John Singleton sinks Bluetongue Stadium sell-off rumours

[Alicia]

John Singleton sinks Bluetongue Stadium sell-off rumours
By Iain Payten | March 10, 2009

JOHN Singleton has shot down rumours he's selling Bluetongue Stadium to the Central Coast Mariners - because he doesn't want to have to sink schooners in a cocktail lounge.

Recent broadsheet reports have suggested the millionaire adman was set to offload the lease of the Government-owned Gosford venue to the Mariners.

Singo has pushed for an NRL team on the Central Coast for years, without luck, but concern has spread that if the soccer club owned Bluetongue it could end up slapping a total league ban there to prevent the field getting dug up.

A recent trial between the Eels and the Knights was even moved to protect the turf for the Mariners' Asian Champions League clash with Pohang Steelers tomorrow night.

Fear not, insisted Singo yesterday: "I still own it. The Mariners approached us. We couldn't see any merit in it, and didn't hear any more. I think it was just Mariner talk. (A league ban) wouldn't work because the stadium was built by the council and the Government for rugby league. I live up here. If soccer bought it and banned league I'd have to drink in a bloody cocktail bar. You wouldn't be welcome in too many public bars if you barred league up here mate. You just wouldn't."

Soccer teams like to have spirit-levelled grass cover but find it hard to come by in Australia, where codes share the venues.

Singleton said Bluetongue was a heavily used facility, and it would stay that way.

"We are the most used ground of any. We have to - and I don't mind doing it anyway - make the ground available for junior league finals, junior union finals, the subbies, the high schools. And quite rightly, because it is a community facility," Singleton said.

"No way anybody could buy it if it was going to be used exclusively for soccer, union or even league," he added.

 

[dibo]

link

He's got a point - it was built to be used by the community as well as by the Central Coast Bears. He holds the lease, for the term of that lease it's his call.

Does anyone have links to the "broadsheet reports have suggested the millionaire adman was set to offload the lease of the Government-owned Gosford venue to the Mariners"?

The idea that the Mariners would ban RL or any other code seems fanciful as well. The stadium is a working asset - we wouldn't make nearly enough out of our game days alone to cover costs. For purely financial reasons we'd probably be pushing for an NRL side as a junior tenant.

The additional revenue raised could be reinvested into the turf (even artificial turf perhaps) and other facilities at the ground. I think without a second major tenant, any talk of improvements is just that - talk.

 

[kevrenor]

" .. A recent trial between the Eels and the Knights was even moved to protect the turf for the Mariners' Asian Champions League clash with Pohang Steelers tomorrow night..."

See the mentality ... "even moved"!

 

[FFC Mariner]

WTF has it ever been even implied that we would ban the rapists? Love us to but in reality we wouldnt.

Bloody sokka wogs demanding that a highly important trial game between the wife beaters and rapists be moved. Who do these people think they are, I have a good mind to get drunk and assault one of their children.

 

[Omni]

WTF has it ever been even implied that we would ban the rapists? Love us to but in reality we wouldnt.

Bloody sokka wogs demanding that a highly important trial game between the wife beaters and rapists be moved. Who do these people think they are, I have a good mind to get drunk and assault one of their children.

Allegedly

 

[clarence]

That news report with all the 'Maaaate' talk from Singo, looks remarkably similar to Lyall's denials that the Mariners are interested ina player, just before they sign him!

Maybe Singo is holding out for more money, and putting it out there that he still values the investment?

I agree that it would be silly, business wise, for the Mariners to deny any interested party wanting to use the venue (if they bought into the stadium), incl. the knuckle draggers, but the priority of who would have first use, would definitely change.

 

[dibo]

^^^
what you said.

 

[Bear]

Did anyone else read that and think that singo is just another one of these people with his head in the sand when it comes to rugby reague on the coast

You wouldn't be welcome in too many public bars if you barred league up here mate. You just wouldn't."

what is that shit? I actually lol at that part. are people that bothered on the coast about league? imo no not these days

 

[midfielder]

There is a very strong rumour that a CC RL team will be in the 2010 or 2011 NRL season. Many in the RL community say it's a cert .... but this decision has only happened over the last two months as the CC Bears team has managed to pull together some considerable coin and don't see the 15 million dollar capital as a problem. Myabe this has changed Singo's mind.

