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AFL boss Andrew Demetriou has labeled Subiaco Oval the “least adequate” ground in the competition as the league continues to push for a new or upgraded stadium in WA.
The AFL has set up a working party comprising of chief executives from the Eagles, Dockers and WAFC, as well as senior members from the league, to keep the stadium issue on the table despite the State Government’s decision to shelve all plans for the near future.
The AFL and the two WA clubs are disturbed by the relatively small capacity (43,000) and decrepit facilities of Subiaco Oval, where thousands of fans are denied the opportunity to see live football due to regular sell-outs.
Demetriou said he could see the reasoning behind the State Government’s short-term decision but remains concerned for followers of the code.
“I understand that it’s been parked by the government, which is understandable given what’s going on financially around the world,” Demetriou said.
“These are difficult and uncertain times, so every government has got to be prudent. But we need to keep working on that issue because at the moment everyone acknowledges that the Subiaco stadium is probably the least adequate of all of our grounds throughout Australia.”
Demetriou said that seating reserved through the sale of season tickets had become a problem due to the limited capacity of the stadium and the lack of opportunity to watch live football could be disenfranchising the sporting public.
“When you’ve got 43,000 capacity and you’ve got a lot of reserved seating being sold and lots of members for both Fremantle and West Coast, it means that there’s a lot of young people that can’t go to the football and pay at the gate,” Demetriou said.
“So we’re actually denying a lot of young people, children, an opportunity to come to the football and watch and enjoy the experience. So we have the potential to disenfranchise a lot of people from a generational perspective.
“We want people to go along to the football. It’s a good place to go along, it’s a good place for families to go. So we’ll keep working with the clubs and the WAFC and keep working to go forward on that.”
Demetriou wants to see at least 50,000-52,000 seats at Subiaco Oval in the near future with the possibility of further upgrading the stadium to 60,000.
PERTH
SHAYNE HOPE
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