Where will the codes look to next for further expansion?
Columnist By Adrian Musolino, 28 Feb 2010 Adrian Musolino is a Roar Expert
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GWS coach Kevin Sheedy addresses players (L-R) Josh Bruce, Tom Kickett and Adam Flagg before a training session at Blacktown Olympic Park, Rooty Hill, NSW.
Make no mistake, we are currently witnessing one of the most intriguing and wide-reaching expansion phases in the history of Australian sport with codes venturing into uncharted waters like never before.
In the last week alone we’ve seen:
- The AFL’s Gold Coast FC launching their inaugural membership drive.
- An AFL NAB Cup match being held in Blacktown, the future base for the GWS franchise, with the club announcing their chairman and a naming competition for its moniker.
- Melbourne Rebels announcing the signing of one of the most recognisable English internationals.
- Melbourne Heart A-League franchise announcing further signings from home and abroad.
- Sydney Rovers A-League franchise releasing images of their proposed stripe online.
- The V8 Supercars beginning their season in Abu Dhabi followed by a round in Bahrain this weekend.
These are exciting times in Australian sport.
But once this current phase of expansion is completed with the likes of GWS, Gold Coast FC, Sydney Rovers, Melbourne Rebels, Melbourne Heart, etc hitting the park in 2010, ’11 and ‘12, where will the codes look to next?
Let’s take a look around Australian sports for where the next expansion targets could be:
AFL
With Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney joining the AFL ranks over the next two seasons, it’s hard to pinpoint the next target for the league.
Canberra and Tasmania have been lurking as hosts for a while now, but it’s unlikely they have the economic might and population base to create an AFL franchise from scratch. There also seems to be little interest from the AFL itself for new franchises in these areas, perhaps leaving both options open if struggling Victorian clubs seek relocation.
Darwin is an interesting case. The Northern Territory government has committed $7 million over five years for improving the infrastructure of stadiums and for the right to host 10 AFL matches at a cost of $500,000 per game.
Darwin will be a “home away from home” for the Port Power this season, and while some Victorian clubs are on the breadline, the Power are in the most precarious position, hoping the move of AFL matches into the heart of South Australia at Adelaide Oval will help boost their crowds and memberships.
But with the Port Adelaide Magpies SANFL club debilitated by debt, a lot is being asked from the relatively small Port fanbase to help prop up two ailing clubs.
Darwin could well become more than just a “home away from home” for the Power, with relocation, rather than expansion, the likely focal point for the AFL beyond the inclusion of Gold Coast FC and GWS.
Rugby League
There are two standout expansion options for the NRL: the Central Coast and Perth. The impressive crowd of around 9,500 for the NRL pre-season trial between the Roosters and Dragons at Members Equity Stadium has suddenly put the WA capital in the frame for the NRL’s 2013 expansion plans, while the Central Coast has long fought for NRL inclusion, helped by the recent success of the Central Coast Mariners franchise in the A-League.
Expanding into Perth and Central Coast, as opposed to second teams in Brisbane and New Zealand, as has been discussed, will better help the code spread its national influence.
Long-term, Adelaide could be another option, with the South Australian capital having the least cluttered winter sporting market, especially if Port Power cannot turn around their plunging fortunes.
The NRL has been understated in its expansion plans beyond 2013, especially when compared to the recent movements of its rival codes, but they appear to have the most intriguing expansion decision to make.
A-League
If the A-League is to expand beyond the inclusion of the second teams in Melbourne and Sydney, they must avoid adding a second club in any other city. Only Melbourne and Sydney can handle two A-League clubs, and even that remains to be seen.
Wollongong and Canberra are the obvious choices, both with solid cases for inclusion, while Tasmania remains lurking thanks to renewed government support.
If the Wellington Phoenix are granted amnesty by the AFC, and New Zealand football incorporated into the Asian confederation, then a second New Zealand franchise, probably based out of Christchurch, which attracted over 20,000 for the Wellington Phoenix’s recent visit, is a possibility.
Following the debacle surrounding crowds on the Gold Coast, the FFA will be keen on expanding in areas with a rich football heritage and recent involvement in the game, so advantage Canberra (NYL and W-League clubs) and Wollongong (NSL history).
Rugby Union
With the Melbourne Rebels’ entry into the expanded Super 15 league from 2011 causing much controversy regarding franchise dispensations, and the SANZAR political debacle of granting Melbourne the 15th franchise in the first place, you sense Super Rugby has exhausted its expansion options in Australia.
The code must focus on revitalising the domestic level of the game.
Cricket
The KFC Twenty20 Big Bash was the big mover of the Australian summer, and the future of the competition will see a move toward city-based, franchise-owned teams rather than state teams, opening the door for expansion beyond the current one team per state platform.
Watch for seismic changes in domestic cricket.
Basketball
Expansion is a necessity for the NBL if there is to be any chance of revitalising basketball in this country. While the league has had success in regional areas such as Cairns, Wollongong and Townsville, it needs a presence in Brisbane and Sydney to start making more of a dent in the nation’s press and psyche.
