Below is part of his speech that addresses a number of issues surrounding the new stadium...
“I don’t stand here today and have all of the answers. I don’t stand here today saying to you we’re off, or we’re staying,” said Trigg. “Don’t be nervous about this, because we will make the decision that is best for the football club.”
“You could well be forgiven for thinking that this is a done deal and it is over the line, and there is so much rumour and innuendo about the publicly visible thing. It might well happen if we are significantly better off, but as of today it isn’t a done deal because there are some significant things that are still to be done.”
“We have always said, publicly and privately, if we can be better off than we will possibly support the move.”
“To stay at AAMI Stadium and do nothing to AAMI Stadium I promise you is not an option. The club has some challenges financially. This State government has been really clear, and we have tried to work into it and through any which way. There is no money for AAMI Stadium. I know a lot of you have said, ‘well let’s wait for a new government and explore new options.’
“Let me tell you, every waking minute has been spent thinking about how there is a better option. When you have $535 million of potential asset sitting in the city, it is the responsibly thing to do to work through it and see if you can make it work for your own organisation.”
“Pending what Patrick and his team finally produce with the design and how it gets costed out, is quite a considerable number still that is the shortfall, that is able to produce the stadium that in our case, permit us to stay that this could work.
“Secondly, we need control of the precinct. Car parking is an issue and I understand that. Unless we control the precinct, and the council and others will dictate where and when, we can’t be sure. If we control it, we can know the number of parks and where they will be allocated and etc.”
“Critically, and yet to be publicly acknowledged but will be played out privately, is the carve up within football. Rent, licenses, occupancy, tenure, the deal, the travel. So there is a fair bit to be done within football. That part is very sensitive. Some of you may ask ‘why didn’t we get a chance to vote?’ The difficulty with that is the ability to get detailed and complex issues understood that a sensible vote can be had. What happens in football will be a key issue on whether we say yes, or no, or whether we are made to go or not, or whether we say this is good we’re on our way.”
“Some key issues outlined in the information brochure that I will go over briefly. One of the questions, if we went next year would I be guaranteed a seat? If we went to Adelaide Oval next year, every single one of our members would be assured of a seat. Will I pay more? There has been a range of modelling done on higher prices, same prices, variable prices, to produce a number that gives you the uplift that has been bandied about. There will be more expensive tickets, there will be a premium around the stadium because we are putting 30% more people under cover.”
“The important question from you I suspect is like for like, pound for pound, what’s going to be the cost of my ticket if I compare it to today? I can’t give you the number because of the modelling, what I can tell you is it will be more expensive. By what degree? I can’t tell you at the moment but it would be more expensive if we stayed here (at AAMI). If we moved next year would it be more expensive? It would, but not in the range of any of the hysteria that says it’s going to be 25-30% more expensive. I promise you we wouldn’t do that.”
“What about the after match venue? The one key issue that causes us perhaps the most angst. There will be an after match venue and it will be a ripper. It will be in better proximity on some levels to the rooms than what we have right now. But it’s not going to be exclusively ours. Badged up when we use it, but on another week it will be someone else’s.”
