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Greg Prichard | March 13, 2008
WESTS TIGERS are planning to buck the trend of NRL clubs taking their home games to huge stadiums in return for financial guarantees, and return to playing at their traditional grounds next year.
The trend towards bigger stadiums has hit fans between the eyes in the lead-up to the this weekend's opening round, with South Sydney at home to Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay, tomorrow night, Parramatta at home to the Bulldogs at the same ground on Saturday night and Wests Tigers at home to St George Illawarra at Sydney Football Stadium on Sunday.
Wests Tigers were originally scheduled to play the Dragons at the SCG, but had to switch venues after the NSW cricket team qualified to host the Pura Cup final against Victoria there. The switch means Wests Tigers will play 12 home games at five different venues this season - Leichhardt Oval (three), Campbelltown Sports Stadium (three), ANZ Stadium (four), the SFS (one) and the SCG (one).
But if the club's homecoming plan - which depends largely on financial support from the Federal Government - comes off, it would increase the number of games the team plays at Leichhardt and Campbelltown next year, at the expense of games at the bigger stadiums.
Wests Tigers chief executive Steve Noyce told the Herald the club had already received some funding from the Government to upgrade facilities at both grounds and it was seeking more for further upgradings. Among other things, the funds would be spent on increasing seating numbers and enlarging and improving corporate areas, which would enable the club to earn more through gate receipts and private box hiring.
To prove to the Government that the club was genuine about using their traditional grounds more, Wests Tigers decided to sign a one-year deal at ANZ Stadium as opposed to their previous three-year deal, which began in the club's premiership-winning year of 2005.
"Our board would like us to play more games at our traditional grounds," Noyce said yesterday. "But that is subject to the facilities being upgraded to the extent where it is viable, and we are continuing to work with the Government to achieve more funding. We would like to become self-sufficient in terms of the funding of the football club, but there is a lot of pressure on football clubs these days because of reduced grants from leagues clubs due to increased poker machine taxes."
"So, in looking to go back to our traditional grounds for more games; we have to find ways of making that financially viable. Look at Gold Coast and their new ground - they will get somewhere between $600,000 and $700,000 from gate receipts for their first game there this weekend. The Titans have done well, and the challenge for clubs like Wests Tigers is to make home games at Leichhardt and Campbelltown more viable financially. The local communities want us to play more games at those grounds, and we would like to do that, if possible."
NRL chief executive David Gallop said he was enthusiastic about the Wests Tigers plans, particularly at a time when the AFL had stated its intention to move into Sydney's west with a new team. "The populations that surround Wests Tigers' home grounds want more games, and we would like to see their support rewarded," Gallop said. "Clubs have made commercial decisions on home games that are understandable, but at the same time there is nothing like league at Leichhardt or Campbelltown on a Sunday afternoon. If you were able to take money out of the equation, it would be almost a no-brainer, the decision of where to play, but you do have to make games viable. I'm enthusiastic about what Wests Tigers are doing."
It seems a long way off because, as I understand it, those grounds are a long way short on parking, transport and other facilities as well as capacity, particularly seated. It's a wonderful ambition to have but I don't think those stadiums can be sufficiently developed to a standard that would make it worthwhile.
Greg Prichard | March 13, 2008
WESTS TIGERS are planning to buck the trend of NRL clubs taking their home games to huge stadiums in return for financial guarantees, and return to playing at their traditional grounds next year.
The trend towards bigger stadiums has hit fans between the eyes in the lead-up to the this weekend's opening round, with South Sydney at home to Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay, tomorrow night, Parramatta at home to the Bulldogs at the same ground on Saturday night and Wests Tigers at home to St George Illawarra at Sydney Football Stadium on Sunday.
Wests Tigers were originally scheduled to play the Dragons at the SCG, but had to switch venues after the NSW cricket team qualified to host the Pura Cup final against Victoria there. The switch means Wests Tigers will play 12 home games at five different venues this season - Leichhardt Oval (three), Campbelltown Sports Stadium (three), ANZ Stadium (four), the SFS (one) and the SCG (one).
But if the club's homecoming plan - which depends largely on financial support from the Federal Government - comes off, it would increase the number of games the team plays at Leichhardt and Campbelltown next year, at the expense of games at the bigger stadiums.
Wests Tigers chief executive Steve Noyce told the Herald the club had already received some funding from the Government to upgrade facilities at both grounds and it was seeking more for further upgradings. Among other things, the funds would be spent on increasing seating numbers and enlarging and improving corporate areas, which would enable the club to earn more through gate receipts and private box hiring.
To prove to the Government that the club was genuine about using their traditional grounds more, Wests Tigers decided to sign a one-year deal at ANZ Stadium as opposed to their previous three-year deal, which began in the club's premiership-winning year of 2005.
"Our board would like us to play more games at our traditional grounds," Noyce said yesterday. "But that is subject to the facilities being upgraded to the extent where it is viable, and we are continuing to work with the Government to achieve more funding. We would like to become self-sufficient in terms of the funding of the football club, but there is a lot of pressure on football clubs these days because of reduced grants from leagues clubs due to increased poker machine taxes."
"So, in looking to go back to our traditional grounds for more games; we have to find ways of making that financially viable. Look at Gold Coast and their new ground - they will get somewhere between $600,000 and $700,000 from gate receipts for their first game there this weekend. The Titans have done well, and the challenge for clubs like Wests Tigers is to make home games at Leichhardt and Campbelltown more viable financially. The local communities want us to play more games at those grounds, and we would like to do that, if possible."
NRL chief executive David Gallop said he was enthusiastic about the Wests Tigers plans, particularly at a time when the AFL had stated its intention to move into Sydney's west with a new team. "The populations that surround Wests Tigers' home grounds want more games, and we would like to see their support rewarded," Gallop said. "Clubs have made commercial decisions on home games that are understandable, but at the same time there is nothing like league at Leichhardt or Campbelltown on a Sunday afternoon. If you were able to take money out of the equation, it would be almost a no-brainer, the decision of where to play, but you do have to make games viable. I'm enthusiastic about what Wests Tigers are doing."
It seems a long way off because, as I understand it, those grounds are a long way short on parking, transport and other facilities as well as capacity, particularly seated. It's a wonderful ambition to have but I don't think those stadiums can be sufficiently developed to a standard that would make it worthwhile.
