DESPERATE Victorian AFL club presidents are chasing a meeting with the state's sports minister James Merlino as the latest step in their campaign to get equitable stadium deals.
The 10 clubs are unanimous in their concern, fearing that at least one of them could go to the wall due to the combined effects of its venue arrangements and the world economic crisis.
As Thursday's The Age reports, the interstate clubs have become powerhouses on the back of beneficial deals, and the revelation that Melbourne stadiums retain about 70 per cent of the revenue from the games – while the clubs get just 30 per cent – has caused outrage.
West Coast, for example, gets about $34 for each person who attends a game at Subiaco Oval, while Carlton can expect just $13 for a patron in Melbourne.
Geelong is the only Victorian club sitting pretty, raking in as much in one home game – about $650,000 – as the Western Bulldogs' operating profit for the year.
The Cats' stadium deal means that they were about $5 million better off over the year than the Dogs, despite the latter having superior membership and average attendance numbers.
The MCG trust is the Victorian government-appointed body that works with the MCC to run the stadium and the clubs hope a meeting with Mr Merlino will get the government to help tilt the arrangement back in their favour.
"We have 353,000 members of clubs in Melbourne, we contribute significantly to Victoria socially and the Victorian economy, so we think this is an important issue for the state government," Bulldogs president David Smorgon told The Age.
"I don't believe it is alarmist to say that these stadium deals have the capacity to see the death of clubs in Victoria.
"These deals are the single most important factor hurting the clubs.
"Last year, 2.7 million people went to the MCG, and less than 700,000 went there for all other events. Football is not recognised appropriately by the venue.
"This is not just an issue of the poor clubs pleading poor and whingeing, this is an unanimous position of the 10 Victorian clubs."
