Second Team in Brisbane?

Source: AAP 5 Feb 2018

A-League boss Greg O'Rourke believes a second team in Brisbane would help, not hinder the city's struggling Roar as expansion talk continues for the 2019-20 season.

O'Rourke still sees Brisbane as a viable market for another team despite the Roar's falling crowds and below-par performances this season.

And he believes the addition of two new teams to the competition is still a realistic goal within that time frame despite FFA's ongoing congress saga throwing a spanner in the works.

"I don't think we've lost enough ground because we've done all the work," O'Rourke told AAP at Monday's W-League finals launch.

"The question is, when do we go into the public domain and ask for bidders?"

FFA has repeatedly delayed the release of expansion criteria as talks with clubs stalled over a "new operating model" for the A-League.

Brisbane City and Brisbane Strikers will both present strong bids whenever the time comes, while broadcaster Fox Sports also see merit in adding another A-League team in south-east Queensland.

Despite their recent failings, O'Rourke says expansion in the city still had merit based on the rivalries created in Melbourne and Sydney.

"When you have two teams in the one city you get this one plus one equals three effect," he said.

"If you think of the Wanderers v Sydney FC it created a rivalry that didn't exist prior to that.

"We believe if a second team was to come out of Brisbane it would do exactly that, it would encourage fans to pick sides and fill the stadium at derby time."

While he tipped Suncorp Stadium to host any potential Brisbane derbies, O'Rourke noted that all Brisbane teams in the future would be best served by having a smaller stadium at their disposal.

"The size of our stadiums is too big for all our games," he said.

"You look at the contract (with Suncorp), it's probably one of the best per seat in the country but if you can only fill 20 per cent of the stadium then it's a very different financial outcome."

Extract from SBS article


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