I dont look at it like taking on Geelong AFL. It is about getting a good tv deal and a strong club with connection to the community.

Edited by scott21: 23/7/2015 12:44:44 AM

I just think it would be hard as the AFL team in Geelong is basically their identity and to attract the community conection would be harder opposed to that of another team in a capital city so to speak.
However who knows how it could happen as the HAL is obviously played in a different season

Geelong imo has more potential short term running into long term than either a 3rd Sydney or 2nd Brisbane team. You have the potential of 6 matches against Melbourne opposition and I feel Adelaide would be a healthy rival too.

Given MV recent success and promising immediate future I feel the issue of whether fans in Geelong are already MV fans and would they change or would new fans enter. I have faith that Geelong is a patriotic place and given any competition on a national scale would stand up and turn up for their city.

Love it

Still think this one is better. Not perfect, but a better starting point



Edited by scott21: 23/7/2015 02:38:48 AM

Would love a club based in Geelong. Hopefully the Ford shut down doesn't affect them too much.

As you know I would prefer South Melbourne. However I wouldnt mind Geelong if it helped with the tv deal. South Melbourne could be a "back up" and still potentially join the league in the future as a niche team.

If the local council could give a club a deal at Kardina so they for example only pay costs for the first 5 years.
A big problem I see is who wants to own it? (pay the FFA the $$$ for the franchise license)

The community would surely welcome new revenue streams. You would think if a team played in Geelong they could match go numbers for the Melbourne games.



Can't see the FFA going for it.

That's the million dollar question.

Imo Geelong is a low risk option.
They are very parochial and back their city all the way. When MVFC played there in January the game was littered over 4 pages in the paper and they do the same for the Cats.
The stadium deal the Cats get is the envy of the league and I'm sure without a summer tenant they would offer a sweet deal for a A-League side and now they can host night matches it's something that can really get the City rocking on a Saturday night in summer!
Then there the derbies, minimum of x2 at home a season with min. 20k + plus filling up MV & MC games during the regular season. Geelong bring pretty decent to Melbourne games in the AFL and I could see something similar if they were introduced.
They have a stadium that's ready to go and provides much better viewing than what Etihad does and the council has said it would look into a 15k stadium if they got a side.



The sticking point is how much can the region bring in terms of value for fox and I honestly don't know...

There is potential for a team here (Geelong), but it's hard to say at this point.

PROs:
- HUGE population growth projected for the next 20 years
- Melbourne derbys
- Already has a stadium (yes, it is round, but no one is going to build a rectangular one. Not unless there's a joint NRL bid, and there is no chance of that)
- The Geelong people really get behind their team (Cats), and I could see people backing an A-League team too
- Lots of British expats and families of Croation descent.
- Football is quite popular here, especially for teenagers who are obsessed with playing FIFA (I know plenty of them).
- The market is not flooded with other sports. The only professional team of any sport is Geelong Cats.

CONs:
- Already a massive Victory supporter base here. I'd never turn my back on Victory, but I could see myself maybe supporting both teams.
- Might not be 'next in line' for expansion. FFA might see NSW as more market and broadcasting potential.
- Attendances might not be sky high. I could see it being similar to Newcastle.

The two biggest things Geelong has going for it are that it's right next to 3+ million people in Melbourne, and it's counted as part of OZTAM.
If it was based in Melbourne it'd still have both of those positives and it'll have the added benefit of playing out of arguably the best small football grounds in the country.

Calling it Geelong instead of Melbourne Whatevers is just going to limit the appeal to sponsors and fans.
To me it'd be a Victorian version of the CC Mariners and because of that I just can't see the FFA going for it.

Edited by karta: 23/7/2015 11:30:58 AM

It would never get off the ground if it was called anything other than Geelong. People aren't stupid, they know they don't have to live in the 3220 postcode to follow a team called Geelong.

?
I'm saying a team based in Geelong is probably not a good idea from the FFA's point of view. If Victoria is going to have a third team it needs to be based in Melbourne and be called Melbourne "...".

Has there been any talk of real interest - eg a consortium or individual willing to fund the team?

From reading this thread, it seems that there is interest from the council/media/fans to support a Geelong team, but that's about it...

The sutherland shire has a bigger population that Geelong, and would constitute the same number of derbies as a Geelong team would. I think they would be equally as successful.

They also have a few stadia they can play out of that would be appropriate for A-league including Kogarah oval, Shark park and even Win stadium in the gong.

I agree that a 2nd team is at least 10 years away and I am curious as I will be following one of the WA teams in the A-League at some time.

