Post by aek210 on Mar 29, 2012 7:47:46 GMT 10
Updated March 28, 2012 10:00:20
Adelaide United will consider whether to move soccer games to Norwood Oval or Marden because of a $25,000 match fee to use Hindmarsh Stadium.
Reds chairman Greg Griffin said the board was yet to make a decision on a deal that would see the match fee rise from $16,000 per game last year to $25,000 from the end of next month.
"The previous position from the Department of Recreation and Sport was a take-it-or-leave-it offer, so of course we had to take it," Mr Griffin said.
He said the club wanted to stay at Hindmarsh Stadium, but the increase in ground fees and other costs made it hard.
"So far this year we have been hit with an extra $58,000 in additional security fees ... plus every time you even think of doing something at Hindmarsh there is a fee attached," he said.
Mr Griffin said Norwood Oval or Marden were realistic alternatives.
He rejected Sport Minister Tom Kenyon's claim the club was getting the best stadium deal for any soccer team in the country.
Executive director of the Office of Recreation and Sport, Paul Anderson, said the figures being quoted were misleading.
"They don't reflect the level of support the Government is giving," he said.
AUDIO: Adelaide United eyes other soccer venues (ABC News)
Mr Anderson said interstate clubs faced fees of about $100,000 per match for stadium use, while Adelaide United was being charged $22,000 for use of Hindmarsh Stadium.
"On top of that, they get a lot of signage and advertising space at the stadium to sell, they have the right to sell the corporate boxes, they have free accommodation and they get the ticketing revenue," he said.
"There isn't another club in the country, and I doubt in any code, that gets that sort of a deal or that sort of support.
"We don't have the luxury of being able to hold prices at 2005 prices."
Mr Anderson said Hindmarsh Stadium was a good option for soccer.
AUDIO: Government defends Adelaide United's stadium deal (ABC News)
"The reality of it is that they're living in a purpose-built stadium. They're talking about the fact that they would like an even better rectangular stadium from the State Government, and then on the other hand they talk about a willingness to go and play at an oval which would set their code back 20 years," he said.
- Brett Williamson
www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-27/hindmarsh-stadium-fee-greg-griffin/3915218?section=sa
And they are still struggling - what does that tell you about the financial model of Australian football.
? And we wonder why they fail to engage the grass roots. 
