But by 2022 the light show would be old hat so i don’t really see the problem and would much rather they use pretty much our 1 football stadium rather than hijack an AFL oval.

Gee if they do get it sorted we would be pretty devestated if it then goes to Quatar!

Of course there was an identified cost with re-building the roof at the bubble stadium (drove past it yesterday it looks fantastic) and this was obviously higher than previously thought.

In the background no-one is disputing that Buckley and Demetriou had a gentlemans agreement that the MCG would be given up by the AFL for the World Cup and Etihad would be available to the AFL (I remember the press at the time confirming the intention).

Now if the cost of rebuilding the bubble stadium roof was $150M why would they investigate spending $130M on only ‘temporarily’ rectangularising the MCG? This is where the plot thickens.

Now lets just put the consipracy theory aside as it cant be proven either way and is just speculation. At best then Buckley and the FFA have shown scant regard for the AFL’s competition knowing that in Melbourne it uses and regularly fills the MCG and Etihad. They are the only AFL stadiums for Melbourne in the season, over 60% of all AFL games are played at just these two stadiums.

Demetriou may have hurt the AFL’s image by his actions but I think it was important to take a stand as the FFA were clearly not listening or sincerely trying to work out a compromise.

The re-build of the rectangular stadium is a no brainer. It is for the rectangular codes the foundations had even been built in anticipation for maybe one day hosting a World Cup game. Common sense has to prevail.

The bubble stadium to me looks like a soccer stadium, it has a round ball type design over the roof and would be a spectacular World Cup venue and hopefully will be.

Redb

The city to uses 2 venues. The MCG and an expanded Rectangle Stadium on Swan Street.

The AFL can have Etihad. Its privately owned which causes all sorts of problems and its going to become the AFL’s in 2025.
The rectangle codes should have nothing to do with Etihad. Especially after the AFL takes over and the rectangle codes need their own stadium to host finals and internationals.

Problem solved. So get your finger out Vic Govt and make the announcement.

It gives you an idea what FIFA look for when deciding a host.

Its pretty long but will give people a better understanding.

Australia would do very well in some categories but not so well in some.

http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/mission/inspectionreport_e_24841.pdf

” The Crown Grant said that the land was especially granted inter alia ‘to be at all times maintained and used as and for a place for playing cricket … and when not required for cricket for such other purposes not inconsistent with the foregoing …’ ”

I suspect that that gives plenty of room for some slick lawyer to argue that “rectangularisation” is not “not inconsistent” with being a place for playing cricket.

And if fans do not attend the upgraded Homebush (a roof! Yay!) until after the World Cup I guess it is being upgraded in the months before the world cup? Which is further disruption.

We can stage the WC without MCG or Etihad – we just need another stadium with over 60K capacity.

Buckley ain’t a dill,

nothing now is or should be necessarily a roadblock

now’s the time for them to sort things out,

and everyone should be happy come May when a workable ‘bid book’ is submitted.

And – it can all come to nought within the FIFA processes anyway no matter how good the ‘bid book’ is.

for a laugh – look at this reported in the H-S from back in May:

But Major Events Minister Tim Pallas said the stadium could be revamped to seat 50,000 if Melbourne played a part in future major events such as a soccer World Cup.

“But hopefully we’re better at sport than they are at culture,” he said.

So, you can imagine everyones surprise (actually, it was rather muted, so, I was surprised) when Buckley/FFA came out saying it was off the agenda.

?????

Are these the same people who crack open the champagne when our country fails to make the World’s biggest sporting event? Most of these dinosaurs should have died off by 2022 so it won’t be a problem.

How earth can you blame the FFA for not knowing how much the real cost would be… Is the Architect on the Board of the AFL trying to sabotage the WC bid…? Or looking for another high priced project to build… ?

Now suddenly because of the Sydney press releasing new plans to increase the ANZ stadium to 90k the Melburnian Architects suddenly bring out new revised low cost estimates on the Bubble stadium…

What’s going on down there… Is the Mirvac Group involve…? Bloody sounds like it…

However, when they went to the Vics and asked we would like 2 venues for the WC as befits a city of our size and importance. What were they given?? Something unsatisfactory for everybody.

The blame game is the easiest game to play – I try and avoid it as much as possible.

But its advice that falls on deaf ears in regards to this issue.

IF it really is – according to the builder really quite easy to make it FIFA compliant -

then it exposes the FFA as having NOT asked,

so, on what basis do they make a comment that it’s too hard, too expensive.

The FFA have been exposed here. It’s called ‘due dilligence’, we hear it all the time, but, apparently it was never translated to Swiss and back to English and it’s not covered off in the FIFA documents!!!!

(rank amateur hour…..and these dills want to run the ‘biggest show on earth’…….for the soccer folk who tell us AFL folk we don’t realise how big it is…..the problem I think is it’s actually the Australian soccer folk who don’t realise how big it is….them and the Guitari’s.)

hang on mate – - the FFA having Ben Buckley and ARch Fraser on board, and the MVFC being very heavily involved (remember, MVFC wanted and could have had a bigger stadium – - but Storm wanted smaller and the state govt compromised in the middle),

it’s amazing how you just don’t want to imagine criticising the FFA.

Look , the AFL do dumb things, have done and will continue to……’cos ain’t no one perfect.

WIll you just admit that the FFA have gone about this all wrong and created a monumental piece of bad publicity where none was required.

This is the FFA’s pet project and they can’t get these sorts of things right!?!?!? If it was only run by soccer heads from Sydney – there’d be an excuse…..but not with Fraser and Buckley at the top.

Main thing is – - it makes a ‘soccer’ stadium look the exception rather than the rule.

Now – - that’s looking back.

Is FIFA specifically wanting “soccer” stadiums going forwards?? The problem with a rectangle is it’s a really odd shape to make a really good stadium out of…..it’s the corners what wreck it!!!!

How come no one knew how easy it was going to be until today

I don’t have an issue with the AFL running their comp during the WC but it looks as if the only solution the Vic Govt has to save face by having 2 venues for the WC is to modify the rectangle stadium.
Ofcourse, this should have been planned all along, but if you consider the ban the Etihad owners imposed on the construction of a similar size stadium near the CBD and the usual behind closed doors dealing with the Vic Govt by various stakeholders then maybe it is no surprise that the FFA could not get all answers it wanted from the Vic Govt by the time they put in their bid proposal.

In AFL circles, John Howard made a big song and dance about the AFL illicit drugs policy. Howard came on radio 3AW one morning with Neil Mitchell and was exposed as not realising that the AFL was WADA compliant and that the AFL illicit drugs policy was in addition to that.

Howard was made to look silly after he’d carried on about threatening to pull funding (that wasn’t there) and ‘zero tolerance’ sloganeering etc etc.

Was it the difference at the polls……..of course not – there’s many issues across the country…..but did it help…..sure as heck it didn’t help. Howard, Pyne and Brandis lost a bit of credibility along that journey.

As Redb mentioned – 600,000 club members across the country – - that’s a sizeable single interest lobby group.

Builder Grocon revealed the 31,000-seat venue could be easily increased to 40,000.”

Oh FFS!

It is why a little conspiracy theory emerged when Etihad was mooted. The FFA have not been straight, they arent the little angels you think, especially if Frank “no tax’ Lowy is involved.

The property development industry is one of the most corrupt of all. “Godfather impersonation “We know how to get things done”

Please elaborate…………