The Western United Thread

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Upstart Swan

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Jun 6, 2012
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The annual Western United stadium assurance article, Its really really happening now or soon or later. :rolleyes:
Nothing we haven't already heard about in that article its still all the some recycled word salad that gets rehashed every few months.


If stadiums were made of media releases we'd have the best one in the country!

There's an article on ESPN which also gives an explanation for the late player payments:

A-League drifters Western United makes new stadium commitment

Also an article in The Australian, but subscribers only so I haven't read it:
 
Jul 5, 2011
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If stadiums were made of media releases we'd have the best one in the country!

There's an article on ESPN which also gives an explanation for the late player payments:

A-League drifters Western United makes new stadium commitment

Also an article in The Australian, but subscribers only so I haven't read it:
The Australian article Upstart Swan

US giant backs funding for A-League club Western United’s property and stadium project​

Funding from a deal with a $US38bn ($56bn) New York Stock Exchange-listed giant should finally get major work under way within a year on an ambitious $2bn sport and property project in Melbourne’s west.
Building technology group Johnson Controls will help provide the funding for the owners of A-League soccer club Western United to undertake a $2bn commercial and residential property project to be built around a new 15,000-capacity stadium.
A $50m debt facility will help unlock a public-private partnership deal with the local Wyndham Council for the land to construct the stadium, and then the entire 62.5ha precinct that will eventually be built under an already-approved masterplan managed by Melbourne developer YourLand Developments.

The deal for the privately backed Western Melbourne Group with Johnson Controls, which will be the technology partner for the project, and YourLand, which will also take an equity stake in WMG, should alleviate some pressure on the soccer club owners, which have promised to build their own stadium since gaining an A-League licence in 2018.
WMG, headed by executive chairman Jason Sourasis, has spent $70m running Western United and funding preparatory work on the project in the past six years, and needed another $50m to get the next stage of the development locked in.
Johnson Controls has worked on large US stadiums and areas in cities including Las Vegas, Milwaukee, San Francisco and Cleveland. YourLand has undertaken and managed projects in Melbourne’s west including residential housing lots, commercial buildings, town centres and wetlands – all of which are planned for the Western United development.
Mr Sourasis told The Australian that plans now called for his club to play out of its brand new stadium at some time during the 2026-27 A-League season – a timeline that has already blown out by several years.
But Western United should be playing home games by March this year at a 5000-seat future training facility that is being built next to the land earmarked for the main stadium.

“We will be playing in Tarneit, in the City of Wyndham before the end of the 2023/24 A-League men’s and women’s seasons and we look forward to our fans having a place to permanently call home,” Mr Sourasis said.
“It has been a hugely challenging period for Western United for several years, for a range of factors, including Covid and the complexity of this project. But we have made a significant investment in Australian football and sports infrastructure, that will benefit the broader community and the state of Victoria. And that will continue.”
WMG has been trying to pull off what would be the biggest deal in Australian sports business history, with a 15,000 seat outdoor stadium the centrepiece of a 62.5ha project that is now expected to take up to 10 years to complete.
The outdoor arena will be surrounded by several new apartment blocks up to seven levels high, housing subdivision lots, a hotel, commercial office space, an indoor sports arena, training and medical facilities, shops, bars and parkland under plans that have been approved by the Victorian state government.
Sourasis and his group have already spent about $70m raised from investors, who include wealthy Melbourne families and athletes such as Collingwood star Scott Pendlebury, tennis player Thanasi Kokkinakis, and Australian Olympic basketballers Dante Exum and Chris Goulding.
WMG sent an information memorandum to prospective investors and partners last June.

 

Punt Road Feral

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I knew WU’s promise of a ‘shovel ready’ bid was a lie like the other 95% of punters and the deadline of 2 years was always a cop out.

However the sooner they can park their asses at the 5,000 training facility in Tarneit the better. Let’s be honest that’s the ceiling of their demand atm so at least play at ‘home’ and build some form of identity.

For this project to work and be salvaged they’ve got to be 100% committed to the West. That means ALL games inc derbies in Tarneit. They can’t go selling themselves to AAMI Park to have Victory completely out number them.
 

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I knew WU’s promise of a ‘shovel ready’ bid was a lie like the other 95% of punters and the deadline of 2 years was always a cop out.

However the sooner they can park their asses at the 5,000 training facility in Tarneit the better. Let’s be honest that’s the ceiling of their demand atm so at least play at ‘home’ and build some form of identity.

For this project to work and be salvaged they’ve got to be 100% committed to the West. That means ALL games inc derbies in Tarneit. They can’t go selling themselves to AAMI Park to have Victory completely out number them.

Derbies until they move in to the new stadium in 26 should be played in Geelong.
 

Munga

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Usually I’d say yes but they’ve treated the Geelong public like s**t once they scheduled games there and then shifted them to places like Footscray.

