Ballymore return still on Reds' radar
Ballymore return still on Reds' radar
Phil Lutton
September 16, 2010
http://images.smh.com.au/2010/02/26/...more-420x0.jpg The traditional home of Queensland rugby ... Ballymore. Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
The Queensland Rugby Union is considering a dramatic move back to Ballymore next season as negotiations for a renewed deal at Suncorp Stadium enter their final phase.
After months of complex talks, a Suncorp Stadium spokesman said a "final offer" had been made to the QRU and they awaited a decision on the playing arrangements of the Queensland Reds in 2011.
QRU chief executive Jim Carmichael said he hoped further talks with stadium management over the next week would see a decision within a fortnight.
He he would not rule out a shift back to Ballymore, the game's spiritual home and administrative headquarters, from next season.
Carmichael said negotiations with Suncorp Stadium remained on good terms but the daunting financial reality confronting the QRU, of which Ballymore is a constant monetary drain, could be the deciding factor.
"That is one of the permutations, that all games are played at Ballymore. I'm not going to say one is more on our radar than the other [options], because we have to have due diligence on all of them in terms of what it would mean to us," Carmichael said.
"Suncorp's a wonderful stadium - ultimately, of course, that's where you'd like to be - but we're faced with some circumstances that are a little unusual.
"We worked very, very hard last year to steer the ship right and I've got to make sure that every little thing we do, no matter what it is, is going to secure rugby and has some long term ramifications that we believe are going to be good for the code.
"It's a negotiation we enter into with great respect to Suncorp as they do to us. But it's not as simple as there's a final offer because it's much more complex than that."
The Reds became tenants at Suncorp Stadium in 2006, leaving Ballymore to become a financial burden on the cash-strapped QRU, which is now jointly administered with the ARU through a Special Executive Committee chaired by John O'Neill.
The ageing stadium, an $18 million asset, depreciates at a rate of $1 million per year, while this year's annual report showed the QRU made a combined loss of $10.84 million over the past three years.
A full time move back to Ballymore would be the extreme end of the spectrum for the Reds, who may elect to split their games between the grounds - hosting Australian derbies at the bigger venue and the rest at Ballymore, in the inner-city suburb of Herston.
Returning to Ballymore on a permanent basis could lead to some disappointed fans, particularly given the limited capacity of the 20,000 seat ground.
But the lure of no stadium charges and gate takings directly aiding the QRU's fight out of financial purgatory presents a tough decision for Carmichael and his board.
"We of course would like to be at Suncorp. But I have an obligation to make absolutely sure we get rugby as secure as we can," Carmichael said.
"There's certain levels of security around Ballymore, in terms of income streams, we can't ignore.
"But that's not to say that's our favoured position, or our first position. It's simply one of the many permutations we're looking at."
Suncorp Stadium general manager Alan Graham has previously said any side can break even at the venue with a crowd of 5000, depending on the amount of lead-up games and associated staffing levels.
Even with that figure likely to be easily covered a resurgent Reds side that is a genuine chance to make the finals next year, staying at Suncorp on a permanent basis fails to solve the problem of how to monetise Ballymore.
A development application for the venue has been approved by Brisbane City Council, which includes a pool, additional field, sports medicine facilities, bike and walking tracks, a new gymnasium and a new field.
While that could be a positive for the QRU in the future, it failed to address the short-term fiscal damage being inflicted by the much-loved old ground.
Carmichael said any decision would be made with the best interests of the code in mind, starting with stabilising the precarious economic predicament of the governing body.
"It's been no secret the financial circumstances we faced when I joined the organisation. That's not just about the Reds and QRU. That's about the state of the code," he said.
"We've got a board that very much recognises the need to get economic security in the code this [financial] year and that means we're looking very, very hard at everything.
"I've got a situation with Ballymore that everyone knows has been eating up capital year after year. We have to make this work. It's cost rugby an enormous amount of money to maintain Ballymore. I've got to make sure it delivers the best result it can.
"We're in a position, finally, after some years to be able to look hard at these things and make sure we get it right. The expectation on this, for all constituents, is that we're going to make a good decision on this for the long term of the code."
The Reds played one game at Ballymore in February this year, losing to the Auckland Blues in a rain-soaked game that still attracted a crowd of dedicated fans on the hill.
It was a night that reignited the debate between supporters of the traditional Ballymore home and the bigger, more convenient but more costly Suncorp Stadium.
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