Motorsport
With the V8 Supercars currently in Bahrain for the second round of their international start to the 2010 championship, some Aussie fans are understandably miffed, especially with the news V8 Supercar chairman Tony Cochrane wants at least another two overseas rounds by 2015, with Singapore the favoured target.
The V8s not venturing to Perth this season means the series loses one of its trump cards; the fact it was one of the few major Australian codes to compete in each state (only ACT missed out on a V8 round last year).
In its quest for international recognition, the V8s must be careful not to abandon their heartland and risk losing its soul.
These are only speculative options until the current expansion phase and its relative success or failure becomes obvious for the codes. Many of these predictions may not even come to fruition if this current phase exhausts the Australian sporting landscape too severely and it becomes obvious codes are being forced to prop up struggling franchises.
We shall be watching closely.
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February 28th 2010 @ 10:33am
Borked said | February 28th 2010 @ 10:33am | Report comment
Isn’t it funny how history keeps repeating itself? Have we so quickly forgotten that we had a national soccer league that collapsed, a national rugby league that collapsed, a national basketball league that collapsed and the AFL had problems with Brisbane and Sydney? This expansion talk strikes me a bit like “it’s different this time” syndrome.
February 28th 2010 @ 6:43pm
halpie said | February 28th 2010 @ 6:43pm | Report comment
A big difference is that in the near future we have pay TV, internet as well as free-to-air competing to show sport. There will be more money thrown around in telecast rights to support expansion teams.
February 28th 2010 @ 11:04am
rugbyfuture said | February 28th 2010 @ 11:04am | Report comment
Super rugby won’t expand, it’ll reorganise. the australian domestic comp will start up again, this will then mature, and australian provincial pro clubs will end. this will mean the ANZC, Currie Cup and ARC will play it out with the Argentine comp and pacific comp. 4 teams from OZ, NZ, SA and AG, 2 teams for the PI and two playoff spots.
this in effect means Rugby will try and expand to western sydney, gold coast, sunshine coast, central coast initially with further opportunites reached with maturity and re growth.
February 28th 2010 @ 11:51am
ruckrover said | February 28th 2010 @ 11:51am | Report comment
There are tough economic times coming up in future with all the debt still swirling around the globe. Expansions will lead to retractions unless leagues are well cashed up and can rely on memberships not sponsors for much of their money.
I see Australian Football as booming in PNG, and on the rise in NZ and the Pacific and Sth Africa. If PNG does get its act together politically and economically it could field an AFL team one day – but that’s a long way off. The possibility will start to register though when every AFL team has 2 to 4 Papuans alongside the indigenous players.
Way down the track a 3rd AFL team could work in Perth if it played half its home games in Sth Africa – presuming the sport continues on current growth trajectories there. Maybe straddling the Indian Ocean for a few years before relocating as a Sth African team in the AFL – but the distances and costs are huge – so this is unlikely. More likely that Sth Africa and the other nations like PNG, NZ, Pacific Islands play against SOO sides in carnivals every few years.
See http://www.worldfootynews.com articles on growth in PNG.
February 28th 2010 @ 12:35pm
deadman said | February 28th 2010 @ 12:35pm | Report comment
There’s a place called Kokomo
February 28th 2010 @ 12:46pm
bever fever said | February 28th 2010 @ 12:46pm | Report comment
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama.
February 28th 2010 @ 12:45pm
Republican said | February 28th 2010 @ 12:45pm | Report comment
Sam
No I would not support this move however I believe in an age where sports growth is approached purely from a business perspective, the corporate criteria may well mean that the AFL are already looking to create a totally Australian run business from the players and coaches all the way through to the Admin, branding it as ‘Kiwi’ if they identify any potential tele audience on top of the present corporate potential a city of 2mill offers them.
I certainly oppose such an approach to growth, strongly maintaining that it desensitizes all of us from the true value of sport as well as disenfranchising many along the way. Alas, this is how business is done at the top end of all sport these days.
The somewhat pass’e sporting virtues of tribalism, grassroots and loyalty to your heartlands are long gone, replaced by little more than manufactured illusions made up of generic products that we try to pass off as clubs, teams etc, however they are so far removed from the respective communities they profess to represent, it’s nothing short of farcical..
March 1st 2010 @ 8:06am
Sam said | March 1st 2010 @ 8:06am | Report comment
I’m not opposed to it because of some outdated Victorian view of sport – I just think it would be an expensive failure.
March 1st 2010 @ 8:22am
Redb said | March 1st 2010 @ 8:22am | Report comment
Curious? what does outdated Victorian view of sport mean?
Do you support discrimination?
March 1st 2010 @ 10:09am
Sam said | March 1st 2010 @ 10:09am | Report comment
Sorry, I mean Victorian as in Victorian era England, not Victorian as in the state of Australia!
February 28th 2010 @ 1:16pm
bever fever said | February 28th 2010 @ 1:16pm | Report comment
Republican said
The somewhat pass’e sporting virtues of tribalism, grassroots and loyalty to your heartlands are long gone, replaced by little more than manufactured illusions made up of generic products that we try to pass off as clubs, teams etc, however they are so far removed from the respective communities they profess to represent, it’s nothing short of farcical.
