Warning: the above links to a Patrick Smith article.

Clicking on it supports him and justifies his existence.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24109399-5013459,00.html

ONCE you do the simple mathematics then the solution appears overwhelmingly sensible. If not expensive and bold as well. Certainly the final outcome will become a political and sporting issue of great drama.

Presently 16 AFL teams play football over 22 rounds which makes a total of 176 games. If west Sydney comes on line in 2012 and joins the Gold Coast as the 17th and 18th teams, then you have a serious problem. That is an increase of 40 games, assuming the numbers of rounds increase to 24, a significant number of which will need to be played in Melbourne.

Given the present workload of the two AFL venues in Melbourne, Telstra Dome and the MCG, and the tight contracts that bind clubs and the AFL to those stadiums, the league is now considering building a third venue. Its size and whereabouts are far from settled but a boutique arena with a potential to cater for 25,000 fans is a starting point.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24109399-5013459,00.html

Club chief executives attending a two-day information conference which ended yesterday were told the new venue was an option the AFL was seriously considering.

The AFL is looking to cater for the extra teams and off-setting the wretched and niggardly deals some clubs have with their landlords at Telstra Dome and the MCG. The meeting was told the new ground was one of several economic options.

A 25,000-seat stadium could work along the lines of Geelong's home ground which can return the club match receipts of around $500,000 a game.

A new stadium appeals both to the AFL and the clubs which are hamstrung by deals where most of the money earned on match day goes straight back to venue management.

The present deals are locked in and will hinder tenant clubs such as the Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne and St Kilda until the AFL takes ownership of Telstra Dome in 2025.

The AFL was loath to set down specifics because the growth in attendances and membership has increased rapidly. Average attendance for games in Melbourne is 40,000 but games with poorly performing non-Victorian clubs draw far fewer fans.

For example: Melbourne must draw 20,000 supporters to break even at the MCG and North Melbourne and the Bulldogs 30,000 at Telstra Dome. So hard has it been for clubs to negotiate with Telstra Dome boss Ian Collins that the clubs have handed the stadium deals over to the AFL executive to sort out.

Does anyone have anything more they wish to add?

Warning: the above links to a Patrick Smith article.

Clicking on it supports him and justifies his existence.

I'd just like to add that I refuse to read anything from The Australian while Patrick Smith is still in their employ.

Cheers Deano.

Can all TCer's please take note, and include a warning when linking to his articles.

I do not wish to read them, nor provide him with tacit support by giving him a hit.

+1

+2

that article is miles off the mark....