Bulldogs to play 2 games in Ballarat

[cleveland]

You eastern suburbs boys saying it will make it hard to get to games.....that's soft haha

If u can't drive the train takes just over 1 hour and is a very comfortable ride

 

[Reptilia]

Looking forward to some nice drives up to Ballarat.

 

[DognBones]

Got my doubts about this concept also. The ground is not well-situated (at present it's a pathetic excuse for a VFL ground IMO). I'm not sure we would attract that many Ballarat spectators to our games either, particularly if the opposition is a low-drawing interstate team.
A lot of money for a dubious, incalculable outcome.
Would I go? Of course, but not willingly.

 

[maddog37]

The ground currently is an open wasteland which will mean nothing needs to be knocked down before building which will reduce costs. Plenty of room to develop parking etc. The ground is currently shocking for spectators and would need to be totally transformed. Surface is good though.

Lots of Pies, Cats, Bombers fans here IMHO. North were never really appreciated overly much by the community so we have a tough job ahead of us to get new members.

 

[Mutt]

Got my doubts about this concept also. The ground is not well-situated (at present it's a pathetic excuse for a VFL ground IMO). I'm not sure we would attract that many Ballarat spectators to our games either, particularly if the opposition is a low-drawing interstate team.
A lot of money for a dubious, incalculable outcome.
Would I go? Of course, but not willingly.

Surely it's better than playing home games in Canberra, Cairns or Darwin though?

 

[DognBones]

Surely it's better than playing home games in Canberra, Cairns or Darwin though?

Yes, probably better for our supporters to attend but I'm not sure we'd get a better financial result. Not sure what we get from selling interstate games but I'd suspect at least a few hundred thousand. Somebody else could confirm?

 

[Kony Abbott]

Yep, can't wait to leave the roofed comfort of Etihad for Ballarat in the dead of winter.

But, it would be nice to see us play GC, Brisbane or either of the WA teams there though. Have you seen any of them play at Simonds Stadium on a cold winter's day, most times they just go through the motions waiting til it's time to go back to their warm home. So 4pts is worth a bit of discomfort.

Watching the GC boys try and slog it out in the pouring rain at Aurora Stadium this year against Hawthorn was quite amusing.

 

[Super Hans]

I'm from West Gippsland, but for a couple of games a year I'll be there...hopefully a few others will be prepared to travel, too.

This is a great move for us:
1. AFL research (done by Peter Jackson, I think) suggested the Dogs need to be treated like an expansion team so that we could take the Western region "away" from soccer. This is one step. A fairly large step.

2. We will make so much more money with a crowd of 15,000 than with 35,000 at Etihad. Huge for us!

3. Ballarat is a big Doggies area. Given that we are already well supported there, it can only help to consolidate and increase that support.

4. Clearly, as the Western Suburbs club, we are important to the growth of the game west of Melbourne - especially in the areas on and around the Western Highway. The AFL knows that, and will act accordingly. We are the Western Victorian club!

I wouldn't say Ballarat is a Bulldogs area. It's like everywhere else, Carlton and Essendon then the rest is shared around. The one major difference is that Hawthorn are pretty small down here compared to the eastern suburbs.

 

[Norm De Guerre]

I don't live very far from Ballarat, so can say with some certainty that anybody planning on attending games there in the middle of winter shouldn't expect much of this.

 

[VitalDread]

I don't live very far from Ballarat, so can say with some certainty that anybody planning on attending games there in the middle of winter shouldn't expect much of this.

View attachment 91003

Hope in the future there's a roof.

 

[King Harold]

Surely it's better than playing home games in Canberra, Cairns or Darwin though?

Is for me , love escaping the Melbourne winter. The Cairns and Darwin experience were great.

 

[fargy]

Geelong would have the most supporters across Western Victoria from my experience.

 

[Testekill]

I don't live very far from Ballarat, so can say with some certainty that anybody planning on attending games there in the middle of winter shouldn't expect much of this.

View attachment 91003

We're all well aware that Ballarat must be the coldest place on Earth during winter.

 

[Norm De Guerre]

We're all well aware that Ballarat must be the coldest place on Earth during winter.

Awesome! I wasn't sure if the point had been rammed home quite enough until my post. Now I guess I do.

