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Perth’s new stadium has been put in doubt by the new Liberal Premier, Colin Barnett. As part of a deal with the National Party that gave the Liberals the majority, Barnett pledged a quarter of Western Australia’s mining royalties to regional Western Australia.
This equates to removing $625 million from the State’s bottom line. With a number of large infrastructure projects in the pipeline, Perth’s new football stadium is in the firing land.
There are further concerns for those in favour of the new stadium:
“I do find it difficult in my mind to justify a billion dollars of tax-payers money on an extra 20,000 seats,” Barnett said, after a cabinet meeting yesterday.
So what does Barnett offer to appease the West Australian sporting public?
The proposal from the West Australian Football Commission to redevelop the aging Subiaco Oval has reemerged as an alternative for the Premier.
However, Barnett did not rule out building a new stadium.
Barnett said he will meet AFL chief Andrew Demetriou this week to discuss the options for a new football stadium at Kitchener Park or a progressive rebuild of Subiaco Oval.
So what does this mean for West Australian sport?
Both the West Coast and Fremantle Football clubs had more members than seats available this season, though they rarely filled the stadium. So there is no doubt there is a need for a larger capacity in anticipation of better days.
The Force desperately need a rectangular ground with Subiaco being blamed for declining membership numbers and crowd attendances.
So it can be presumed that the Force would be in favour of the proposed entirely new stadium, which is to have retractable seating.
The Glory are in the midst of another poor season and their entire future has been cast in doubt by both major West Australian papers.
As a result, the needs of the Glory are unlikely to be considered as it is extremely unlikely that they will fill the old Perth Oval in the foreseeable future, barring finals or ACL games, which both seem as unlikely as a full stadium.
However, with constant talk of Australia’s bid for an upcoming football World Cup, there is still a need for Perth to have a suitable stadium for hosting international football.
Such a requirement is, again, like the Force, in favour of a retractable seating stadium.
So what will Barnett do? Redevelop Subiaco or build a new stadium at Meuller Park?
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.