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http://www.thewest.com.au/default.as...ontentID=11153
26th October 2006, 6:15 WST
One in four Western Force members have voted with their wallets against Subiaco Oval as a rugby venue.
A month after the deadline for membership renewals, only 15,000 of the Force’s 20,000-plus members have re-booked their seats for the next Super 14 season, despite getting one more home game in 2007 for a similar price to this year.
Follow-up phone calls to the 5000 hold-outs revealed considerable dissatisfaction with the view of the action, particularly from those who sit behind the posts, which are 45m inside the boundary fence. Even the most expensive seats, facing the halfway line, are at least 33m from the touch line.
By comparison, the corporate facilities, which have a panoramic view of the oval, have almost sold out, with 99 days to kick-off.
“We’ve got a 93 per cent renewal rate so far and they’ll all go,” Force chief executive Peter O’Meara said.
The situation once again throws into focus Perth’s substandard sporting and entertainment facilities compared with other Australian cities.
The Force want the State Government to accelerate the promised expansion of the rectangular Members Equity Stadium to a capacity of 35,000.
They attracted an average of 28,500 spectators to their six home fixtures in their debut season.
O’Meara predicted the Force would get bigger crowds at a suitable stadium.
“We didn’t win a home game this year and I doubt that’ll happen again,” he pointed out.
“When we win more than we lose at home, the fans are going to come in increasing numbers — but only if they’re going to get a decent view. Right now, some of our customers are unhappy — and that’s got to be fixed.
“Put it this way: if you’ve got a five-person family, you don’t want to pay three-bedroom rent for a onebedroom house.
“If the Government’s going to build a bigger rectangular stadium, it may as well do it properly — and I’m hopeful this will happen because so far there’s been good co-operation and a recognition of what needs to be done.”
Three years ago, then Sports Minister Bob Kucera said $25 million would be spent to upgrade Members Equity Stadium from a capacity of 17,000 to 22,000 as part of the bid process to get a Super 14 team.
However, at the time, the budgeted membership for the new club was a mere 4500 and the crowds in the Force’s first season made such a small extension instantly obsolete.
It will take an additional $75 million to redevelop Members Equity Stadium to a size that will cater for rugby’s following in the next two decades, when Perth’s population will pass two million.