 

[VitalDread]

Ballarat presents
Chance to improve sponserships, memberships and talent scouting
Greater hold of the western victoria
Profit at ballarat instead of etihad.
Not playing at carins which increase members attending those games
Chance to have a sponsership with vline
Chance to creater a sponsership with ballarat rebels, allow them to train with our afl coaches etc
Play vfl games there to boost interest
Allow us to wait till WO is AFL level ground.

 

[GetDimmaBack]

I wouldn't say Ballarat is a Bulldogs area. It's like everywhere else, Carlton and Essendon then the rest is shared around. The one major difference is that Hawthorn are pretty small down here compared to the eastern suburbs.

Yeah, I should have made myself more clear.

Sorry, didn't mean the Dogs were the dominant club in the area, just that we seem to have lots of our supporters living there.

Could still be wrong...

 

[SonOfScray]

Sounds like a good plan. I'd embrace the trip up the Western Highway a few times a year.

 

[candymanwb]

Ballarat presents
Chance to improve sponserships, memberships and talent scouting
Greater hold of the western victoria
Profit at ballarat instead of etihad.
Not playing at carins which increase members attending those games
Chance to have a sponsership with vline
Chance to creater a sponsership with ballarat rebels, allow them to train with our afl coaches etc
Play vfl games there to boost interest
Allow us to wait till WO is AFL level ground.

Will this actually happen??

 

[VitalDread]

Will this actually happen??

I hope it will.
Reckon etihad deal will force clubs to go elsewhere

 

[GreatSouthWest]

The Rat also has one of the most idiotic per capita pub ratios of any provincial city/town in Australia.

Very cold beer.

 

[dogwatch]

I think this is wonderful news.

I'm surprised there is such an ambivalent and at times myopic response in this thread. For all those people critical of the club for not capitalising on its western corridor heartland and wondering how we are going to win the west, please take a moment to think about the implications (hint ... it isn't just about the suburbs a few kilometres to the west of Whitten Oval). Please think beyond 2020.

Is the ambivalence because many of you are western suburbs based and find it inconvenient to traipse out to Ballarat? It's instructive to see many of the warmer responses coming from BF posters based outside Melbourne (e.g. Tommycash and posters from Cranbourne, Gippsland, Eastern Suburbs, SA etc) who are already geographically disadvantaged as WB supporters.

VD said:

Allows us to play games there and gives us profit for afl games till Whitten Oval is AFL ready.

We need to set aside this pipe dream. I'm not expecting VUWO will ever be AFL ready. It's role will not be much different to what it is now - a spiritual home, a place for VFL games involving Footscray, a venue for the Women's League, a training ground, the WB HQ, a community resource and a modest sized recreation and socialising venue. If you asked me for a 20 year vision for sport/AFL in Victoria I'd be looking to grow places like Ballarat, Bendigo, La Trobe Valley and Albury/Wodonga as at least casual venues, if not permanent part-time ones (like Aurora Stadium is). That's where Eureka is heading.

I'm not against the idea of playing a match or two there a year as it's better than interstate and I'm sure there are financial benefits for us which I understand is important in the short term but hopefully we've got a plan to not need such an arrangement 5-10 years down the track.
But why the hell are we having staff there and building an office? Where is the logic in that?

My view is that if we get the government investment in Eureka for free (i.e. we don't have to match it 1 for 2, or whatever) we still have to provide a bit of quid pro quo. Our "quid" goes into establishing a permanent presence, a small investment in office infrastructure, a little bit of local employment and - by implication - a commitment to stay the course for more than the 3-5 years that we have seen in so many regional ventures by AFL clubs in the last 15 years. If the government keeps its word and we keep ours we should be well ahead almost on a year-by-year basis, but certainly over the 5-10 year term. Also the establishment of a small office is a way of saying to the electorates of Ballarat that this is not just another bit of ephemeral infrastructure spending by the government but a serious commitment that is visible every day in the form of a WB branch office. Finally it is a way of the WB saying to the people of the Ballarat region "we are here to stay - embrace us - join us!"

Contrary to not needing such an arrangement in 5-10 years I suspect we will be aiming to grow it. This should be core to our growth strategy.

I'm not convinced any of the benefits outweigh the lay out.

Guarantee we'll take Ballarat players every year now with our blinkers on while other clubs search in every part of the country for every player. Every player is vital in this day and age. I hope we have the balls to overlook a ballarat local in favour of Broome local if it's the right thing to do. But you know they won't now because of some perceived investment.

