Here we go again ...
Who would have thought the key stakeholder wouldn't agree?
http://m.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/c ... 6660658385"THE SANFL and the state's two AFL clubs are in conflict over how to sell football tickets at Adelaide Oval.
The Sunday Mail understands the Crows, the Power and the SANFL have each submitted vastly different financial models on how best to deal with the 12,200 seats on offer after the failure of Oval's Ultimate Membership packages.
Only 6500 of these memberships were taken up before the Stadium Management Authority gave up on selling the $795 tickets, which would have given entry to all football and cricket games at the Oval. The sports are now selling their own passes.
Football has several sticking points, which have required AFL assistance to broker a compromise. These include:
CONCERNS from the two AFL clubs, Adelaide and Port Adelaide, on how the premium football tickets, which are estimated to be priced at $515, would threaten their membership sales.
THE SANFL protecting its income stream by demanding the league not lose money by moving from AAMI Stadium to the city.
THE AFL clubs arguing that they, not the SANFL, should sell the tickets at Adelaide Oval.
SANFL president John Olsen has been clear in what the SANFL expects from a new deal, which is likely to be announced in the next two or three weeks.
"The move to Adelaide Oval ... the product has got to be something that maintains, simply, the break-even (for the SANFL) because we've already given to the footy clubs a substantial uplift," Olsen said.
"And we won't be dictated to by anybody in relation to this.
"But it will be a fair deal that looks after and protects the interests of every component of football in South Australia.
"(But) don't forget, these two clubs are getting to Adelaide Oval because we are taking them there."
The Oval model is expected to deliver the Crows a financial uplift of $3.9 million and Port $4.9 million.
Olsen, a former SA premier, was adamant the SANFL was not after a cash grab but was working to maintain the same revenue stream it would expect at AAMI Stadium.
"Their revenue stream, both of them, will increase substantially," he said. "Our revenue stream, we're going on a model that is status quo - break even.
"It has to be a fair deal that looks after and protects the interests of every component of football in South Australia."
Most of the key players in the tense talks are either declining the speak publicly or are taking a diplomatic approach."
