I think red bulls are an ideal fit for gold coast in all honestly, i was just saying not to write off your weaker markets too. And they were interested in the A-league a while ago, so interest is there

They've only ever bought established clubs though. One established club that will need an buyer soon comes to mind, and it has a willingness to put a price on it's name...

That half a mill per team should not be coming from the FFA other than perhaps $50K-100K seed capital. The remainder should be coming from local business - surely raising $150K-$200K couldn't be that difficult in most regions. If it's completely impossible but the area is stratigically important for the FFA (let's just say Wagga for argument's sake) then the FFA could look at underwriting a greater amount.

The other thing is that FFA could sell TV rights to this league separately, admittedly not for a great deal but enough to help with funding. SBS and ABC could be potential targets. ABC likes to do the regional thing so could be a prime target for something like this.

Eminently doable IMO.

I think red bulls are an ideal fit for gold coast in all honestly/quote]
+1. Seems like the perfect fit to me.

NRMA Western Sydney Red Bull?

Red Bull approached the FFA several years ago and were offered North Queensland, however they were only interested in an 'iconic' and 'world recognized' city - in short, they were only interested in buying in if they could have Sydney, and Sydney already had happy owners, so they were knocked back.

Source - from within the FFA (at that time).

Keeps getting better.

Don't forget the aggregated TV networks that you don't get in the city, WIN TV, Southern Cross, etc.

Edited by paladisious: 4/1/2013 04:06:24 PM

Geelong could be a smoky for the 13-14th spots. There is a strong population growth both sides of it within 30 mins.

There was a feasability study taken a few years ago about the viability of a 10-12k rectangular stadium at Kardinia Park.
They should wear Reading tops in there ever get in to suit the AFL side ;)

It really depends on the exact situation. In Newcastle how the Knights and Jest have started working together, it is complementing well. Compare this to Western Sydney or Brisbane, and you can see this would not work at all not even in the slightest. So it would need to be well studied as to whether a Geelong team should have anything to do with the Cats, or should be completely of its own guise and doing. My lean is it should be completely its own club, with its own rectangular ground if possible and completely different color and logo/ feel about the club. But it should be done the same way as Wanderers - invite 100s of local football people to forums, and see exactly what they want. I bet it will be pretty unanimous, as it will for all the clubs that should employ this exact methodology when starting up - Canberra, Wollongong, North Queensland, Geelong etc should be done exactly like the Wanderers with the forums to decide everything.

Any idea how many supporters actually attend Youth league and/or women's league.

if there was gonna be a future side, they should all follow WSWs lead and consult with the community. let them decide the colours, kit design and where they wanna play at.

All existing clubs should do it now IMO

SO this =d>

the FFA have made so many mistakes but the way they set up WSW was amazing i agree all clubs should be set up in a similar way

would expect the ppl of geelong to associate their city with the white/blue so i cant see any other possible colourway. it would probably come down to a decision like the wanderers of having stripes or hoops

i wouldnt think they would use it cos melbourne victory has already taken those colours

Never forget the sacrifices made so that WSW could exist.

WSW is the culmination of wisdom from many failures.

If and when we expand again, I can only hope the FFA do the same as they have with WSW if not better.

-PB

Even if they where navy and white hoops, doesn't mean they'll have a direct association with the Cats, it just means, the people of Geelong might better connect with the club if it represents something similar to what they already know.

For example, I reckon Heart would've been more successful if from the very start they wore, Red & Black stripes instead of Red & White! Think about it, Essendon is read & black, Collingwood wear black stripes, even Saints wear red & black (although red & white still works for St Kilda). It may have helped in capturing more of the AFL crowd that (thanks to Victory fans) think sockah is only for the ethnic, flare throwing hooligans.

makes us question, if the sydney team played out from parra at the start, would we exist? if sydney rovers were given the license, would the rbb have as many numbers as it has today?

Hard to say. Come back in ~8 years and than you can answer that.

Probably be a 2nd team in Penrith rather than a team at all in East Sydney.

Canberra has to be one of the next two teams.

What do y'all think about the prospect and viability of a second Brisbane team? We've all know what derby culture can do for the game in Sydney and Melbourne and there's no reason why Brisbane couldn't support a second club to rival Roar.

They could base themselves in the south and engage areas such as Logan, Redlands, and suburbs south of the river and play out of QEII, which is admittedly not great for football but no worse than Etihad. I'm not sure of population but the total market potential would exceed a million, Roar might lose some regulars but the derby atmospheres would attract new fans for both clubs. WSW Wanderers hasn't chewed into Sydney FC's supporter base has it, in fact their crowds have nearly doubled. Didn't really affect Victory either.

Brisbane is a growing city and Roar really lack that community feel, Redlands and Logan also have proud football histories and combined with south Brisbane could base themselves in the 'burbs and add even more derby flavour to the A league.

Would this work or are dead markets like GC and Townsville the focus for future expansion? I agree they are important but Brisbane is more important, it's the third most important cenre after Melbourne and Sydney. A third true derby would add incredible value to the A league brand, just like the Heart and WSW have done for their respective cities, crowds and TV ratings. It's more important to get the game thriving in Brisbane than it is in GC, Sunny Coast or Townville. Won't happen anytime soon but it's nice to dream.

that's the problem....Kardinia Park just got upgraded to a 40000 seater stadium with lights.

I just don't see the government dishing out more money to build a second rectangular stadium, it just wouldn't survive the politics

it's a shame they don't have one, if Central Coast can work, then there's no reason why Geelong wouldn't work. CCM would be the perfect template for a Geelong based team.

Edited by kavorka: 7/1/2013 08:16:06 PM

ccm should be the template for both geelong and wollongong wolves, the later of which i really hope to see in the a-league as part of the next expansion phase.

Edited by williamn: 7/1/2013 08:21:59 PM

Canberra, South Coast, Tasmania, Gold Coast, Nrth Qld and 3rd Victorian (Geelong/SXFC/MKFC) would round out the league at 16 teams (30 rounds).

Wollongong and Canberra please. Im liking the amount of games near me already would like to see it happen. NQ and Tasmania possibly, but would like some security around it, otherwise Auckland would be okay

It's not a bad point. All of a sudden you'd have 6 teams within driving distance of each other and thus a decent amount of away supporters turning up at away venues (as we witnessed with yesterdays WSW vs CCM clash which can be almost classed as a semi derby). Also there would be significant costs savings as fewer flights (and thus hotel bookings) would be required, saving $$$$$, assuming the comp went to playing each other x2, not x3 as it currently stands

There's nothing more depressing than seeing a team play on the other side of the continent with next to zero away supporters (ie perth and phoenix come to mind)



Edited by kavorka: 7/1/2013 09:00:23 PM

would never happen....the Cats (and colours) are a trademark of the AFL and there is no way in hell the current AFL administration would ever let the Cats even contemplate this. Even if the new club was unafilliated and used the blue and white hoops as their outfit, there would be a legal challenge mounted by the AFL and the Cats, make no mistake

Edited by kavorka: 7/1/2013 08:57:29 PM