GVGjr
11-11-2008, 07:26 AM
This from the Age.
Gaming 'key to Bulldogs' future'
THE financial viability of the Western Bulldogs Football Club could depend on the movement of 48 gaming machines, Victoria's gambling regulator has been told.
Bulldogs president David Smorgon has described the expected $250,000-$500,000 revenue from the machines as a "huge factor for the club".
Mr Smorgon was addressing a hearing of the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation, which is considering an application by the Footscray Football Club Ltd to locate 70 poker machines at its proposed new Club Edgewater social club.
Most of the machines would come from Whitten Oval as part of a $26 million redevelopment that will include a child-care centre and Victoria University sports campus.
Maribyrnong City Council opposes poker machines at the Edgewater venue, with one councillor calling on AFL clubs to wean themselves off this type of revenue.
But the Bulldogs president has warned of "dire consequences" for the club if the poker machine application is rejected. Mr Smorgon said the new venue would help secure the future of the club.
"We never want to see this club go back to where it was in 1989 or in 1996, and to do this we must secure sustainable revenue that flows irrespective of our on-field success," he said.
"The Whitten Oval redevelopment and the construction of the Club Edgewater will go a long way in ensuring the long-term survival of the club, while also providing high-quality facilities to the community."
Mr Smorgon, who said he never played the pokies, said the club had not had an acceptable social venue since the 1960s.
Maribyrnong City Council Greens councillor Janet Rice said the number of poker machines in the area should be "slashed rather than shifted".
She said football clubs needed to work out how to survive without poker machines, "because they destroy families".
Gaming 'key to Bulldogs' future'
THE financial viability of the Western Bulldogs Football Club could depend on the movement of 48 gaming machines, Victoria's gambling regulator has been told.
Bulldogs president David Smorgon has described the expected $250,000-$500,000 revenue from the machines as a "huge factor for the club".
Mr Smorgon was addressing a hearing of the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation, which is considering an application by the Footscray Football Club Ltd to locate 70 poker machines at its proposed new Club Edgewater social club.
Most of the machines would come from Whitten Oval as part of a $26 million redevelopment that will include a child-care centre and Victoria University sports campus.
Maribyrnong City Council opposes poker machines at the Edgewater venue, with one councillor calling on AFL clubs to wean themselves off this type of revenue.
But the Bulldogs president has warned of "dire consequences" for the club if the poker machine application is rejected. Mr Smorgon said the new venue would help secure the future of the club.
"We never want to see this club go back to where it was in 1989 or in 1996, and to do this we must secure sustainable revenue that flows irrespective of our on-field success," he said.
"The Whitten Oval redevelopment and the construction of the Club Edgewater will go a long way in ensuring the long-term survival of the club, while also providing high-quality facilities to the community."
Mr Smorgon, who said he never played the pokies, said the club had not had an acceptable social venue since the 1960s.
Maribyrnong City Council Greens councillor Janet Rice said the number of poker machines in the area should be "slashed rather than shifted".
She said football clubs needed to work out how to survive without poker machines, "because they destroy families".