I would totally agree with that, a case in point is the Collingwood football club, the club is heading towards 50, 000 members this season, but they do not have a social club.
Yep thats right, you cannot drop in after work and have a beer and a steak sanger, watch some players train, chat to the new rookie working behind the bar, bring your interstate friends down to the club to look at the siverware etc.
IMO these sorts of things make a club, not million $ profits or corporate support.
How Essendon, Nth Melbourne and The Bulldogs have revitalised their suburban ground whilst the richest/biggest club in the league can’t and has moved to the city is beyond me.
Mind you there are some other AFL clubs in the same boat, the Eagles dont have a social club as far as i am aware
The problem is that once you accept the money from the big end of town, you cannot go back, for mine, i am far more interested in grass roots footy and a relaxing game of WAFL or even suburban footy where i can kick the footy with my kids or lie on the grass and sink a couple of beers or listen to the coach rev up the boys at 1/4 time.
My passion for AFL football has waned but i still love the nuts and bolts at suburban level.
February 28th 2010 @ 1:31pm
bever fever said | February 28th 2010 @ 1:31pm | Report comment
Actually i re-read my post and perhaps i was pretty harsh as in reality AFL clubs are member driven with elections held that can oust Presidents/boards which is more than many other clubs in other codes can say, so its not all bad, i guess my beef is with how sport seems so corporate and to me that means fake.
In reality passion from the fans drives sport, its a very fine line too tread for clubs, i for one hate the word franchise and private ownership of clubs or calling the game a “product”.
February 28th 2010 @ 2:35pm
vee14 said | February 28th 2010 @ 2:35pm | Report comment
another AFL team in perth proberly wont work but a new NRL team i shall agree on
February 28th 2010 @ 2:40pm
bever fever said | February 28th 2010 @ 2:40pm | Report comment
Much more chance of the reverse working.
February 28th 2010 @ 3:03pm
Republican said | February 28th 2010 @ 3:03pm | Report comment
My sentiments exactly b.f.
In saying that I believe this to be a generational evolution, and although there may be exceptions to the rule, this new breed of consumer rather than supporter do not espouse these virtues, content in the familiarity of the reality tele type ‘product’ they have access to. It is not in their social D.N.A. to deconstruct any facet of this whatsoever.
I also go to the footy at Manuka Oval out of an un wavering appreciation for the nuts and bolts of the game and to kick the Sherrin around at games end, with all the nippers and their parents, rather than having any great passion for the Swannies who my daughter supports or the club my father supported with great passion as I once did, St Kilda, as such. I really do regard this as a cultural obligation, in being able to share what is an Ozzie institution with the younger generation, since we are truely the custodians of what is after all an Australian cultural institution.
If I lived in Melbourne today I dare say i would support one of the VFL sides, Willy or perhaps Sandringham, rather than any AFL generic franchise. I was in Perth a fortnight ago waxing lyrical with my cousins about the good old days when they all played footy for Claremont and Perth, mourning to some extent the demise of what was a very vibrant domestic league back then. I always had a soft spot for Subi myself.
My initial passion for the Brumby’s came out of a very robust tribalism that existed back then as opposed to a passion for Union, since many of my mates played the game and the Brumby’s in those days had a healthy local profile and player content as well. That has all but disappeared as the filthy lucre has become more and more influential, suffice to say, I ceased my membership and interest quite some time ago now, preferring instead to immerse myself in the culture of Australian Footy.
Cheers
March 1st 2010 @ 8:37am
Michael C said | March 1st 2010 @ 8:37am | Report comment
AFL generic franchise??? in Melbourne??
Not sure how you come to that??
franchises tend to be privately owned,
my North Melbourne that dates back to 1869 is far from a ‘generic franchise’…..although, sadly they went through 10-15 years of identity crisis before realising that the strength of the club was actually in it’s heritage and history but also in it’s forging a new modern history going forward.
True though – for value for the kids – going to VFL matches is brilliiant – in our case to see Werribee or North Ballarat, with a few Rooboys running around and generally a few other Rooboys in the crowd available for an autograph. And then the chance to get onto the oval and have a kick around. LIkewise, the best thing in pre-season, is for your team to lose in the NAB Cup, and to play NAB challenge matches – - again, get on the ground, have a kick, relaxed more community atmosphere. Brilliant – - and that can balance out the arms length aspect of the regular AFL season.
The history and culture of Aust Footy is still worth celebrating. And whether you’re part of it at the AFL level, or at a more local level – - it’s all good. I respect your choices.
February 28th 2010 @ 3:03pm
Marshall said | February 28th 2010 @ 3:03pm | Report comment
Another AFL team in Perth just wouldn’t work. Where would it be based? It needs to be geographically different from Freo and the wide appeal of West Coast? They’d suffer the same fate of Port Power going up against Adelaide Crows
February 28th 2010 @ 3:21pm
Republican said | February 28th 2010 @ 3:21pm | Report comment
Marshall
I agree with you, the market is already saturated in Perth suffice to say, League are taking a huge gamble also, if they intend to expand in that direction.
Cheers