New deal to sink Belmont stadium

[travelling_gerry]

BEN HARVEY, STATE POLITICAL EDITOR, The West Australian
February 11, 2011, 2:55 am


The West Australian ©
The owners of Belmont Park have signed a dramatic 11th hour deal with a Hong Kong company to build a $4 billion residential development around the racecourse.

The deal, which could secure the future of racecourse owners Perth Racing, has dented the chance of the site being used as a venue for a new sports stadium.

Papers formalising the sale of surplus land around the racecourse were signed on Wednesday - just hours before Premier Colin Barnett toured Belmont Park to meet trainers and breeders and discuss a tentative Government plan to move the racecourse from the peninsula in order to make way for a new stadium.

Perth Racing chairman Ted Van Heemst said the deal would give financial security to the racing industry.

Perth Racing is the trading name of the WA Turf Club, which owns and runs Belmont Park and Ascot.

The club has been battling to maintain facilities at Belmont and Ascot because of a $15 million debt and an annual interest bill of $1 million.

"We will get a chunk of money up front and we will get an income stream as the development goes ahead," Mr van Heemst said yesterday. "It is a win for the people of Perth and of WA.

"It will provide an unprecedented quality of inner-city living."

The 45-day due diligence period, which is now ticking down, will be a crucial time as the Hong Kong-based Golden River Developments finalises its financing and satisfies itself that there are no unforseen technical complexities associated with the riverside development.

Perth Racing chief executive Michael Heath said negotiations with the State Government over a sale as a stadium site would continue in the interim.

The new plan on which the developers have based the deal is different to a proposal that was floated four years ago and scrapped after opposition from the Swan River Trust and the Environmental Protection Authority.

It involves two clusters of towers on land to the west and east of the racecourse, with a low-rise development wrapping around the north-east flank.

It is more modest than the proposal released in 2007, which indicated land to the west of Belmont would be open space, with a sprawling low-rise development dominating the entire north flank and a dozen high-rise towers clustered at the eastern end.

It is understood the development would be worth about $4 billion - double the value of the 2007 plan.

Perth Racing has been in contact with planning authorities at the Town of Victoria as recently as a week ago and the council, whose approval is needed before construction can start, has been happy with the plans put before it.

Mr van Heemst said building could begin in about two years, with completion of the final stage within 10 to 12 years.

He would not be drawn on how much money Perth Racing would make out of the deal.

Negotiations with Golden River Developments started in September 2009.

The timing of the contract being signed and Mr Barnett's tour of Belmont was described by racing sources as "pure coincidence".

The deal means the focus of debate on the location of a new sports stadium will shift to Burswood, where a vast tract of State Government-owned land bordering the casino was previously shortlisted by the stadium taskforce as one of three options, along with East Perth and Subiaco.

Mr Barnett's office declined to comment on the deal other than to say Wednesday's meeting at Belmont was informal.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-...lmont-stadium/

[jargan83]

"It is a win for the people of Perth and of WA.

No its a win for the 9 pensioners who frequent Belmont Park

[blueandblack]

No its a win for the 9 pensioners who frequent Belmont Park

....for the few months of the year its open (because they can't get into Burswood for the slot machines) and all the people who own the upper levels of the apartments overlooking the track (because they don't have to pay any money to get into Belmont).

[eleypinkbit]

Belmont Park is a great spot - you should go to a race day there sometime, before making that kind of judgement!

[shasta]

No its a win for the 9 pensioners who frequent Belmont Park

The number of people who turn up at the track, allowing that more would be better, is about as relevant as the crowds at NRL matches. The total amount of revenue generated
and the number of jobs created in the industry are a couple of things that are relevant.

But the main fact, and the one that is the real point of difference, is the that land is owned freehold by the stakeholders in the sport. Because of that they can cut whatever business deal they please to grow their industry - without going cap in hand to the government. I doubt they give a flying f@ck what people who don't follow racing think about that. Nor should they.

[brokendown gunfighter]

bet they have fun digging the foundations

[jargan83]

The number of people who turn up at the track, allowing that more would be better, is about as relevant as the crowds at NRL matches. The total amount of revenue generated
and the number of jobs created in the industry are a couple of things that are relevant.

Whilst it is the business of the landowners to decide what they want - to have land sitting there that isn't even used 6 months of the year is pretty ordinary. Especially when the Government is prepared to move you to a new site which I'm sure would have protected any jobs in the industry

[shasta]

Whilst it is the business of the landowners to decide what they want - to have land sitting there that isn't even used 6 months of the year is pretty ordinary. Especially when the Government is prepared to move you to a new site which I'm sure would have protected any jobs in the industry

Barney Rubble is still talking up the deal today. He's claiming Perth Racing will have certainty if they accept his deal. Dunno if that means the residential development carries a significant risk for them or what. If that's the case then they are under the pump to a certain extent.

They have substantial debts and need to get a return from Belmont Park one way or t'other. A land grant and "assistance" to build another venue might not be enough once their debts are paid. So their view of certainty may be different from the Premier's.

Whatever, they are still in a reasonably good position to screw the best outcome for their stakeholders if they play their cards right. Good luck to 'em.

[jargan83]

Apparently a similar deal was shot down a few years ago by the Swan River Trust so the deal with the developer may not be a "done deal" just yet

[The InnFORCEr]

Apparently a similar deal was shot down a few years ago by the Swan River Trust so the deal with the developer may not be a "done deal" just yet

The 45-day due diligence period, which is now ticking down, will be a crucial time as the Hong Kong-based Golden River Developments finalises its financing and satisfies itself that there are no unforseen technical complexities associated with the riverside development.

Perth Racing chief executive Michael Heath said negotiations with the State Government over a sale as a stadium site would continue in the interim.

Not for 45 days at least Jargs

[jargan83]

I thought I read that somewhere else

Disregard

[BDAVEY]

bet they have fun digging the foundations

Yeh.... might start selling volume water pumps for the footings!!

[BDAVEY]

Singaporan deals can be all hot air until the signiture is theer let me tell u! They promise the earth and seldom deliver

[blueandblack]

Singaporan deals can be all hot air until the signiture is theer let me tell u! They promise the earth and seldom deliver

I believe it. Still waiting for a replacement for the Maylands Hotel...

[benny]

This is starting to sh1t me to tears now, for the following reasons:

ts taking this long to ear mark 4 areas in perth to build a multi purpose stadium by the current government.

belmont - now ruled out due to some oriental body wanting to do up belmont park to be some state of the art racing track. probably never seen the area so they aren't aware its an old rubbish tip with no compact area, probably costing them $1b to get the soil correct, or are they going to do the same as what there country men did in Albany knock down the Esplanade hotel to turn it into a vacant block as they had $1b worth of plans and put Albany on the map. welll they certain have done that for all the wrong reasons.

But my question is if these orientials are going to spend this much coin on belmont park why cant we have the multi purpose 50,000 seat stadium in the middle of the race track, The rugby / soccer (who cares about AFL they have scubiaco oval) only gets played at night so it wouldn't interfer with the racing during the day.