The Western Sydney Football Club

yob · Post by **yob** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 11:04 am

AFL registers 'Western Sydney Football Club'

http://afl.com.au/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsid=57147

7:52 AM Tue 01 April, 2008

THE AFL has taken a significant step towards a proposed 18th team by registering an official name for a second Sydney-based side under the corporations act.

The Western Sydney Football Club Ltd is the legal name that has been formally registered, with the club set to be introduced after the 2010 season.

...

Release....... the hounds.

Simmo79 · Post by **Simmo79** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 11:27 am

I might be wrong about this but IMO the new AFL or A-League club out of homebush or anywhere out west would be just as well off calling itself "Sydney" as "West/Western Sydney". I just get this feeling that Sydney is more easily accepted as a title. Then again I might be semi-consciously influenced byWestern Sydney Rams and West Sydney Razorbacks struggling to find supporters.

yob · Post by **yob** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 11:30 am

Maybe they can call the new club the Western Bulldogs.

Cheesie-the-Pirate · Post by **Cheesie-the-Pirate** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 3:08 pm

Wow. They've spent a few thousand dollars to get a lawyer to jump through a few legal hoops. Hardly headline news.

Simmo79 · Post by **Simmo79** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 3:11 pm

You're not paranoid enough. Here take these pills. There. Now do you belive the AFL is trying to steal our children?

the crow · Post by **the crow** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 6:06 pm

if any team is going to show up there, it would need Western Sydney as the start to any team name to kick off the East V West rivalry.

West Sydney Demons maybe?

britishspud · Post by **britishspud** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:51 pm

so would this team play out of ANZ with the swans permanently playing at the SCG?

Tancred · Post by **Tancred** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:33 pm

britishspud wrote:so would this team play out of ANZ with the swans permanently playing at the SCG?

I doubt this "team" will do anything apart from media releases for the next 8-10 years.

Egan · Post by **Egan** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 2:28 am

britishspud wrote:so would this team play out of ANZ with the swans permanently playing at the SCG?

Yep, especially with the Swans fan base in the eastern suburbs. However I would suggest 2-3 home games for the swans would be at ANZ. Whats the bet ANZ would have a huge subsidy package for the AFL team.

This is what the A-League gets for not bringing in Western Sydney at the very start...

IanRitchie · Post by **IanRitchie** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:49 am

f**k them, i was about to start the Western Sydney football club

yob · Post by **yob** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 2:09 pm

Tancred wrote:
britishspud wrote:so would this team play out of ANZ with the swans permanently playing at the SCG?
I doubt this "team" will do anything apart from media releases for the next 8-10 years.

You think this team will be a smash hit.

Tancred · Post by **Tancred** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:59 pm

yob wrote:
Tancred wrote:
britishspud wrote:so would this team play out of ANZ with the swans permanently playing at the SCG?
I doubt this "team" will do anything apart from media releases for the next 8-10 years.

You think this team will be a smash hit.

Not even the mighty Hypno-toad can convince me!

the crow · Post by **the crow** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 8:37 pm

I reckon they would be better off at the showring at homebush, that thing being built for Olympic baseball was a joke.... with some slight modification you could squeeze a AFL oval in there. you would have a good home end (on the western side)

Dasher39 · Post by **Dasher39** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:49 am

Penrith keen to host A-League club
By Tom Smithies
April 03, 2008 12:00am

THE battle for a second Sydney A-League team has taken a new twist with the Penrith Leagues Club planning a bid for entry in 2010.

The Panthers Entertainment Group - which owns a portfolio of 14 licensed clubs in NSW - has scheduled talks with Football Federation Australia as a precursor to submitting a formal application.

As various bidders circle the proposed second Sydney franchise, The Daily Telegraph has also learnt that reclusive Wollongong billionaire Bruce Gordon recently met with FFA chairman Frank Lowy to impress upon him his support for an A-League team in the Illawarra.

It's inconceivable that more than one Sydney team would be added to the A-League in 2010, and FFA chief executive Ben Buckley believes the western suburbs have a compelling case - particularly given the AFL's expansion plans for the area.

But Gordon's involvement has impressed the FFA, whose bottom line continues to be that new clubs must be able to pay their way.

The Panthers bid would see the team be based at Penrith Stadium, the summer fixtures complementing the Panthers' NRL season. The stadium is in the middle of a multi-million-dollar government-funded renovation.

It's not known whether the Panthers Group would bankroll the A-League franchise - it reported a $10 million loss last season.

However, it signed a deal with the property arm of Dutch finance giant ING in May last year that eliminated its bank debt and reportedly gave the group cash for expansion.

The FFA had hoped to introduce teams on the Gold Coast and Townsville for next season but neither could meet certain financial criteria in time and hope to enter in 2009/10.

While it has long been assumed a second Sydney team would be at Parramatta, some see Penrith as more logical as it would be further from the sphere of Sydney FC and reduce the risk of siphoning off existing support.

Former A-League chief Matt Carroll argued last year that Penrith offered a compelling case for serious examination, particularly given the number of players in the region.

The stadium's owners, Penrith City Council, are very keen on backing any bid and last night Mayor Greg Davies said: "Penrith is a large regional area with a strong supporter base for national teams and there is a huge interest in the A-League.

"Council would help achieve that dream . . . through firm support of a financial backer of a team."

Don't like the idea of a club being linked to another club in another sporting code. Did Parramatta/Carlton/Collingwood teach us nothing?

Playing out of Penrith is OK, being linked with the Panthers is a bad move.

Simmo79 · Post by **Simmo79** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 11:25 am

I disagree about being based at penrith. A 2nd A-league club really needs to be based in the heart of the metro area (Homebush, Parra) rather than out on the fringe. SFC suffer a bit because they're so eastern. A penrith based club would feel it even worse because the population within half an hour's drive is even smaller.