Western Bulldogs days away from the brink and financial ruin

[Aphrodite]

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,24073094-19742,00.html

EXCLUSIVE: THE State Government has saved the Western Bulldogs from imminent financial disaster. Bulldogs chief executive Campbell Rose last night revealed a town planning wrangle had threatened to halt the Whitten Oval re-development and bring down the club.

"We were days from the brink and moments from financial ruin," Rose told the Herald Sun.

If the government had not stepped in yesterday to over-rule the City of Maribyrong, the Dogs were facing the grim prospect of being burdened with a half-finished administration building and a $6 million bill.

Rose confirmed the Dogs had only until the end of the month to sort out the dispute before the builders could no continue because of lack of approvals.

As the Dogs racked up wins on-field in recent months, the club was privately fighting a losing battle with the local council, which refused to approve plans for Victoria University to run courses in the re-developed John Gent Stand.

"The screws were tightening as things were going so well on the field," Rose said.

"There would have been a $6 million gap. We couldn't access the money because of contracts in place and we needed that permit."

 

[trev106]

A 60 point loss to the cats and then close to going under been a great week for my club. At least we're back on track again, just about the only thing Brumbys done right so far.

 

[Butane]

Blame the ****ing Maribrynong council. The same council that won't let us build our hotel.

 

[RedWhite&Blue]

Jesus christ!!!!
Councils are generally run by F#$Kwits. They invent permits and fines and controls to create jobs for themselves.

 

[tribey]

Ah municipal government.

Just pick up our bins, ********s.

 

[Copernicus]

Ah municipal government.

Just pick up our bins, ********s.

Pretty much.

Bit ridiculous that a city council could cause that much trouble for a footy club.

 

[Bomber32]

The Maribyrnong council are an absolute disgrace.

 

[rizzo]

You would think multimillion dollar developments would be a good thing for the shire to have. Especially when it is in footscray...

 

[sherrinorburley]

Re: Western Bulldogs weredays away from the brink and financial ruin

Councils are generally run by F#$Kwits. They invent permits and fines and controls to create jobs for themselves.

They call themselves public servants? Anything but.

 

[bigburger]

Show me a good council and I will become a changed man. Their all a bunch of ****wits just like many in this thread have already said. I spose the mass injection of funds into the city is worse than destroying some heritage listed piece of grass. Nob jockeys.

 

[kookadog]

The Council should be totally embarassed by this, who are they accountable too?? You'd think the benefits and all the good work the dogs do for the local area and the support already given by Other levels of government would make these monkeys see sense, but no. The council should be sacked.

 

[MickyCrow]

Blame the ****ing Maribrynong council. The same council that won't let us build our hotel.

This is the same here with the Adelaide City Council, pretty much said no to every single developmental plan for the Adelaide city centre. Til the state government said **** ya, we are stripping you of your powers and taking them ourselves

 

[Bollox]

Add them to the list of council victims. Couple of permits, half a dozen pokies, etc....mind blowing procedural inflexibility and ineptitude.

If the doggies were a weatherboard shack in shit st arseville they'd be treated as having more heritage value.

Get a high profile ex doggies player to run at the next council election.

 

[Hearts to hearts]

My council just stopped a godawful development proposal in my street, so this week I'm a fan.

And while I'm sympathetic to the Dogs - and North have also had some council-related hurdles on redeveloping Arden St - I'm generally not a fan of state government over-ruling on local issues. This time it's something you want to see go ahead, next week it's your house being overshadowed/overlooked/blasted with noise/cars/taking a hit in value so a developer can make money and the Minister gets some extra campaign funds.

 

[sosos]

Agree with all the anti-council sentiments expressed here.

But why would you start building before permission was granted? That's gambling.

 

[Monkster]

Add them to the list of council victims. Couple of permits, half a dozen pokies, etc....mind blowing procedural inflexibility and ineptitude.

If the doggies were a weatherboard shack in shit st arseville they'd be treated as having more heritage value.

Get a high profile ex doggies player to run at the next council election.

Someone like Chris Grant would be good

 

[Z_K]

Blame the ****ing Maribrynong council. The same council that won't let us build our hotel.

Umm, the last place that ****ing area needs is more pokies. The original plans for that development were bullshit and a cash grab.

 

[erical]

Jesus christ!
Will the stupid Victorian Govt please stop propping up these absolute basket cases year after year and time after time.
There are at least 4 too many teams in Melbourne as it is but they all keep wanting to go it alone and whinge and complain about interstate sides etc etc etc.More so now a couple of new Northern ones are coming.
North,Bulldogs and melbourne should all be gone sooner than later but they continually get handouts from all quarters and tin rattlers delaying the inevitable.
Shame on you John Brumby shame

 

[muttley3028]

Jesus christ!
Will the stupid Victorian Govt please stop propping up these absolute basket cases year after year and time after time.
There are at least 4 too many teams in Melbourne as it is but they all keep wanting to go it alone and whinge and complain about interstate sides etc etc etc.More so now a couple of new Northern ones are coming.
North,Bulldogs and melbourne should all be gone sooner than later but they continually get handouts from all quarters and tin rattlers delaying the inevitable.
Shame on you John Brumby shame

Congratulations on the tool of the week award. They over ruled the permit application, they did not hand out additional funds. Now that the permit is in place it allows access to funds that were allocated in the propsal of the redevelopment.

 

[boydsno1]

Umm, the last place that ****ing area needs is more pokies. The original plans for that development were bullshit and a cash grab.

more pokies? how will there be more pokies when they are simply moving the ones at the club to the hotel. so the way i see it, it will still be the same number of pokie machines

 

[jim boy]

more pokies? how will there be more pokies when they are simply moving the ones at the club to the hotel. so the way i see it, it will still be the same number of pokie machines

I think the council is in a better place to decide than that than you. Western suburbs have a big gambling problem and any action involving pokies needs to be considered carefully, with the community coming first.

Developments rarely get through without some modifications imposed by council, good thing too. It would have sorted itself out eventually, as these things do. I think the whole story is a bit of a beat-up.

 

[Butane]

Umm, the last place that ****ing area needs is more pokies. The original plans for that development were bullshit and a cash grab.

There will be not one single pokie machine more then there was before. They are just being moved. Common sense will prevail.

 

[The_Flying_Egg]

There will be not one single pokie machine more then there was before. They are just being moved. Common sense will prevail.

They're also being moved from a very low socio economic area, to a higher one. The people around the area we want the pokies at are less vulnerable, the council should be encouraging us to move them

 

[stewie griffen]

hey it could be worse, it could be the adelaide city council

 

[white city]

I am not convinced this is solely about poker machines, if at all. I believe the Council should make public their reasoning as to deny the Bulldogs the relevant permits. There seems to be something behind all of this. Who is the decision maker at the Council? What are the real issues here? Come clean, Council! Surely you are not being vindicative because of the Bulldogs taking you to VCAT over the Edgewater proposal?

Be transparent about this so we can understand the issues not speculate.