Diamond_Jim

Not sure if people remember but around the same time as the ODI's started there was 6 a side cricket. They played internationals in Hong Kong if I recall. Never really took off, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Cricket_Sixes

A somewhat apposite article about the members of a golf club adjoining the Wimbledon tennis complex selling out: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/13/wimbledon-to-expand-after-golf-club-members-vote-to-sell-for-65m "Debate over the merits of the takeover had fractured the peace and tranquillity of the golf club’s fairways, laid out on parkland created by Capability Brown in the 18th century. “It’s like Brexit,” Devons, said. “You are either for it or against it. The offer split members and put decades-long golf partnerships on the rocks.” mind you each of the members picked up a cool $170K or thereabouts

Agree.. but they had they had that with the format from last year. This is entering the theatre of the absurd.

okay.. let's turn this thread on its head and ask why in the hell the AFL would go for this. In the world of the so called "thought bubble" this would not last for a millisecond. We're all missing something. First there is the game itself... okay it's not the best and needs some work but in these days of "fast sport" and the need to play on smaller ovals (rectangles) another version makes some degree of sense. But why turn a fiasco into an utterly unbelievable piece of#$%^. My only explanation is that they actually want to spoof the whole thing up (think World Championship wrestling). I'm lost.. the AFL are dumb sometimes but they are never this dumb.

T20 was born in England county cricket and remained there for a while before being introduced as a state based comp here in the form of BBL and of course the IPL. It was well and truly tried and tested before it moved to the top tier. The game needs to be trialled and perfected a lower levels with the public then demanding the game at the higher level. You can't force it on people.

This is the stuff straight out of Rob Sitch's Utopia ... amazing

Many have commented that it seems to be a deliberate policy of the AFL to soak up the media space whether it be by trading periods, the draft, AFLX or whatever. Other sports just cannot get any free air.

a bad idea that got even worse... one really has to wonder whether the AFL is up to running this sport. Take a lesson from T20.. expose the public via the lower leagues. If it takes off then bring in the higher leagues.

Have you ever wondered where the scalpers etc get their tickets? Arbitrage with GWS memberships not to mention interstate members with guaranteed GF tickets not tied to competing clubs are probably a prime source. In these days of electronic barcoding etc it would be a relatively simple process to check names against ID at the point of entry but it's not in anyone's interest to do it.

Interesting article from today's Guardian discussing a TV show about how the great Man United were relegated to the second division in 1973. Perhaps there is a lesson in that for us. It goes on however to discuss the obvious ... namely that these days the power clubs in all the big leagues are leaving the others far behind. "This week the research group CIES Football Observatory published a paper called Competitive Balance: A Spatio-Temporal Comparison. Its conclusions reflect what we already know to be true, that the top clubs in every European league are pulling away. The champions of the big five leagues raked in 83.3% of all possible points last season. More games are being won by a wider margin by a group of elite clubs, all of whom are now too big to fail. United can have a wretched season, can clank about the pitch like a group of sad, misfiring robots, and still the worst thing that might happen is they finish behind Everton." https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2018/dec/07/jose-mourinho-manchester-united-relegation Luckily the AFL is a far cry from what have become the almost "life sucking" European leagues but there are salutary lessons for those who think something similar could not happen with the AFL. By the way.... why don't Collingwood publish membership figures?

Agree OD and it really makes you wonder why Richmond agreed to make the Anzac eve match a "make up game " for MFC members. Eagles and I think the Crows have capped their membership lists at around 60k. Reserved seats for Crows fans are treated like diamonds by those who have them. The extra revenue pulled in by the mega clubs year on year has to have an impact on the competition at some time notwithstanding salary caps and equalisation. It has to be spent somewhere.

Richmond on the way to 100,000 members again. Let's say that is a 50k number over Melbourne at an average of say 7 home games at $20 per game. (Conservative probably) That's a cool $7M in additional revenue.

Good post and something we haven't mentioned for a while. Realistically though as more clubs make the mcg their home ground the percentage of MFC followers in the mcc will decrease. Would also love to know the age demographic of the common group. If they are in the main under 40 it could be worth a concerted effort of some magnitude. By the way does the MCC offer common memberships for Richmond and Collingwood etc

great if we can get it. Has a resident summer cricket team and is also used by the Port Melbourne Colts. The Council (City of Port Phillip) did a master plan in 2014 or thereabouts. Worth an ask. The trees around the boundary would be under some kind of preservation order which could present a problem. The admin centre/gym would need to include a major community facility of some kind to give the Council impetus.