Not ideal when people may have already bought tickets or season tickets based on this.

What's this about treating like sh!t? People have said Kardinia Park kicked them out and didn't want them anymore??
 

Punt Road Feral

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The first article doesn’t work unless you’re a subscriber but I specifically recall WU shifting a planned fixture away from Geelong to Whitten Oval to save money.

Ironically the second article I found with WU’s indecisiveness shows how the Geelong region would also hesitate in backing a side that was very non commital about basing themselves in the region whilst planning for their base in Tarneit.
The numbers quoted in the article of crowds in Geelong also exceed what they are getting in Ballarat and AAMI Park.

If I was based in Geelong I certainly wouldn’t have gotten behind WU when they publicly stated that they were actively seeking to play games elsewhere.





 
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What's this about treating like sh!t? People have said Kardinia Park kicked them out and didn't want them anymore??
Nah, Western United didn't want to pay as much to play at Kardinia Park especially since they could get no where near 26K or whatever it could hold at the time. Whitten Oval/Mars Stadium was a cheaper option so they started to opt to play there instead.

However the sooner they can park their asses at the 5,000 training facility in Tarneit the better. Let’s be honest that’s the ceiling of their demand atm so at least play at ‘home’ and build some form of identity.

Can they even get anywhere close to 5k against interstate sides?
 

Munga

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Thanks for the links. It pretty much confirms what I heard, KP didn't want Western United. They couldn't get a look in there with cricket, AFL, AFLW etc...


Western United concedes it may have played its final game at GMHBA Stadium because of AFL rights on the venue.

“Unfortunately, we can’t be doing what we’re doing at the moment, which is waiting for the AFL and Geelong Cats to approve. You need some more certainty.

“We need AFL and Geelong approval for our games to be able to be played there. Whenever we have a fixture scheduled, we need to get it approved by those two parties.”

Kardinia Park Stadium Trust chief executive Gerard Griffin said Geelong’s right to GMHBA Stadium took priority.

“Existing tenancy agreements with Geelong Football Club and the AFL during the AFL season, ensures the Geelong Cats have first rights to the ground for any AFL and AFLW scheduling,” Griffin said.
 
Excuse my ignorance on the topic but what's the latest with this stadium. It's not right that the team doesn't have their own stadium. Feels really amateur by the A League to grant the club a licence and then have them without a real home. Even though I'm happy the team is in and I know they've won a title. So they will build a training facility and play out of that until a stadium is built?
HAve they have a purpose built anything yet?
 

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Jul 5, 2011
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Excuse my ignorance on the topic but what's the latest with this stadium. It's not right that the team doesn't have their own stadium. Feels really amateur by the A League to grant the club a licence and then have them without a real home. Even though I'm happy the team is in and I know they've won a title. So they will build a training facility and play out of that until a stadium is built?
HAve they have a purpose built anything yet?
Here is an update for ya and this is just the training field the main stadium is still way way off.

 

Blackout

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This email went out to members today about home games out of Tarneit:

"Dear Member,

Today is a momentous day for our Club. This is what we have all been waiting for – members, fans, players, coaches, and staff.

This is the reason we have all been on this journey together and we all bleed Green and Black.

Our amazing partners Wyndham City Council have announced today that work on the Regional Football Facility is complete after we signed the Development Agreement and the Lease last Friday.

What does that mean? It means that our new facility is now, truly, ours. We are now ready to move in and start making the place our own, but that’s not it. We are ready to commit to our first game in our home, a Liberty A-League Women contest against Newcastle Jets on Sunday 17 March.

Quickly following that, we will host games for our Academy teams and our Isuzu UTE A-League Men side, giving you plenty of opportunities to watch our teams in your own
backyard in the West.

We will begin playing out of only the second rectangular venue in Victoria which is approved for A-Leagues matches and we will make it a fortress and a hub for our family to come together as one.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you all. If we aren’t already, I truly believe that we will become the best club in the country and what we are doing together will change football in Australia forever. Your faith, patience and constant support throughout our journey means the world to everyone involved at the club.

The coming weeks and months will be some of the most exciting in our history, and I can’t wait for you all to be a part of it. This is just the first step, we are all going to continue growing this club together. Get ready to be part of something special, and make sure you’re there to get behind the Green and Black and witness history for our game.

You’ll be receiving plenty of updates from the membership team in the coming days and weeks with everything you will need to know to get ready to make March 17 a magical day.

See you in Tarneit, very, very soon."
 
Dec 22, 2009
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Those lights don't appear to be of broadcast standard, pretty typical of what you see at most football grounds these days (around 200 lux, FV match standard is 150 and training stard is 100).

Broadcast requirement is 500 Lux + for football codes. They'll need either more permanent or temporary lighting to meet that standard.
 

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