A-League Expansion

[Arabmariner]

You do realise that Ben Buckley is the CEO of the FFA, not Frank? If Frank wants Western Sydney, why not help organise the bid? So far it's been a complete shamble. No real outlines have been formed as far as I know, and unless they manage to put a half-decent bid in soon, Canberra will get the spot.

South Coast

http://www.southcoastfootball.com/

Nice long weekend away that.

Much preferable to Canberra.

 

[FFC Mariner]

and if you watch Ben Buckley closely, you can see the strings.

 

[clarence]

At this moment in time I'm all for a Canberra A-League team. So far I feel that neither South Coast or Western Sydney have formed quality bids. With over 850 foundations members already signed up and paid for, plus huge backing from the ACT Government, support which current A-League sides were unable to secure, Canberra is I feel the best option for the final franchise in this current planned expansion.

Right, so the Canberra syndicate is relying upon Govt. handouts (now and into the future) and already taking money off people BEFORE they even get past the first stage of franchise tendering.

How about proving the Canberra syndicate's ability to become an ongoing concern first, eh?

I mean it's very Canberra-esque to get a Govt. grant, and opening up a website asking for money from people when they are not even a going concern is rather dubious too, IMHO.

A change of Govt. policy, a lower than expected turnover of members after year 1, and the whole shebang could fold.

What about the business sector? Any decent corporations willing to tip in some serious $$ for the cause once they are accepted into the A-League? How about shirt sponsors, matchday sponsors, radio broadcast rights sales, advertising etc? (And when I'm referring to this, I'm talking about real sponsors - not corporations that those associated with the bid, are involved with as a CEO or directorship) 

 

[FFC Mariner]

Short answer is no I think clarence.

Wait till the economic shit hits the fan next year and see how much $$ the Govt tips in then.

One day we probably ought to allow the ACT to have a team but there is surely a long list of bidders ahead of them

 

[goingtoadisco]

Canberra

Paul Keating once said Australia was the arse end of the world.

He made a mistake.

He confused Australia with Canberra because he was living there at the time.

North Queensland and Gold Coast....top away trips.

Canberra........last on the list.

why would canberra be last on the list ?? close proximity, cheap accomadation, drinks at most places are usualy about 2 bucks, theres a tonne of night clubs.

 

[goingtoadisco]

At this moment in time I'm all for a Canberra A-League team. So far I feel that neither South Coast or Western Sydney have formed quality bids. With over 850 foundations members already signed up and paid for, plus huge backing from the ACT Government, support which current A-League sides were unable to secure, Canberra is I feel the best option for the final franchise in this current planned expansion.

Right, so the Canberra syndicate is relying upon Govt. handouts (now and into the future) and already taking money off people BEFORE they even get past the first stage of franchise tendering.

How about proving the Canberra syndicate's ability to become an ongoing concern first, eh?

I mean it's very Canberra-esque to get a Govt. grant, and opening up a website asking for money from people when they are not even a going concern is rather dubious too, IMHO.

A change of Govt. policy, a lower than expected turnover of members after year 1, and the whole shebang could fold.

What about the business sector? Any decent corporations willing to tip in some serious $$ for the cause once they are accepted into the A-League? How about shirt sponsors, matchday sponsors, radio broadcast rights sales, advertising etc? (And when I'm referring to this, I'm talking about real sponsors - not corporations that those associated with the bid, are involved with as a CEO or directorship) 

im sorry but some of this is pretty laughable. The canberra bid has formed partnerships with business and getting people to fork out 200 dollars to pay for a foundation membership is no easy task . i think there were what ? 500 or so mariners members in the first season and that included a season ticket for a game that was actualy going to be played.

is central coast tourism + the rta not funded by the goverment ?? thats two of our major sponsors that are funded through the goverment ?

 

[clarence]

Canberra

Paul Keating once said Australia was the arse end of the world.

He made a mistake.

He confused Australia with Canberra because he was living there at the time.

North Queensland and Gold Coast....top away trips.

Canberra........last on the list.

why would canberra be last on the list ?? close proximity, cheap accomadation, drinks at most places are usualy about 2 bucks, theres a tonne of night clubs.