I just don't know who yet. Im finally going to make the move to Western Australia around the time of the start of the 2016/17 A-League season (moving to Mandurah) so am keenly interested in where the 2nd team may come from and who I should support.

I only mentioned a southern Perth team because I was under the impression glory would move North to Joondalup.

Do like the look of that potential Geelong teams kit. Probably the only A-league team that could work shared resources with an AFL team to its full potential.

I wouldn't pin hopes on any kind of formal alliance with the AFL team. Whilst the club would be keen, the AFL would without doubt block any assistance.

No offence but you seem to be missing the point.

The A-League is only in its infancy and the FFA needs stability and $$$. It only makes sense that the FFA are concentrating on building a competition based around capital city derbies. It's what the tv networks, sponsors and potential owners want.

Uhuh and where would this third melbourne team play? Etihad and the MCG are no chance and it's already bad enough that AAMI Park has two teams.

Unless you want to bring South Melbourne in, another team here is a no go until a new stadium gets built. Geelong works right now.

To me it would be 100 times better than ccm. Ccm v sfc isn't even a rivalry and they are basically neighbors. Even against jets no one cares. But I do agree that the FFA would view the city as perhaps not "showy" enough. Whether this is right or wrong is impossible to know. A second Brisbane team is needed but without a stadium it is pointless/too difficult. This is to Victorias advantage.

There has always been a healthy rivalry between the Central Coast and Sydney FC. It's not a derby, but it's a healthy on-field rivalry. Off the field not so much, but we still get good numbers up at Gosford, and most people enjoy the hour drive/train up the coast for the game.

Was once the best derby in the comp.. :(

[youtube]Pekeb8GoJCg[/youtube]

All signs point to Cronulla. Worst case 3 stadium move around team. This will put ccm even lower down the pecking order. In a 8 team comp with no other team in Sydney there were at one stage relevant. That has diminished dramatically when wsw came in and the introduction of the new nsw team makes them even less relevant.

I think some people need a reality check.
In a best case scenario a Geelong team would be weaker than the Mariners (the CC has an actual football stadium, better football culture and less pro competition). The last thing the FFA wants is another millstone around its neck.

Townsville population - 180,000 - FAILED - Closest big town (Cairns) is 4 hours drive - Existing stadium
Geelong population - 180,000 - Could work - Close proximity to Melbourne - Existing (AFL) Stadium
Ipswich population - 180,000 - Might work - Close proximity to Brisbane - No Stadium
Sutherland Shire pop - 225,000 - Could work - 35km to Sydney, 50km to Wollongong - Existing Stadium/s
Wollongong population - 300,000 - WILL work - Close proximity to Sydney - Existing Stadium
Central Coast pop'tion - 320,000 - Kinda working - Close proximity to Sydney - Existing Stadium
Canberra population - 360,000 - Could work - Many are interstate Government workers though - Existing Stadium
Gold Coast population - 520,000 - FAILED - Could work with no Palmer - Existing Stadium
Auckland population - 1,400,000 - WILL work - create a NZ derby. - Existing Stadium

Based on the above Wollongong and Auckland are they way to go! ;)

How do you figure that one buddy? The Geelong region has been producing Socceroos for years, including current player Matthew Spiranovic. Our football culture is pretty damn good considering how small we are so I'm not sure you can mount the argument that Geelong has less of a footballing culture than bloody Gosford...

Stadium isn't ideal so I will concede that point. Then again the Mariners don't really make full use of what they've got....

As for less professional competition (I assume you're referring to the Cats here) I argue it could work in Geelong's favour - you've got a population that is used to attending professional sporting events as well as used to the concept of buying memberships to see said sporting events. We've got a stadium in place where a crowd of 2k people would break even on stadium costs, so even if we got Mariners level crowds of 5k the club would still be better off financially. Not to mention we'd have at least three derbies against Victory and City to pad out the numbers.

I dunno, I don't think it would weaken the A-League all that much tbh.

If you write Geelong then you should have Gosford. You should put Greater Geelong population in this case.

Wollongong won't work because they contribute nothing to a new tv deal.

I don't think showiness will have much bearing on it honestly.
I think having a game every weekend in each major capital city is probably high on the agenda though.

It's hard to tell with Gallop since he used to say a lot and do nothing when he was NRL CEO but one thing I think is fair to say about him is that he's very conservative.
I can see him adding a StGeorge-Sutherland team and BNE2/Strikers in a few years and then Perth2 & AKL after that. I don't see him going back to T'ville/GC or adding Geelong during his tenure though. He will just want stability above all else, and the way to get that is to give the tv networks what they want.