North Melbourne crawling back to ACT
Roar Rookie
By Chop, 7 May 2009 Chop is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- AFL, Canberra AFL, North Melbourne
North Melbourne rejected the hundred million reasons offered by the AFL to move to the Gold Coast, pulled out of their deal to play matches at Carrara, and now want to return to Canberra.
North Melbourne (then the Kangaroos) took the ACT government’s money to play matches at Manuka from 1998 to 2006 and then decided the $100 bills are greener on the Gold Coast.
Now they have gone back, cap in hand, to the ACT to bail them out again by playing games back at Manuka Oval.
The message from me is, “Thanks, but no thanks!”
The club destroyed all the goodwill generated by years of community involvement and the promotional activity by the Kangaroos in Canberra has been flushed away by the club’s decision to pimp itself out to the highest available bidder.
There are other teams who bring their games here now. So why would North Melbourne expect to waltz back in to Canberra and take over again.
Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.
Do you have what it takes to become a sports writer? Write for the roar
AFL articles
- More rugby league players to defect to the AFL? (160)
- Mobile madness: Optus decision bad news for codes (153)
- AFL divisions are the way of the future (106)
- Foxtel’s AFL coverage is nirvana for footy fans (89)
- AFL’s most hated club turns 120 years old (78)
- Israel Folau now ready for AFL (76)
- Optus ruling actually a good thing for AFL fans (52)
- Ling holds hope for club loyalty in AFL
- Andrew Krakouer given four weeks leave from Collingwood
- Giants inspired to prove doubters wrong (32)
- Malthouse not fazed by assistant issue
- Richo says look out for the Tigers in AFL
- AFL clubs’ leadership groups getting out of hand (17)
- Who’s to blame for the Majak Daw beat-up? (32)
- AFL clubs’ leadership groups getting out of hand (17)
- AFL divisions are the way of the future (107)
- Crows changing, but will this AFL preview change your life? (2)
- Is Heath Shaw the right leader for Collingwood? (11)
- Could a female coach succeed in the AFL? (36)
- Demons’ two captain Jacks the right leadership choice (5)
- Mobile madness: Optus decision bad news for codes (153)
- Explore:
- AFL, Canberra AFL, North Melbourne
Redb said | May 7th 2009 @ 8:50am | Report comment
Fair call. North were a real nomad for awhile courting Canberra, Sydney and the Gold Coast. Canberra was the best opportunity all along, can’t blame the locals if they shum them now. I’m sure some real and tangible commitment would need to be shown by the Roos going forward.
Redb
Pippinu said | May 7th 2009 @ 9:05am | Report comment
I applaud the ACT Government for saying a firm “No” so early in the piece. The ACT budget is looking an absolute mess, so handing money over to the likes of North, after the history described above, would be at the very bottom of their list of priorities – I’m talking rock bottom.
Colin said | May 7th 2009 @ 9:06am | Report comment
From what I’ve been told is that ACT Government have told them to get lost (being nice)
Chop said | May 7th 2009 @ 9:21am | Report comment
Andrew Barr’s response to on the WIN news last night was great. It was along these lines just harsher.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/sport/afl/roos-not-welcome-in-act-barr/1506697.aspx
Roos not welcome in ACT: Barr
BY MERRYN SHERWOOD
7/05/2009 9:03:00 AM
The message from the ACT government is clear the Kangaroos will not be welcomed back to Manuka Oval.
ACT Sports Minister Andrew Barr yesterday all but ruled out a North Melbourne return to Manuka Oval the same day that the AFL club’s chief executive Eugene Arocca raised the possibility.
A national newspaper yesterday quoted Arocca saying the club was rethinking selling home games at Manuka Oval as a solution to reducing its debt.
The Kangaroos had an association with the capital from 2000 to 2006, when it labelled Canberra as its home away from home and was promoted as ”our Kangaroos”.
Over that time, the club received more than $1million from the ACT government and associated stakeholders for playing games at Manuka Oval.
The club then left Canberra for a better financial deal from the Gold Coast.
One year into its three-year deal to play on the Gold Coast the Kangaroos rejected the AFL’s $100 million offer for them to relocate to Queensland permanently. Since the Kangaroos left the AC the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne have played home games at Manuka Oval.
Those clubs’ three-year deals end this year, meaning there is an opportunity for different clubs to come to Canberra in 2010.
Arocca yesterday gave the impression a multi-million dollar deal would be needed to entice the Kangaroos back to Canberra.
Brett McKay said | May 7th 2009 @ 9:21am | Report comment
yep, “no soup for you!!” Roos!! The ACT Govt is still firmly committed to the Canberra A-League bid anyway (to the tune of $2.5M), so there’s snowflakes that the Roos would get the same deal as last time, let alone more like they’re asking…
By the way Chop, a quality Roar debut
Pippinu said | May 7th 2009 @ 9:34am | Report comment
The other part of this whole sorry saga is that the membership was duped into voting in a new management team that would save them from having to re-locate to the Gold Coast – and here they are knocking on Canberra’s door again after shunning them 4 years ago.
The North management team, and its supporters, have made their bed now, and will have to lie in it.
The Gold Coast deal (recalling it was outrageously generous on the part of the AFL) – would have bankrolled them for the rest of the century.
But they chose to stay in Melbourne – and the honest truth is that a merger with one of the new teams (in less favourable terms to North) is likely in the next decade or so.
Redb said | May 7th 2009 @ 11:13am | Report comment
Pip,
Very true, the new management team’s motto was along the lines of we will live or die in North Melbourne from hereon. Many people who support other clubs bought North Melbourne memberships to give them a kick start last year it appears the goodwill has deserted them but more importantly the traditional fan base needs to stand up or face a Fitzroy or South Melb style demise at BEST.
Running off to Canberra now is disingenous, something they have a track record for doing to various regions.
Redb
Kurt said | May 7th 2009 @ 11:22am | Report comment
North is a dire club that had its chance to preserve its name and colours with a GC move and chose to stay in Melbourne and slowly die. No sympathy it seems from any of us, nor is any deserved.
Michael C said | May 7th 2009 @ 11:24am | Report comment
As a North supporter – I’m glad this has been rejected (sad too – it’s a double edged sword)…..
Yes, this was a dark period of the North Melb history – - they lost their roots and became nomadic and yet didn’t seem willing to ‘invest’ in a region. It showed childish petulance. Then they fluttered onto Sydney and the Gold Coast. Having dropped the ‘North Melbourne’ to try to promote as the “Kangaroos” ………… in RL territory!?!?!?
Just plain stupid.
at any rate, Canberra is a cold atmosphereless hole of a place that even manages to be colder than Melbourne in winter – - there is zero attraction to it. The city was only ever created as a bad joke, and it remains so. There’s nothing for North Melbourne there OTHER than the need to find 3 games a year underwritten to $400K per match to fix the Roos bottom line.
Tifosi said | May 7th 2009 @ 11:25am | Report comment
Coming from Canberra i say F**k them, in the nicest possible way of course.
They had a good thing here in canberra but sold out to chase bigger dollars on the gold coast, which in the end didnt happen.
The quicker the club folds the better. They will get no sympathy from me.