bornadog
04-06-2014, 10:47 AM
Purchasing Etihad Stadium is the one piece of business Andrew Demetriou wishes he had not left unfinished as he steps away from his post as AFL chief executive.
Demetriou admitted that acquiring the stadium would have helped the league in dealing with the major problems of equalisation and cost of attending a game that clubs are fans are now battling.
As it stands, the AFL will be able to purchase the stadium for virtually nothing in 2025.
However Demetriou said doing so earlier would be "very advantageous" for the league as it prepares this week to announce new measures for equalisation.
βIt would have been nice to have purchased Etihad Stadium earlier because I think it would have been good for our clubs,β Demetriou said on Monday night.
"With the stadium, I think we could do a few more things with it and perhaps get a bigger return for our clubs that play there," he said.
"There's no doubt the clubs that play at Etihad Stadium have almost borne the brunt of poor match returns, and they've helped pay the stadium off to be honest β the Bulldogs, North Melbourne and St Kilda."
While equalisation is set to be thrust firmly on the agenda in the coming weeks, as is the continuing fallout from the Essendon supplements scandal, low crowds and negative feedback from spectators about ticketing and the overall cost of going to the football has also emerged as a significant issue this season.
Speaking in an interview on Footy Classifieds, Demetriou put the potential purchase of Etihad Stadium back on the agenda by suggesting the AFL could fix many of the issues raised by fans if it owned its own stadium.
"This year we have had feedback about variable pricing and noise, more so than in other years, about things like car parking and ticketing charges and food and beverage," he said.
"But if you get the stadium earlier, it gives you the advantage of doing all sorts of things with your own stadium and you can start to put pressure on other venues to bring prices down."
Preparing to officially hand over the job on Friday to new chief executive Gillon McLachlan, Demetriou is conducting his final round of media interviews this week.
Speaking to 3AW earlier on Monday night, a reflective Demetriou admitted the AFL had made mistakes with fixturing this season, particularly with how it accommodated the players' demands for two byes.
The new-look fixture which features the two byes for each club spread over six rounds throughout the season has not been popular with spectators.
"There's no doubt there are some issues around that, we've lost some momentum," he said.
"Whether we do that again in the future, we'll have to wait and see."
Regardless of any policy change, Demetriou said it was unlikely there would be two byes in 2015, given the AFL must contend with fixturing games around the 2015 ICC World Cup, which runs from February to March next year.
As it relates to the Essendon drugs saga, Demetriou admitted the allegation that he "tipped off" former Essendon chairman David Evans to the impending ASADA investigation was the hardest issue he had dealt with during his time as CEO, from a personal standpoint.
Demetriou revealed how close he came to launching his own legal action against those who pursued the allegations.
"It was pretty close," he said on Channel Nine.
"Your reputation is everything, and if you stand for something, particularly on matters of integrity, trust and honesty - things I have lived by my whole life and grew up with - when someone is challenging that... I didn't take kindly to that."
Demetriou said he did not go ahead with the legal action because it would have drawn out the ugly story even longer for the AFL.
"I didn't want to do that... and in the main, and I don't think I'm wrong on this, I think people just didn't believe [the story]," he said.
"I could not have passed on information to David because I wasn't privy to the information, and that's where it should have stopped."
Demetriou bluntly rejected the assertion that he feared going to court over the issue because it would have forced him to give evidence under oath.
"I was more than happy to go to court. That was just one of those things that got throw out, peddled by spin doctors, that was absolute rubbish," he said.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/andrew-demetriou-says-buying-etihad-stadium-would-fix-equalisation-problems-20140603-zrvru.html#ixzz33cvqFAPo
Demetriou admitted that acquiring the stadium would have helped the league in dealing with the major problems of equalisation and cost of attending a game that clubs are fans are now battling.
As it stands, the AFL will be able to purchase the stadium for virtually nothing in 2025.
However Demetriou said doing so earlier would be "very advantageous" for the league as it prepares this week to announce new measures for equalisation.
βIt would have been nice to have purchased Etihad Stadium earlier because I think it would have been good for our clubs,β Demetriou said on Monday night.
"With the stadium, I think we could do a few more things with it and perhaps get a bigger return for our clubs that play there," he said.
"There's no doubt the clubs that play at Etihad Stadium have almost borne the brunt of poor match returns, and they've helped pay the stadium off to be honest β the Bulldogs, North Melbourne and St Kilda."
While equalisation is set to be thrust firmly on the agenda in the coming weeks, as is the continuing fallout from the Essendon supplements scandal, low crowds and negative feedback from spectators about ticketing and the overall cost of going to the football has also emerged as a significant issue this season.
Speaking in an interview on Footy Classifieds, Demetriou put the potential purchase of Etihad Stadium back on the agenda by suggesting the AFL could fix many of the issues raised by fans if it owned its own stadium.
"This year we have had feedback about variable pricing and noise, more so than in other years, about things like car parking and ticketing charges and food and beverage," he said.
"But if you get the stadium earlier, it gives you the advantage of doing all sorts of things with your own stadium and you can start to put pressure on other venues to bring prices down."
Preparing to officially hand over the job on Friday to new chief executive Gillon McLachlan, Demetriou is conducting his final round of media interviews this week.
Speaking to 3AW earlier on Monday night, a reflective Demetriou admitted the AFL had made mistakes with fixturing this season, particularly with how it accommodated the players' demands for two byes.
The new-look fixture which features the two byes for each club spread over six rounds throughout the season has not been popular with spectators.
"There's no doubt there are some issues around that, we've lost some momentum," he said.
"Whether we do that again in the future, we'll have to wait and see."
Regardless of any policy change, Demetriou said it was unlikely there would be two byes in 2015, given the AFL must contend with fixturing games around the 2015 ICC World Cup, which runs from February to March next year.
As it relates to the Essendon drugs saga, Demetriou admitted the allegation that he "tipped off" former Essendon chairman David Evans to the impending ASADA investigation was the hardest issue he had dealt with during his time as CEO, from a personal standpoint.
Demetriou revealed how close he came to launching his own legal action against those who pursued the allegations.
"It was pretty close," he said on Channel Nine.
"Your reputation is everything, and if you stand for something, particularly on matters of integrity, trust and honesty - things I have lived by my whole life and grew up with - when someone is challenging that... I didn't take kindly to that."
Demetriou said he did not go ahead with the legal action because it would have drawn out the ugly story even longer for the AFL.
"I didn't want to do that... and in the main, and I don't think I'm wrong on this, I think people just didn't believe [the story]," he said.
"I could not have passed on information to David because I wasn't privy to the information, and that's where it should have stopped."
Demetriou bluntly rejected the assertion that he feared going to court over the issue because it would have forced him to give evidence under oath.
"I was more than happy to go to court. That was just one of those things that got throw out, peddled by spin doctors, that was absolute rubbish," he said.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/andrew-demetriou-says-buying-etihad-stadium-would-fix-equalisation-problems-20140603-zrvru.html#ixzz33cvqFAPo