game and they get hooked - so to speak, and then they bring a friend, and so on.

I believe that by upgrading Members equity stadium to 25,000 sest capacity will in the shorter term, turn Western Australian Rugby Union into an elitest spectacle from a live point of view. and people will be forced to watch it on fbxtel because of the same reason - because they simply cant see the game. The only thing that will change is the reason why they are unable to see the game.

[jargan83]

I welcome this announcement Shane I dont think you will sway anyone around here untill we see something more concrete rather then a few sentances on an online forum. I'm sure we all look forward to the details of such a promise in the next couple of weeks. This is the only thing that will sway my vote to your side as Labor have promised us nothing and have basiclly bowed to the AFL/WAFC in my opinion.

I look forward to an announcement regarding this issue by the Liberal Party

I wish to say a quick thank you Mr Bathagte for keeping us up to date (even those who don't live in your electorate)

[laura]

Its not a permanent thing, its a means to an ends for now. Change takes time and if we get the 25,000 we should be grateful, its better than nothing! When we reach the 22,000 mark we appeal to them for another upgrade. In approx 4 weeks of emailing politicians we have something from the liberals and a maximum of 10ish months of petitioning & WNC and we have got this far. Who's to say that if we keep going with what we are doing we won't get a bigger in stadium in 4 years?!

Thankyou Mr Bathgate for at the least getting us some answers, its more response than we have had so far! Look forward to hearing more about the plans for MES.

[Darren]

Shane, 25K is a good start IF it is done in a manner to make a (near) future upgrade to 30K+ possible. a 25K MES would sell out every Super14 Rugby game they have there ...

[NTT]

Mr Shane Bathgate, thanks for your efforts so far but seriously, the liberals (or labor) need to be looking at an expansion of MES to seat a minimum of 30 000 and facilities for at least 100 corporate boxes. Take into account that from 2006 through to 2008 that the Western Force membership numbers have fallen from 21000+ to just over 16000 because of disatisfaction with Subiaco Oval. When the Western Force does finally relocate to a dedicated facility these membership numbers will again rise to around 21-22000, as evidenced by a poll run by RugbyWA through its website, leaving only 3-4000 seats available for the general public each game. This will only be adequate short term. With planned expansion of the super 14 competition and a push for a new Perth National Rugby League team aswell as the Perth Glory and continued population and supporter growth for rectangular field sports, i think the liberals (or labor) should be looking at a more long term solution instead of vote grabbing.

[NTT]

This is an opportunity for either party to leave a strong mark on Western Australia which should be made the most of. Theres all sorts of benefits that will be gained from aiming that little bit higher and going for a logical upgrade that will not have a use by date of 5 years. Western Australian Governments should be looking at building world class sporting facilities to help put WA on the sporting map. WA should be aiming at becoming a sporting hub in the way Melbourne has. Hosting international sporting events in dedicated facilities will do a lot in lifting the 'dullsville' tag associated with Perth through the boost in tourism opportunities associated with sports events.

[NTT]

Theres also an opportunity to save millions of dollars of taxpayers money if the government goes about the stadium issue properly. Carpenters AFL dedicated stadium is going to cost about $1.6 billion. Crazy if you ask me, all to benefit one sport played in one country. If AFL wants 60000 seats, (at a cost of approx $1000 per seat, which if figures published in the west are to be trusted) you could upgrade Subiaco for around $200 - 400 million. If you upgrade MES to 30000, you could do it at a cost of $100 - 300 million. Now maths isn't my strong point but if an upgrade to Subiaco can be done for say $500 million and an upgrade to MES can be done for $300 million, that is a total of $800 million, which would be a taxpayer saving of around $800 million. Apart from a huge saving of money WA would also have 2 stadiums that would have a viability of 15 - 20 years.
This is how you should be looking at winning votes as for every one AFL supporter in WA, theres one person who supports rectangular field sports.

[NTT]

can a mod please edit my ramblings into one post so it makes sense please.

thanks.

[jargan83]

you forgot to mention 8 bloody years to build. Telstra Dome apparently went from concept to completion in 27 months.

It will take more then new sports facilities to rid Perth of the "dullsville" tag, but it would be a good start.

Labor has ignored the needs of the non-AFL liking public with its monument to Carps. The only alternative i see is to vote Liberal, ONLY if they come to the party and give us something concrete. I won't believe it untill I see it being announced. I also feel that the current Labor government is increasing arrogant, calling an election early, the day before the Olympics kicked off as well.

One of the most vital things I feel is lacking is accountability. They call this election a month before 2 vital reports are due to be handed down. The report into the Varus Island Gas Explosion and the report on Anti-Corruption, both to be handed down in early September. The Labor Government are attempting to avoid scrutiny on these subjects in my opinion.

There are plenty of dis-illusioned people out there Mr Bathgate, but alot of people may think that there is no viable alternative government at the moment. You and your Liberal party collegues have a little over 2 weeks to present the case for alternative government.

As I indicated above, the Stadium situation may be my main reason for allocating my vote. Once again i thank you for taking the time to read this and look forward to further announcements regarding this situation.
Posted via Mobile Device

[NTT]

i also heard somewhere that jeff kennett built telstra dome against his own cabinets vote because he thought it would be used in the future and would benefit victoria long term.

[GIGS20]

OK, I read the first half of this and posted in haste.

Thanks Shane for your work in getting this commitment out obviously earlier than your party really wanted to. Whilst I agree that MES at 25,000 isn't a long term solution, I would remind my future focused peers on this site, who are pushing for 30,000 or more, that the terms of our petition was 25,000 or more seats and suitable to host Super 14 Home Games.....I believe we have been given what we asked for......stop your whingeing.

As for this commitment being made on an online forum......well, I've taken a screenshot of it now, it's as official as it needs to be.

As for Shane's junior standing in the Party......his reply has the name of the shadow minister of Sport and Rec on it......guys, it might not be widely announced, but it is public enough to be as binding as any other election promise (yes I do realise what that means....)

Lighten up on the guy, he's just leaked to us that the Liberal Party are going to commit to the terms of the petition and you're bagging him. I think I know which member's got my vote on Saturday (unless Family First offer a brand spanking state of the art 40,000 seat rectangle!)