I'd rather have another Arena than another Belltower. Keep pushing the boundaries. If you're getting oldies calling and complaining on 6PR about it then your job is done.
Perth Stadium (Optus Stadium)
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I'd rather have another Arena than another Belltower. Keep pushing the boundaries. If you're getting oldies calling and complaining on 6PR about it then your job is done.
Did see it (though not the WACA stuff you've listed) & regarded it as an attempt by the WACA to increase its relevance going forward from the Dennis Lillee era - came shortly after I heard Dennis on Melbourne radio canning the current regime (to be expected, he's gone now). I'm of the DK era & find it hard to even consider questioning anything he does or says, in awe even, I'm on his side ....
Cricket has a number of former employees on the Stadium management payroll, and that cant harm their cause, and does nothing for footy IMHO.
The success of the Scorchers in the BBL helps cricket and taking a line from Adelaide Oval, you'd expect Perth to follow.
I'm not sure a 15k Oval has any relevance, boutique stadium for what, certainly not WAFL footy, or Shield cricket, there are plenty of Ovals about town that will handle events in the less than 10k crowd range, why the WACA ground? The drop in pitches have ended its quick bouncy wicket.
The rectangular sports have redeveloped Perth Oval for their use so are not in the market for a 15k oval.
Politics at play in all this (shades of AO) & I see Perth going down the same path for the same sort of result.
WA footy has much to lose in my opinion & it is the only real money spinner from the AFL games, anything else is very speculative, even BBL which is riding the crest of a wave similar to the 50 over game.
That Trevor Nisbett & the Eagles are the public voice for footy in the negotiations makes sense to me, more voters than Freo or the WAFC.
Ron Alexander continues to play a role & he's long been a critic of the AFL & pro WA footy, good man off field that Alexander! Currently has the Project Director of the new stadium reporting to him.
The most recent suggestion that the clubs will be limited to 50k of the seats makes no sense to me, I'm sure if they run the numbers over 50, they would talk, why not 55, 54, 53 ... fixed costs are the same.
What say you REH?
RussellEbertHandball
Flick pass expert
I'm surprised that the WACA reckon they can get $150m+ from the state government, unless they have had some sort of understanding from Barnett and co, but I can't see either political party going to the March election with a policy of spending another $150m on a boutique stadium. The WACA obviously are trying to court a pissed off WAFC who missed out on running the stadium, and whose lost revenue from Subi, has still not been resolved yet and written into any official agreement, despite what Barnett has said in the past.
Its interesting that in Adelaide it was Port, the AFL and a government whose 2 senior figures Premier Rann and Treasurer Foley were Port supporters who pushed hard for AO redevelopment as well as SACA President and ex Liberal Howard federal minister and political heavy weight Ian McLachlan, took the prime positions in the lobbying and setting up the redevelopment. McLachlan had been trying to get an AFL game at Adelaide oval, even a Vic team home game since about 2002.
The SANFL and crows were off to the side in 2009 as the government intially spooked by the opposition leaders Docklands over the railway tracks proposal in early 2009, the bid for the soccer World Cup had to be completed by March 2010 and an election was due in late February 2010. But once the heads of agreement was signed in August 2010 between the SACA and SANFL to go ahead with it, and form the JV Stadium Management Authority to run the Oval, the SANFL did take the prime position for footy negotiations, the crows were still uncertain and it was the government and to a lesser extent the AFL that had to bang heads together to get agreements finalized and built the thing. The handing back of the 2 licences by the SANFL back to AFL made it even more complicated. Lucky for the 2 clubs a review after 12 months clause was put in the stadium deal and a bloody long and arduous review took place. There was a signing of a confidentiality agreement by all parties involved in the stadium deal review, but strategic leaks by all sides during the review did turn it into a side show between 1st July 2014 ( 3 months after the first game) and the new stadium deal announced 10th March 2015 only 2 or 3 weeks before the start of the 2nd season at the new AO.
Looks like WCE are taking the lead on the negotiations, publicly anyway, as the government has effectively sidelined or at best diminished the WAFC's negotiation position. I guess it makes sense compared to the SA situation because the cards dealt to the WAFC are different to the ones dealt to the SANFL over here.
I see the Stadium deal wanting to turn the current royalty stream by the AFL clubs to the WAFC into rental - reduce the operating loss, then kick it back to the WAFC as support to WA footy by the stadium /Govt. No winners, no losers except the optics (a Gil-ism).
How it is achieved begs the question of whether the AFL is trying to manoeuvre the WAFC out of the ownership role by loading the clubs & members up with debt (the SA deal as I read it).
