World Footy News

The AFL has made a major commitment via expansion clubs Gold Coast Suns and Greater Western Sydney Giants. Part of a long term plan they have drawn both criticism and support from within and outside of football circles. Few non AFL journalists though have focussed on the AFL more than the Sydney Morning Herald’s Roy Masters. However, in his latest attack on GWS he’s made a bit of a blue that is worth reviewing especially given some recent developments and stories around GWS.

In his article titled “Lonesome Giants endangered in wild west” from the SMH, June 5th, Masters tries to parallel taxpayers dollars spent on the ‘protection’ of the GWS Giants to what might have been spent preserving the habitat of the Galapagos giant tortoise.

This is where Masters goes astray, showing a lack of valid research and a reliance upon the opposition in the News Ltd Sydney daily – the Daily Telegraph. Masters stated “According to reports in July 2008, Blacktown council siphoned off its taxpayer-provided sports budget for the facility, described as a $27.5 million project.

The AFL and cricket provided $2,875,000 and with the NSW government tipping in $15 million, presumably Blacktown council provided the rest.”

The lack of valid research is illustrated by the fact that a quick google reveals the March 2005 announcement by then NSW Premier Bob Carr that “..a major $20 million development of sports facilities in Sydney's west, opening the door for a potential second AFL team in Sydney and for regular Pura Cup and One-Day cricket matches in Western Sydney.” And, specifically, ” At Blacktown Olympic Park, the Government will provide $15 million to expand facilities for AFL and cricket.”

The remaining $5 million was also allocated at the time :

”The Government has also agreed to provide Blacktown City Council with $5 million to develop soccer fields between Rooty Hill Road South, and the Western Sydney Orbital”

And importantly

The $20 million for sports facilities is in addition to the $45 million already earmarked for the development of the Western Sydney Parklands over the next 10 years

The unfortunate fact is that the July 2008 reports that Masters alludes to was incorrect reporting from the Daily Telegraph. This July 17, 2008 article stating “BLACKTOWN Council has siphoned almost all of a $20 million taxpayer fund for sports facilities across the area into its new AFL stadium”

What’s clear is that anyone who reads and comprehends the 2005 Govt announcement would understand that no such syphoning occurred. The funds for sports facilities across the area was the already earmarked $45 million. The $20 million of which $15 million was for Blacktown International Sports Park was additional and not instead of.

The Daily Telegraph article mentioned that the Blacktown Council had put in $6.75 million and that the AFL and Cricket NSW had contributed $2.875 million – although there was a rather untidy exclusion of the word ‘each’. Masters seemed to struggle with the maths himself.

However – this is a very topical issue presently with the Giants having recently announced their move to a new complext to be built at Sydney’s Olympic park as the permanent summer training base. Reported here in the local Blacktown Advocate. The irony of the previously publicised ground sharing with Cricket NSW at Blacktown was of course being the inability to access the ground during summer. Again though – it’s worth recalling the 2005 announcement :

Mr Carr said that in coming years, as the Blacktown Olympic Park expands, the AFL will expand its participation and talent development programs and increasingly base them in Blacktown.

"Blacktown Olympic Park will also be the venue for pre-season matches, giving local residents the chance to see their AFL teams compete right here in their own community.

"If the AFL establishes a second NSW team, these facilities will place western Sydney in an extremely competitive position which is great news for all AFL fans."

It’s pretty clear there was no commitment at that time that the funding and project was contingent upon regular season AFL matches let alone permanent AFL club training at the venue. The venue was always built though with the potential for a phase two upgrade to a 20,000 capacity venue. The Royal Agricultural Society ground upgrade at ‘Skoda’ stadium at Homebush probably puts phase 2 out of the question.

There is also a recent story about the Wagga city council committing $100,000 annually for 3 years to assist the Giants with annual pre-season matches. Reported in the Canberra Times – NRL interests have got their backs up and the now former NRL boss David Gallop even made the trek to Wagga. Perhaps a clear point here is that it is in the interests of a NSW municipality to join in partnership with the AFL - as it will ensure greater attention from the NRL will follow as well.

AFL followers are generally pretty aware of the AFL’s heavy financial investment in infrastructure and the many public/private partnership arrangements that the AFL has entered into with the various levels of Government across Australia. Anyone relying too much on reading certain misleading and outright false reporting might be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Code wars certainly appears very real at very least in the Sydney media. The irony though is that this isn’t all that new – the “Australian Town and Country Journal” from Saturday, July 31, 1880 reported “THE introduction of the Victorian Association game of football into New South Wales has evidently had a similar effect to a red blanket held before a bull, and made " leather hunters" infuriated by its mention, and this is very palpable from tho many effusions which are daily emanating from members of the different clubs.”