 

[dibo]

CC Bears? Who's going out? 17 team comp is unlikely with all the crap with byes and all, unless they go for another side somewhere (south-eastern Qld, somewhere else in south-eastern Qld and the third option in south-eastern Qld would seem to be the only options).

 

[BrisRecky]

hmmmm...well if all the rumours about teams are going arse up are true...pick the team for the bears to replace....but i cant see it happening,  not now that the A-League stole their foothold

 

[midfielder]

Dibo the guy that told me is very sure, THE NRL are looking for the second team, most likely a west Brisbane team he said. He may be full of hot air but the way he spoke about it and those involved it did sound very convincing.

 

[FFC Mariner]

LOL at the rapists and their dreams of NSW/QLD domination.

Singo would have sold out if the $$ was right but we have now focused on Club Tugg IMHO

 

[clarence]

Dibo the guy that told me is very sure, THE NRL are looking for the second team, most likely a west Brisbane team he said. He may be full of hot air but the way he spoke about it and those involved it did sound very convincing.

If I had seen that sort of rumour a few years back I would have been worried about the Mariners long term.

But any other team (NRL, ARU or AFL) that now comes onto the Central Coast, is going to have to get around the Mariners issue for them. We have had a green field of sponsorship opportunities, community engagement and getting the name known up here for nearly 5 years now - and the club has done very well in 'attaching' itself to the Coast, and being a local team on a number of levels.

Other teams will have to try and establish themselves, and the big problem there is that if it's NRL or AFL that come to town, they won't be able to attract crowds for the local teams' games, unless the followers of other teams turn up (people who support say, the Roosters, but live on the Coast, if you know what I mean). The local team could end up poorly supported .

 

[ponno]

Thats exactly right clarence and that was one of the many downfalls of the northern eagles... Most people have followed their league team for years and wont easily change.... The mariners are the first true coast based team and everyone who lives on the coast gets behind them...

 

[clarence]

It might also be that Singo got to the last hurdle with the Mariners on getting involved with the stadium management side of things, but they baulked.

I am guessing that what the Mariners are doing is keeping all sides of their enterprise well within budget, and if they had been able to get involved with the stadium management without dipping into their Academy development budget or their football operations budget they might have gone along.

I know Singo has done some things that have helped to lift the Mariners profile, but I am starting to believe the sooner they are rid of his little niggles like this article, the better.

He is a RL man, through and through, only getting involved with Football because of personal friendships (with the likes of Lawrie and a few others) over the years, and a pay back to the Late Johnny Warren.

His leasehold of the stadium management rights is as much a prickly issue with the NRL as it is with us.

Given that he has sunk a lot of money into Macquarie Radio, which has lost a lot of share value in recent times (media stocks have taken a battering), he may need some capital injection to his personal net worth to prop up his existing personal debts, and got mightily peeved when the Mariners were not prepared to pay top dollar for the premier sports venue in this region?

 

[midfielder]

I cannot say even now that a RL team would not have an impact on us.. no longer could it have the same impact. TBH with falling revenues it will be hard for the 16 existing NRL clubs to agree to further split the media revenue and allow a CC team in especially when I cannot see it adding greatly to the existing TV ratings. But a relocation team is another matter and a number of RL clubs appear in trouble so the CC option could be of interest to them 

 

[FFC Mariner]

A "relocation team" has failed once (albeit because Manly wanted to kill it) and I think the Mariners have proved that the side HAS to be 100% CC based.

A Sydney c;ub playing half their home games at BT will simply fail over time as no one on the CC will engage long term.

 

[Jesus]

The NRL is just paying lip service to central coast by saying we are a priority whenever they come to town.

But in their actual comments elsewhere they are far more interested with a 2nd brisbane team, though have no money to make one, and are expecting a drop in tv money

 

[NewyForever]

WTF has it ever been even implied that we would ban the rapists? Love us to but in reality we wouldnt.

Wigan Athletic stopped Wigan Warriors playing a semi final at JJB Stadium last year and forced them to play at Bradford instead.