How it is achieved begs the question of whether the AFL is trying to manoeuvre the WAFC out of the ownership role by loading the clubs & members up with debt (the SA deal as I read it).
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I call it the pineapple
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That's the nickname I was trying to remember...
Nup, not going to happen, ................... miles back in the list.
Garth McKenzie, Kim Hughes, Terry Alderman, Bacchus etc, off the top of my head, will be looked at first.
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I'll give you Kim Hughes as he was test captain. I never saw any of them, but JL was pat of the greatest opening partners ever in one of the greatest and most dominant international sporting teams ever.
Bacchus Marsh - mmmmmmmm rates along with DK.
Garth, was poised to break the record of most Aussie test wickets, from Richie Benaud. There's a nice story there !!!!!!.
Terry Alderman = swing king.
Yep, I'll agree that Langer was good, but you are pumping his tyres up a bit too much. After you've seen Greenidge, Haynes & Sir Viv, you would get some perspective on opening batsmen.
I feel like you're having a bit of a lend here...
In the chance you're actually serious though I'll enlighten you- people call it a turd because it literally looks like a turd. Seriously they have a poo museum in Japan where you'd see this kind of stuff.
I stared at it for 5 mins and honestly that's the only comparison I could come up with.
Taylor
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What ink would you want that kickback agreement written in to trust that it won't get pulled when a future government is looking for a few extra million for upgrades to a children's hospital?
New grants get political points, maintaining existing looks like welfare
The biggest problem with stadium deals are no one gives up their share. As in the Adelaide negotiations all that happened was prices went up and the clubs got more money.
The biggest problem with Adelaide Oval is it just costs to much to run and everyone wants a cut if any takings.
The biggest problem with Adelaide Oval is it just costs to much to run and everyone wants a cut if any takings.
So how do you apply this to Perth Stadium (not disagreeing & its the #1 venue in Aus ).
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Captain or not, Langer's record shits over Hughes; 105 Tests at 45 compared to 70 at 37.
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I'm not a cricket expert by any means, but Hughes was no mug in the batting stakes.
Compare the bowling attacks that these 2 players had to play against ?. Windies in the 70's to 80's, you needed a good set of nappies when you faced them.
Also compare the teams those scores were made in ?. Langers team was relatively settled, in Hughes era, there was a lot of turmoil.
Maybe even Bob Massie 
Hughes, Marsh, Lillee, Matera, Cable and Polly Farmer.
Garth McKenzie before my time so do not know but sounds like has fair credentials.
Alderman too.
Garth McKenzie before my time so do not know but sounds like has fair credentials.
Alderman too.
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Definitely official that the original name is going to be Perth Stadium. Wonder how long before it is renamed to Super Cheap Park or Bunnings Oval :/. Perhaps BHP Field?
As soon as the sponsors pony up the money
Sounding like someone that never watched cricket when Hughes played and only relying on stats to form an opinion.
Little doubt you are not aware how many times Hughes had to captain and bat against the West Indies at their most brutal best.
Warner behind Greenidge but would probably have Warner over Haynes, just.
Alderman swing king for sure.
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Old enough to remember them both, thanks (though my more vivid memories begin with AB). You can certainly award points for gutsy innings (though JL had a few of his own) and he certainly had to play through some trying times, through no fault of his own. But at the end of the day, you have to acknowledge that Hughes underachieved and Langer scored a lot more runs a lot more consistently.
I would say Hughes underachieved at the end, due to the heavy weight of having too much on his plate for that period he was captain, But given the context of just how good the West Indies were at that time, I do not put a lot of stock on his final average as the true testament to his rating as a batsmen. He played so many memorable innings, I think the legacy he left with his stroke play is worthy of being given more credit than you showed. I am a big fan of Langer, but there is no way can rate him ahead of Hughes so dismissively as you did.
Just far far easier to average 45 in his era than 37 in Hughes time period, facing Windies so bloody often. I think his last 18 Test innings were all against the West Indies. My memories are not vague of how tough it was just to survive against the likes of Holding, Garner, Marshall, Wayne Daniel and Winston Davis type characters.
Tough enough just to bat, with burden of captaincy and to have to have them time after time, would have taken it's toll like cannot be imagined even from sidelines. We played 5 Tests in West Indies against them and then 5 more back in Australia from November.
10 Tests in a row against this type of bowling attack.
If you struggle to remember check some of this out.
18 innings in a row against typical 4 pronged pace attack.
