Melbourne a sports hog: Souris

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Melbourne a sports hog: Souris

New South Wales state opposition sports spokesman George Souris says there is widespread anger in NSW over the loss of a Bledisloe Cup rugby fixture for a second year running.

[Happy]

Admittedly whenever a state opposition criticizes something I try and sit back a bit and munch on some salt. I agree with the gist of the statement though - I see no reason why the ARU had to move the game to Melbourne. Other than to appease some deal made in a resturaunt somewhere.

I don't agree with the arguement of showcasing Union to develop interest, both public and corporate, it should be clear by now Melbourne is bloated with sporting events and neither the public or corporate dollar can stretch much further. Every year we get remindered about an AFL club in Victoria is down on corporate sponsorship, should they merge, should a team relocate to Hobart or the Goldcoast?

They didn't have the public or private interest required to beat Perth's bid, they had a miserly turnout at the Wallabies vs England game in June but now believe they can fill the MCG for a one off match next year. Which should be pointed out is another rugby unfriendly stadium.

I can't see them selling more than 50,000 tickets to that game, under half full. I would suspect a few of eastern states people might make a trip to watch it. I suspect a reasonable amount might bycott the game to prove to the ARU they have made a mistake, and to Melbourne that they are not the ducks nuts in everything sporting. What will be the reaction then ?

They seem to have a history of taking perfectly well run sporting events from other cities and screwing it up. Anyone remember the F1 at Adelaide???