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