Why last? Well the city has not had a good reputation for getting behind their teams in any sort of national comp. Even the Canberra Raiders have struggled at times, and will continue to do so.

The city's close proximity to the N.S.W. (that's Newcastle - Sydney - Wollongong) corporate bermuda triangle doesn't help them either. A lot of major corporations have tried their luck in Canberra over the years, a lot of them may have some representation in the ACT but it's minor.

The locals...... Well, those that have stayed and run a business or work in a steady job there, are often overlooked by the stature of the city as the Nation's Capital.

The ACT Govt is more like a local Govt. Council than a real Govt. The Federal Govt. has them by the goolies in a lot of ways still.

There's a steady flow of people living and working in Canberra on term postings, from both overseas and interstate.

They take awhile to get into what's on offer in the city, sometimes just biding their time in provided accommodation and then leaving after 2 years. That sort of work/lifestyle can be very destabilising if there's a decent population of that sort of family in the city - which there is.

And, if the Mariners have an early season match (and the FFA are thinking of running the season from July - the middle of winter), Canberra is probably the last place you'd wanna stand in a stadium. It's freezing.

 

[clarence]

im sorry but some of this is pretty laughable. The canberra bid has formed partnerships with business and getting people to fork out 200 dollars to pay for a foundation membership is no easy task . i think there were what ? 500 or so mariners members in the first season and that included a season ticket for a game that was actualy going to be played.

is central coast tourism + the rta not funded by the goverment ?? thats two of our major sponsors that are funded through the goverment ?

Correction some of your comments...
1) Canberra bid has formed partnerships with business..... Two of those major business partners are associated with Ivan Slavich the bid leader. Others are also associated with the bidding partners.... I'm talking about genuine external business sponsors prepared to lay down their money if the franchise bid is accepted.

2)500 or so Mariners members or so in the first season.......The advertising of members for the first season of the Mariners did NOT happen until way after it was known that the Mariners would be accepted as one of the original franchisees. However, the Canberra bid is now taking money - or the promise of money, not sure which, even before they have been accepted by the FFA. The Mariners members knew when they would see their club play, Canberra's are not even sure that the FFA will even allow them into the A-League yet.

I have the opinion that it is wrong to ask people, average folks in the street, for money before they are even accepted into the comp.

If the coffers are so tight that the bid has to resort to asking for money from folks in the street just to mount the bid, there isn't a lot of substance behind the new club is there?

And what if the bid fails? Is there the promise of money being returned, or is the money taken on the understanding that it is for the bid, and that more money will be needed to become an actual member if they are accepted by the FFA. How is the current money being accounted for to ensure that no one is actually making money off the top before expenditure on bid related matters?


3) Central Coast Tourism & RTA are Govt. funded.
a) you say "Central Coast Tourism" . If you are referring to the shirt sponsor, that's actually Business Central Coast. The commercial business council for the area. Not the tourism people. The Business CC people has a main aim to provide jobs and promote businesses in the district. I think it is a partnership between businesses and local governments in the area. They may get state government and federal government grants too, to help them promote the area. They decided to put their name on the front of the shirt in order to advertise the business opportunities in this area, not weekends at Peppers at Terrigal.

b) you say "RTA". Is actually the Arrive Alive campaign, funded jointly by the Motor Accidents Authority and RTA. Both State Govt. authorities.
The MAA is funded by the CTP payments on car regos and self funded as a result. It administers the CTP scheme and payments for compensation for injured third parties involved in motor accidents. The MAA is governed by a specific NSW Act. The RTA has a lot of it's revenue from the regos of vehicles and licence tests etc. but I think they still get an allocation from the State Budget.
The Arrive Alive campaign is aimed at younger drivers and trying to raise awareness amongst younger people about the dangers of speeding, drink driving etc. It is a public awareness campaign, so they have a large advertising and PR budget. They chose to get involved with the Mariners because of the stature of the team within the community and the ability of the club to publicise the Arrive Alive objectives through matchday advertising etc. Yes, Govt. owned, but it is a public awareness campaign and the wish to sponsor the Mariners is in line with the need to promote their goals.

