take some games to regional areas like Wagga, Coffs Harbour, Armidale etc ?
teams could even re-locate for a month to a regional area.
Have Double headers as well.
Sure the crowd numbers will be down but the TV ratings will still be ok and get some $ from FFA to help us for lost revenue and it'll be sweet!
that and a giant big wad of cash... FFA stand to well over a 1bil, i've read estimates that the tournament offers up profits to the tune of 6-7bil.
I see no reason why, say... 500mil cant be coming our way as compensation for the disruption and the lose of revenue, expossure, etc.
So yes, the infrastructure.... and a giant big wad of cash.
What would the NRL get out of this?
In terms of grounds - upgrades do not excite me one bit.
Lang Park does not need refurbishing.
Dairy Farmers does - but what good would a 40k stadium do in Townsville when League could never fill it?
Carrara - advantage to AFL given we just built Robina - and if Carrara was rectangular either that or Robina would become a white elephant.
We need bigger stadiums like a hole in the head. There are enough empty seats at NRL games at ANZ and SFS as it is that bring ridicule on our code - unfairly - because a good 20k crowd there is lost compared to if it was at Leichhardt, Parra or Kogarah for example - with great atmosphere from a packed house.
The Raiders struggle to fill Canberra Stadium as it is.
A new 40k stadium in WS is needed like a hole in the head. Who would use it?
We could move the comp forward a month - start on the Australia day weekend - and finish in early November. There goes our international schedule for 2 years. There also goes player welfare as we play in summer heat - people bake at ANZ waiting for the GF to start as it is.
All of a sudden we are playing in the cricket season.
If soccer Australia want to demand comps reschedule, then start with Fifa - play the soccer world cup in October-November, and get the EPL to move it's schedule.
If Soccer want this, Soccer has to be flexible. If soccer is inflexible, then sod off.
seriously guys, there's nothing to worry about with this bid. it will go back to Europe in 2018, and other countries are more advanced with where they are at re their bid for 2022 - i.e., knowing which cities and stadia will be able to host matches, and already have a lot of the infrastructure in place - that it is going to take a miracle for Oz to get it. just compare the official WC sites for Australia and the USA. Note to OZ bid team - BS about how beautiful our cities are wont get us the WC.
talk about the WC in Oz has been in motion for nearly 2 years and there has been absolutely no substance or transparency to the Australian bid so far.
I understand your pessimism as I was the same but I'm slowly beginning to gain some hope.
Yes, there are other more deserving soccer-loving nations that should get it before we do but that's no longer fits in with FIFA's ambition. The US, Japan/Korea and S Africa managed to get the WC when other more deserving countries were bidding after all.
The reason why those countries got it was that FIFA are actively pursuing growth in their non traditional areas. The potential for growth in Asia and the US is obvious. They are also looking to kill off all other rival sports.
With this in mind, the AFL's rants are actually helping our pitch as an assault on the WC bid is an assault on the FIFA. Plus our closeness to Asia is a help as it helps sure up the game in the region.
Okay, I wouldn't bet any money on it but I'm not as pessimistic as I once was.
it's odds-on that one of the England, Portugal/Spain, Belgium/Netherlands will get one of them. europe will not go 4 WC's without hosting the event.
Stop all building during World Cup, Fifa tells PE
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THE 2010 World Cup is coming to South Africa at a huge price.
Soccer's governing body, Fifa, has given Port Elizabeth a list of contentious demands for the soccer bash - among them that all construction in the city must be halted for the entire month's duration of the competition.
Fifa's Host City Agreement - signed by Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality - also requires the city to have back-up power grids to deal with any power failure.
Among other key demands are:
•Existing billboards within a 1km radius of stadiums and on all key transport routes must make way for "approved advertisers* for a week on either side of the final draw and for two weeks before and after the competition;
•Fifa wants first option on various public advertising media at airports, train stations and on all public transport routes;
•Businesses operating within the area around the stadium (as specified by Fifa) must be closed on match days, unless agreed in advance by Fifa in writing;
•A secure, fenced "fan park* built to Fifa specifications for fans to gather in must be provided;
•Special traffic access lanes for key Fifa representatives and participating teams and officials must be provided on match days;
•There are stringent ambush-marketing rules clamping down on "unauthorised* advertisers;
•A dedicated staff must be employed by host cities for six months leading up to the World Cup to monitor advertisers not authorised by Fifa, and inspect key routes to World Cup sites and signage in the host city;
•No other "substantial cultural events* (such as music concerts) which attract large audiences, other than Fifa-approved events, may be staged one day before or after a match day; and
•A special toll-free phone number must be set up by Nelson Mandela Bay for the public to report "illegal* marketing or counterfeit merchandise.
