- Nov 21, 2013
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I can't, but surely even you would agree that Hospitals and schools should come before sports.
AFL overtaking NRL in QLD
- Thread starter pulpdriver
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Has as much weight as yours does on an internet forum.
Guy has considerable experience in forum moderation. He probably can spot a troll.
He also literally makes the rules around here.
Governments use stadiums as economy and tourism drivers - something that brings income and people to the state, and something that hospital and school spending generally cant do. Funding one doesnt necessarily take funding from the other.
Vehemently opposed to funding training and COE type facilities for professional sports clubs though.
However, this is not really on topic for this board.
I dare say they are bigger investments we can make in PNG than a football team, like education or ports or roads or electrical infrastructure.
Cunnington Cartel
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You can’t, because with the way sports are structured in this country, it isn’t feasible for the governing bodies to fund their own infrastructure. Hospitals and schools already do come before sports (many times over - as they should), a cursory glance at any state budget will confirm that. The slice of the pie is what should be contested, but to suggest that sports should receive zero funding is something I cannot agree with.
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Funding grassroots is a health issue for governments in any case - keep kids and young people healthy and exercised and you save on the health expenses. And when done right Stadiums bring direct and indirect tourism, publicity and economic benefits - see Adelaide and Perth in particular.
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Probably because they are privately owned by billionaires.
Cunnington Cartel
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Exactly; the AFL, as a non-for profit organisation, allocates a significant portion of its revenue to grassroots/game development. The more they make, the more they invest back into the sport which benefits all tiers of the participation pyramid.
Additional grassroots funding creates numerous health, social and economic benefits for the community. This is vastly different from the private ownership model, referred to by others, which primarily serves to funnel all the money generated to wealthy individuals/consortiums. It’s easy to be critical; however, it’s far more difficult to offer better alternatives.
Nonsense on stilts. Public funding of sports and sports stadiums is something that happens worldwide - including the UK which has been amongst the most biggest spenders on sport over the last 20 years.
As for soccer clubs not receiving any public funds for stadiums, this is also untrue. In fact nearly all stadiums in the UK and Europe were originally funded and built by councils back in the day. Though most major stadiums have long since been “privatised” (i.e.sold off to private buyers), there’s still many, especially in the lower divisions, owned and funded by councils, as well as a few major stadiums still in council hands e.g. Man City lease Etihad Stadium from the Manchester City Council. The area was originally built for the Commonwealth Games and only converted into a soccer stadium in 2002. The Manchester City ccouncil and the club split the cost of the renovation.
Even in the land of free enterprise capitalism and lucrative NFL clubs priva owned by multi-billionaires, billions (not millions, but billions) in public funding goes towards constructing or renovating major NFL stadiums e.g. the flash new Dallas Cowboys stadium was built and is owned by the City of Arlington. And in Nashville -
“In 2022, the Tennessee Titans of the NFL unveiled their plans for a new stadium in the heart of Nashville. The 1.7 million-square-foot stadium can house 60,000 screaming football fans and is estimated to cost $2.1 billion. The public would fund more than half of the stadium through a one-time contribution from the state of $500 million and $760 million through revenue bonds issued by Nashville’s Metropolitan Sports Authority. …”
Taxpayers are paying billions for the renovations and construction of NFL stadiums. Here's how
Since 2000, public funds diverted to helping build professional sports stadiums and arenas have cost taxpayers $4.3 billion.
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- Nov 21, 2013
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So you would sooner that your taxpayers money went on sports stadiums rather than the schools your kids go to, or hospitals your family goes to or perhaps you haven't got any kids.
What a terrible take. You could apply that argument to every dollar of government spending that isn't schools and hospitals.
FWIW, we spend roughly a quarter of a trillion dollars on the health system every year. You could build an Optus Stadium in every capital city every single year and it's a drop in the ocean of what we spend on health.
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its not a zero sum equation.
PenrithGWS
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Jesus.
Macca180
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Macca180
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Yeah I do. The more tax payers money that goes into AFL the better.
It's great for Australia's national sport. Love it.
There is genuine concern from the Queensland Rugby League about what the AFL is achieving in QLD. Here is an exerpt from the Courier Mail two days ago in which the QRL CEO is desperately trying to secure more funding to remain competitive with the AFL:
I saw on a QLD gov grants website a good while back, a bunch of Rugby grants up for grabs to expand their game etc, the bum-sniffers have their snouts firmly in the trough up in QLD, definitely facilitated by insiders.
Yeah these were all at community level, wasn't a single Aussie Rules one in sight. So completely one sided on that front, from that one occasion last year I happened to be looking there.
Bjo187
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The amount of funding r.l gets when they never have to put their hand in their own pocket is amazing. They never put a cent into their stadiums and then you have albo offering 600 mill for their 18th team which will cost them nothing.
No doubt they've been in the background whingeing about the gabba redevelopment too. You'd think that it was in fact the Australian invented code with the crap that goes on. Even soccer should be getting more funding than they do.
The good news is, the AFL will be spending over 100 million soon in game development. They spent 29 million more this year than last year, as they now have to spend at least 10 percent revenue on grassroots.
The AFL need to match their dirty sneaky tactics otherwise they will get blocked out in QLD like what happened in western Sydney when the giants were formed.
its a question thats crossed my mind as well ..... would not be at all surprised if there are shadowy league interests causing mischief behind the scenes (probably more effective than the mischief wilkie is likely pushing down south in tassie)
Bjo187
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100 percent, when Vlandy's has admitted he tired to force foxtel to not pay more for the AFL rights than NRL's, then called channel 9 to complain that they had too much afl content on their morning show, do you honestly think he wasn't calling around to the media and pollies in QLD trying to discourage the AFL getting a brand new stadium? Read John Coates comments and dig at the afl and cricket, that tells you enough (west tigers links).
dont doubt your comments on v'landys .... but i was thinking more in the vein of powerful broncos coterie members - buisness types with open door access to qld pollies (on both sides of the aisle) who can use their influence to push certain agendas
Bjo187
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Yes them too. Even someone like Lachlan Murdoch to influence media and Peter Beattie is on the nrl commission, he would have a direct line to the state labor party being a former leader. It's weird with the amount of southerners in QLD that they haven't seemed to infiltrate the government yet, to help create some balance.
That doesn't surprise, federal politics has always had a strong bias towards rugby. Not saying they shouldn't get a fair & proportionate share, but scrapping the GABBA rebuild to do up a square shaped Suncorp for the Olympics is 1970's NYC level corruption on a Federal & State level!
- Nov 21, 2013
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"Federal politics has always had a strong bias towards Rugby"
Yes Rugby Union, not Rugby League, which some people in the establishment hate, as it perceived as Anti establishment.
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