Somewhat on point are the arguments presently raging in NSW about the funding of the new NRL stadium. The Labour opposition have said they won't fund the stadium rebuild and in response the NRL have said they may take the finals out of Sydney. Echoes of some of the more famous stadium wars between big American cities and their NFL teams. "On Monday, Daley reiterated his promise not to fund the new stadium and called on the government not to demolish it before the election. “If I’m elected premier I will give the corporate entities, the trust, and others a loan to rebuild and refurbish it,” he said. “Football fans will get the refurbished stadium, but taxpayers will not get screwed for 100% of the costs. “The majority of people who live in NSW will never, ever step foot in one of these stadiums but they’re being asked to pay for the lot … if you think people are angry in Sydney you should go and speak to people in the bush and in the regions, they are absolutely white hot on this.” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/dec/03/nsw-labor-leader-michael-daley-says-he-will-not-be-bullied-by-nrl-over-sydney-stadiums

the old contract will probably be scrapped as the new one will include a pay rise etc. So in that sense I am agreeing wit you... 4 years ending at the end of season 2022

we need roughly a 10% increase to hit 50k so a 3.8% increase is not going to cut it. AFL club support were also rolled over last week so not sure if they are in the figures. TBH the membership figures mean little if clubs are going to continue including 3 game memberships etc in the same category. Post their 2016 GF Bulldogs had a waiting list for their GFG category. MFC have never had one to my knowledge. That could be a good goal for the 2019 year.

A very reasoned post Ernie... 4 years sounds about right... allows you to extend at the end of year 3 if all are happy. I do think that this list may be the last roll of our dice for a while so I want to see sustained success. A flag if possible but deep into the finals is the minimum. The last ten plus years has ripped the life out of the club and its base membership is I suspect getting out of balance age wise. We need to bring on a new generation. While we can point to the Pies and Tigers as examples of how you can turn it around we can also point to the Bulldogs for flash in the pan success. We desperately need sustained success.

Thought this comment on an article about the never ending Harry Potter spin offs and "special editions" in the Guardian might tickle your senses: "So I took my kids to The Potter Factory in LA, I spent close to $500 on Dumble Brunch and $80 on wands that light up, but do not kill traffic cops when your car is being towed from a legal parking spot. We spent two nights at the Grindleward Inn, hauntings and visitations were extra, yeah, $100 per severed head and a mental $250 for something called a Budgeon-Fo-Killer-[censored], some kind of spell, basically helium is leaked into your room via the air-con so everyone speaks like mice for an hour or until your $250 runs out. Pathetic! Anyway, I shan't be going back. Eff you, Harry Potter and all your big-eared stupid, hairy mates. " https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/nov/28/harry-potter-and-the-56-anniversary-editions-endless-tie-ins-are-diluting-the-magic

Good points Pitmaster. IIRC a lot of the money for the Western Oval came from the federal government under a grant scheme they had running at the time. It was sold as a major upgrade of public facilities in the western suburbs. "After the appointment of Campbell Rose as Chief Executive of the football club in 2002, discussions commenced on a redevelopment of Whitten Oval. In September 2004, the club secured a deal for a $19.5m redevelopment, with contributions from the Federal Government ($8.0m),[12][13] Western Bulldogs Forever Foundation ($5.5m), State Government ($3.0m),[14][15] AFL ($1.5m) and the City of Maribyrnong ($1.0m).[16] Construction commenced in 2005,[17] and was completed in 2009. The renovated ground includes a 120 place childcare centre, a conference and convention centre and a state-of-the-art sports, medical, and health care centre for the Bulldogs to use as a training base " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitten_Oval

4 years sounds about right... allows a further extension at the end of year 3 if all is going well. I think coaches of the future will be looking for sabbaticals in their contracts (even for half a season). Year on year it's a very tough gig especially on the family front.

I get the feeling it will be the new arms race. One thing protecting us perhaps is that with the soft cap on the football department spend the mega facility can become uneconomic in that the bigger the facility the more staff you need to employ to maximise the utility of the facility. For those in the know what goes under this cap. For example the groundskeepers and the cleaners would be outside the cap but are the dieticians and the kitchen staff within?

this is the new West Coast facility https://thewest.com.au/sport/west-coast-eagles/eagles-show-off-plans-for-new-home-at-lathlain-bc-5557316662001 There is obviously a big push by the powerhouses to take their facilities to another level. Adelaide spent $16M on their facility at AAMI park in 2008. Freo train in a facility that cost $109M http://www.fremantlefc.com.au/news/2018-07-19/fremantle-dockers-training-facility-tours- Getting back to our own facility we clearly don't have the money to match the powerhouses. Compromise is needed but we need to get a wriggle on.

to do that we would need to pay commercial value for the land... East Melbourne is amongst the highest value per square foot in Melbourne. Woop woop as you call it will not get any cheaper and it will get further out the longer we wait.

All about future proofing Binman... The Yarra park solution is better than we have (almost nothing) but it will be miles behind what the big clubs develop in the near future. EFC have an enormous indoor facility in which you can kick a football for example. Collingwood have spent big money on the old pool site but I suspect the architectural constraints of the place have limited them. If they had their time over again I think they would be elsewhere. Richmond is the unknown. Good facilities at Punt road but not really 21st century facilities. Richmond with their success and membership base (especially if they can hook their members onto the pre reserved seats merry go round) will soon be rolling in money. Social clubs are dead unless you can think of a use for them on the other 340 days of the year. Here's a site showing the training grounds for the EPL clubs. Not suggesting we have the money they have but the most recently built training facility is for Tottenham. Worth a look. It's about 30k from their home ground. http://www.footballtraininggrounds.com/tottenham.html