 

[David Votoupal]

In all fairness, the Raiders have never recovered from the Super League war. They lost a lot of support and have never been the same force on the field.

Canberra is also unique in that it's a strong grassroots area for all four codes, but that's because it's a bit of a "transplant" city where a lot of people come from somewhere else due to government employment. So they bring their existing football, AFL, League, etc loyalties with them.

 

[clarence]

Canberra is also unique in that it's a strong grassroots area for all four codes, but that's because it's a bit of a "transplant" city where a lot of people come from somewhere else due to government employment. So they bring their existing football, AFL, League, etc loyalties with them.

...and don't support the local ACT team unless their own side plays there.

The transient sector of the Canberra community doesn't see it worthwhile getting too involved because after 2-3 years they are off to another city or State again.

Yes agree that Raiders have had it tough but they also struck troubles when their original main sponsor pulled out after a few years, before the Super League war. Once the superstars of Meninga, Clyde, Belcher etc. left the club they had troubles getting the support. Even having Laurie Daley stay on was not going to get them much more support. Don Furner has worked his butt out keeping that club a going concern over the years, and he was one of the better administrators of any club in any code.

 

[David Votoupal]

I hear too that the arrogance of some of the Raiders' players turned off a lot of the locals too, but that's anecdotal.

Up in Brisbane, on the other hand, the Broncos are unpopular with a big section of locals. The entry of them into the NSWRL killed the local BRL comp (now Queensland Cup), hurting it far more than the Crows and Eagles did do the SANFL and WAFL. Plenty of people either support Sydney teams, or the Cowboys or Titans.

 

[goingtoadisco]

I hear too that the arrogance of some of the Raiders' players turned off a lot of the locals too, but that's anecdotal.

very true everyone hates them !

 

[David Votoupal]

Really though, RL clubs have only themselves to blame for the mess they're in... social clubs in NSW came to rely so much on pokies they became less and less about providing services to members they're supposed to and it's also killed the live music scene in NSW. Furthermore, the smoking ban and pokie tax aren't the real reason... it's more that gamblers prefer to do it online rather than at a club these days.

 

[Redline]

Live music? Whats that?

 

[David Votoupal]

Live music? Whats that?

Once upon a time, every pub and club had a house band, the live music scene was vibrant. The clubs' pursuit of more pokie $$$ resulted in this scene being severely curtailed.

 

[john_kowolski]

Can NSW (& ACT) support 6 'potential' teams all south of Newcastle?

Newcastle
CCM
SFC
Western Sydn?
South Coast?
Canberra?

I personally think Canberra would be a good option and would like to see them enter the competiton. I was down there recently, the stadium is decent, infrastructure (ovals, transport) seems to be OK. The fact that people are putting money down for memberships is a COMMITMENT to the bid, meaning that ultimately they do want a team.

Western Sydney would also give Sydney FC a major kick up the backside. I think Parramatta/Penrith would be viable venues, with games even played at Campbelltown? The main thing with this club would be to engage ALL of Western Sydney, not just say Parramatta. For this club to succeed, they would need to have a home ground (Parra?), but be prepared to take home games to Penrith and/or Campbelltown

South Coast could work, but I think the other two teams are a higher priority

 

[David Votoupal]

Of course it can. The population and talent base is there to make it work.

 

[Redline]

Live music? Whats that?

Once upon a time, every pub and club had a house band, the live music scene was vibrant. The clubs' pursuit of more pokie $$$ resulted in this scene being severely curtailed.

Wow.Live music sounds awesome.

lol

I live atForster now and there is only one pub going out to, and it's crap. They had a band there one firday night not long after I moved here, and it would have been better suited to a jazz lounge then a pub on a friday night. They played good music, but not pub music, and the dj played crap music, and the one good song he did play, I Like Big Buts by Sir Mix A Lot, he cut off halfway through.

 

[Ranyen]

I saw this band at Club Tuggerah not too long ago, called The Silent Scream, or something like that, not too bad.

 

[FFC Mariner]

I saw this band at Club Tuggerah not too long ago, called The Silent Scream, or something like that, not too bad.

Club Mariners you mean