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* Dale Granger The Sunday Times May 01, 2010 7:00PM
MILLIONS of international TV viewers are watching broadcasts of Emirates Western Force Super 14 matches in a rectangular stadium that is the worst in the competition and does no justice to Perth's status as a top-class international city.
That is the view of former Wallaby and Force lock John Welborn, who sits on the WA Tourism Board, has played rugby all over the world and now does TV commentary for the sport.
His view is echoed by Paul Kelly, chief executive of the Perth Glory soccer team, ME Bank Stadium's other tenant, who says the stadium does not even meet FIFA World Cup training ground criteria.
After a capacity 23,000 crowd watched the Force beat the Crusaders in their last home Super 14 game last Friday, Welborn was pushing the case for a new stadium to be built.
He said the victory over the Crusaders was broadcast live or delayed live to every rugby playing country and was disappointed by the venue.
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"Super rugby is popular in France and the UK and all the rugby playing countries of the world," Welborn said.
"There are people in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan watching games that are a great showcase for Perth.
"What we had was world-class game, a very exciting fixture, that deserved to be showcased in a world-class stadium. While a lot of work has been done to upgrade the stadium, it's certainly not anywhere near the quality of stadiums in all the other Super rugby towns.
"The Force are delighted to be playing at ME Bank in a rectangular stadium. But we also play in a competition where we get to play at Suncorp Stadium (Brisbane) and Ellis Park (Johannesburg) and Newlands (Cape Town) and Loftus (Pretoria) and even the great stadiums that are being developed in New Zealand.
"Certainly there is a huge business case and a demand for Perth to have a purpose-built 35,000 seat state-of-the-art rectangular stadium.
"With the Glory here, as well as the potential for rugby league to expand into this zone, it would be wonderful to have a multi-purpose stadium."
Kelly said ME Bank Stadium did not even meet the guidelines for a FIFA World Cup training venue.
"It's a shame that we may not play a part in international events down the track. We cannot attract top English Premier League teams to a stadium that would be embarrassing for top flight soccer purposes," Kelly said.
"We've signed Robbie Fowler and we want to showcase him at a venue that does justice to a star of his quality."