The month-long event, set for July 2010, will reportedly attract between 300000 and 400000 foreign visitors to the country.
While construction companies have slammed the moratorium on construction, saying their workers could not survive a month without pay, World Cup local organising committee chief executive Danny Jordaan said the Host City Agreement was "a standard Fifa document*.
"Fifa will only implement the clauses after an evaluation of what did and did not work at the 2006 Fifa World Cup in Germany (later this year).*
Jordaan said three people working on the World Cup from each host city would be taken to Germany to work with host cities, enabling them to get a "better grasp of issues*.
"There are terms and conditions associated with any sporting event - take the Ironman competition for example - where the city had to provide traffic authorities at cost to themselves.*
Chris Howes Construction managing director Chris Howes said building industry workers would be the worst off, if this had to happen. "I can't pay my workers to have a month's holiday.*
The moratorium is for "city beautification* purposes.
Stoffel van Rayner, of the Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers of SA, was against construction work shutting down.
Les Holley, executive director of Out of Home Media SA, a trade association for the outdoor advertising industry, said the stipulations seemed "highly irregular*. Nelson Mandela Bay spokesperson Roland Williams said all nine host cities had signed the same agreement. - DDC
government/fifa telling people to shut their businesses or how to run them is a major problem...Cant see any of those things being much of a problem for australia.
If they can get Suncorp upgraded to 65,000 that has to be a good thing for SOO, Internationals, Brisbane blockbusters and possible GF's.
The last World Cup final was played at a stadium with a running track. I think that would class the stadium as 'oval shaped'. Dickhead.
New state of the art arenas to be built in Perth, Canberra and Blacktown in Western Sydney is part of Australia's bid for either the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Australian bid team made their proposal to soccer's head body in Zurich on Friday, with a legacy of $2.8 billion worth of infrastructure promised, which all sporting codes would benefit from as a result.
Ten host cities have been selected as part of the bid under Australia's nationwide hosting proposal that will see World Cup matches played in six states and territories.
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Canberra, Newcastle, Geelong and Townsville have been chosen to host matches should Australia be successful, with Sydney's ANZ Stadium and Melbourne's MCG in the running to host the Final, one of the most watched events on the planet.
A leather-bound, 750-page bid book that contains Australia's hosting concept and all of the technical aspects of the bid was submitted at FIFAs headquarters.
Football Federation of Australia chairman Frank Lowy, said the completion of the bid documentation was an exciting milestone in Australia's history.
"We're proud to be presenting to FIFA bid documents that highlight a technically brilliant bid supported by unified government funding and commitment at all levels," Lowy said.
"This nationwide hosting proposal means millions of sports fans across the country will be able to enjoy the biggest and most exciting sporting event in the world in wonderful new or upgraded stadiums in their own cities.
"The infrastructure investment will leave a legacy to all sporting codes in the nation before and after the FIFA World Cup for generations to come."
The new stadiums include a 60,000-seat stadium on the Subiaco precinct in Perth, a 40,000-seat stadium near the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra and a 41,000-seat stadium in Blacktown in Sydney's south west.
The stadiums to be upgraded and have their capacity either permanently or temporarily increased include ANZ Stadium, Sydney Football Stadium, MCG, Skilled Stadium in Geelong, Dairy Farmers Stadium in Geelong, Adelaide Oval, Gold Coast, EnergyAustralia Stadium in Newcastle and Suncorp Stadium.
FFA CEO Ben Buckley said the bid shows Australia can deliver the best experience for teams and fans in Australia and the region.
"This is our opportunity to showcase our unique and beautiful country to the world," Buckley said.
"Our Bid is a tailor-made, compelling concept that shows Australia is ready to fulfill the dream of holding the FIFA World Cup on every continent on the globe."
that and a giant big wad of cash... FFA stand to well over a 1bil, i've read estimates that the tournament offers up profits to the tune of 6-7bil.
I see no reason why, say... 500mil cant be coming our way as compensation for the disruption and the lose of revenue, expossure, etc.
So yes, the infrastructure.... and a giant big wad of cash.