Can't imagine building a HQ will roll in the memberships in Ballarat - maybe it'll just pay off the staff wages and building costs of moving to Ballarat.

Are we going to build a community camp out there? Can't we just organise that from Melbourne?

No benefits are ever certain but if we have a clear vision based on solid research, and if we have strong commitment, staying power and hard work to support it there is every chance it will work. The layout is an interesting question. I would like to see the detail but at this stage there appears to be little more than establishing an office and maintain the staffing there on a year by year basis.

Why would we pick Ballarat players over better ones elsewhere in the draft? I respect your posts Butane but this one has something of an Eeyore attitude to it. As Exhibit A I offer you Jake Carlisle - big bodied and well-performed KPP who was an avid Doggies fan and we chose an unheard of lightly framed, one-sided midfielder from SA. I could go on, but surely there's no need.

If all we do in the first 3 years is cover the office costs (in additional revenues) then we will have a bargain. But I ask you and other posters who say we are only modestly represented in that region, to look beyond 2020. We are looking to shift the balance of local support from its current state to something approaching what Geelong is like. By 2030 we should be hoping 1 in 5 football followers in the region is either a WB fan or at least a WB regional member (even if their first love is still another team). By 2040 we should be aiming for 1 in 4 in our camp - or even 1 in 3.

Don't mind playing games there for premiership points at all - that makes sense.
I'll have to wait and see what sort of time, staff and financial investment we're making in Ballarat before I get to critical I suppose.

I quite agree. There's still a fair bit we don't know. And of course it's all contingent on the election outcome at this stage.

I'm unlikely to be able to get to any games played in Ballarat - but that's not the point.
This is a fantastic opportunity for the club to make some cash in lower-drawing games rather than writing out a cheque to Etihad. It's a fantastic opportunity for us to build our support in the west; to create a sustainable framework for the future; and to do all of this without selling games interstate. It's also a brilliant contingency plan if the AFL are unable to purchase Etihad before 2025.
Good work by the club.

Well said, Dan. Also the posts from eastdog , timtamWB , GetDimmaBack and NathanMJ_WB54 among others.

The point is, with all the areas that need money from government is this really a priority? Everything is tickety boo huh. Enough schools, transport, police, ambulances, hospitals, funding for medical research, funding for new technologies?
All colours of governments do it, it's a disgrace.

True. As somebody else pointed out we gladly took the money of the Howard government for VUWO redevelopment. I agree with you in general that schools, hospitals and other services are logically and morally a higher priority but as we have seen over and over again logic and fairness doesn't win elections. And don't forget that sport (especially AFL) is a huge business in Victoria. If you combine that with a development policy aimed at growing country regions like Ballarat and Bendigo then we are lucky enough to be a very good fit. A serious AFL presence with a proper stadium makes a city more attractive to newcomers and a place to be proud of if you already live there. So it's not all just cynical policy-making.

In summary, let's make this our 25 year plan. Expecting it to yield membership riches and other bounty within 5 years is unrealistic.

And I leave you with a final thought: if we were ever forced to relocate would you rather we go to Tasmania, Canberra, North Queensland, Auckland ... or Ballarat? I would take Ballarat in an instant (and I live in Canberra!)

We could be looking at the (very) long term future of the WESTERN Bulldogs right here, folks.

 

[VitalDread]

Im waiting for a "lets change our name to footscray" thread to appear

 

[dogwatch]

I don't live very far from Ballarat, so can say with some certainty that anybody planning on attending games there in the middle of winter shouldn't expect much of this.

View attachment 91003

Haha... I see what you did there!

 

[aCunningPlan]

I'd be more optimistic of potentially stealing Carlton's Mars sponsorship to be honest Mars have a clear interest in the AFL and have always promoted themselves as 'Made in Ballarat', why not sponsor the side that plays here?

 

[boydsno1]

Hate it. Really do hate it. 1 game I can stomach but not 2 or 3. So let's say the Ballarat community embrace it and 5-10k locals go it leaves a small number available for the rest of us. It means we may miss out and the 11 game membership we get is really 8 games as I doubt the club will reimburse it with 3 replacement games.

Would mean there is no point of paying $500+ a year for membership.