SANFL to be reduced to 8 sides by 2014?

[Barto]

Don't mean to be cynical, but what do you mean by rosy, and how could that happen?
For me, rosy is increased crowds, increased exposure, higher standard, bigger sponsorship and more money. Hard to see most of that happening when there's an AFL sucking all of those things away. Perhaps if Bill Gates took a sudden interest in SANFL footy we'd have the monetary clout to buy back our players. I imagine there'd be a few damn handy SANFL sides if they had their AFL defectors back. Crowds would turn up in droves to see them perform for the good old guernseys.

The sanfl stands to make $$$$$$ out of the sale of aami and crows.

Expansion could be a possibility.

Looking forward to centrals receiving Salisbury and mawson lakes back as recruiting zones when pamfc are moved on.

Sale of licenses and AAMI are all one offs. Once those assets are gone we can't sell them again. For the SANFL to expand with confidence we'd need a productive and continual financial stream. Perhaps if they invest the money from those sales in something that'll keep producing cash far in to the future then we'd be alright.
Any suggestions? Obviously football ovals aren't the way to go. Unfortunately the most assured way of financing the future seems to be pokies.
With all the talk of a lack of infrastructure at Mount Barker, perhaps the SANFL would do well to invest in a massive shopping mall for South Australia's fastest growing suburb. In Japan those things basically print their own money.

Depends what the league does with the Football Park land, it could remain in the leagues hands, be developed into housing/business use and rented out for an ongoing income stream.

[ChickCock]

Whats stopping a team forming in a few years time if things turn rosy for the SANFL?

money, apart from that, nothing.

and being accepted into the competition by the League and it's existing member clubs

Existing clubs dont't have a say, do they ?

If they did, they wouldn't wear traditional white shorts, like you've said before about below the waist

[Pseudo]

With all the talk of a lack of infrastructure at Mount Barker, perhaps the SANFL would do well to invest in a massive shopping mall for South Australia's fastest growing suburb. In Japan those things basically print their own money.

Well why not relocate Sturt to Japan then? I could handle an annual road trip to Japan to support the Bays ...

[Sojourner]

For all those who believe it will be the Port Adelaide Magpies that fold you are very much mistaken. Plenty is going on at the Magpies behind the scenes and my mail is that they have had a significant offer put to them for a relocation to their country zone, rumour has it this offer is back on the table should the Power wish to end their association. No shortage of money there either.

Olsen said today on the ABC that the Power licence does not have a value at present and that if the licenses were sold they would be paid off incrementally over a number of years. It wont be any massive influx of coin to save any struggling SANFL club. People seem to forget that the SANFL have no shortage of debts to repay.

More than just one SANFL club are doing it tough at present and could easily fall over if they cant get their balance sheets back into profit. Considering the depressed market at present its no easy task and outside of the SANFL clubs forming a collective its a very real possibility that one of them at least could fall over.

[GWW]

For all those who believe it will be the Port Adelaide Magpies that fold you are very much mistaken. Plenty is going on at the Magpies behind the scenes and my mail is that they have had a significant offer put to them for a relocation to their country zone, rumour has it this offer is back on the table should the Power wish to end their association. No shortage of money there either.

Relocating? To the Eyre Peninsula

[Sojourner]

Retaining everything about the club and still having a number of games at Alberton is my mail. Again the rumour is that its been put to them for consideration, its not something they have sought out themselves.

[csbowes]

I don't understand people wanting Port out of the competition... if the Magpies leave the SANFL, I can honestly say I'd probably lose all interest in the competition... the league has dropped away incredibly since 1997 and the loss of its most successful club would be the final nail in the coffin, it'd be no more than a two-bit league at that point. Its not just the loss of the club that makes me think that, its what it represents, a complete indifference to the tradition and history of the competition by post-AFL administrators.

It seems pretty obvious to me that the SANFL is all about the AFL, radio commentators similarly have just about no interest in the SANFL anymore, its all about the AFL, so ditching more local clubs would just prove the leagues indifference to that competition.

As for Sturt, its been mentioned that their plight is not as bad as is reported, I dunno, $2.2m in debt is not good and even if Port are chosen as the club to be disolved, going down to 8 teams is not going to automatically turn the financial fortunes of Sturt around, even with an 8 team competition, I struggle to see Sturt surviving more than 2-3 years at present. The club isn't in its current position due to the Unley Council, you can't blame them for the whole debt, they're just one piece of this tragic puzzle.

Unfortunately, I don't see the league surviving in its current form...

... and as each club goes, so does a swag of its supporter base, lose Port, you lose thousands, lost Sturt, you lose thousands.

That's not good for any SANFL fan, your own clubs position is weakened with every club that goes, you become a bigger fish in an ever shrinking pond...

[CUTTERMAN]

And then we have the constant moaning that "the SANFL moved us to the Eyre Peninsula".

[RustyCage]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/all-sanfl-clubs-safe-whicker/story-e6freckc-1226461189857

All SANFL clubs ‘safe': Whicker

SANFL chief executive Leigh Whicker last night threw his iron-clad support behind the nine league clubs amid speculation Port Adelaide's future in the competition is under threat.

Speculation about the shape of the competition has arisen after notes from a chief executives' forum last month were leaked, with one of the talking points being the size of the competition.

A range of issues was raised at the forum: how best to market the competition, what the ideal amount of teams would be and how best to deal with the AFL clubs' wish to have their own reserves teams.

But Whicker said the last thing on the commission's mind was to cut Port Adelaide, one of the clubs facing financial challenges. He said the commission was committed to keeping the SANFL's structure.

"All nine clubs are safe," Whicker told The Advertiser last night. "And cutting a club is not on the commission's agenda. All nine clubs are very important to our supporters." He also cast light on how the speculation came about.

But he said the SA Football Commission was committed to keeping all of the nine clubs afloat, and whether to add another club - possibly a Crows reserves team - was a discussion for the future.

The club-numbers issue was first raised at the CEO's forum, then listed on the agenda for a league directors' meeting held on Tuesday.

"The subject of an eight-team competition was raised at last night's (Tuesday night's) league directors meeting in the context that it was previously discussed at a SANFL CEOs forum," Whicker said.

"I can categorically confirm that this matter is not and has not been on the SA Football Commission's agenda," he said. "The SA Football Commission went through a rigorous process to `One Port Adelaide'.

"In December 2010 the SANFL issued a licence to the Port Adelaide Magpies to participate in the SANFL competition and there are no plans by the SANFL to dismantle this agreement."

[CENTURION]

Amalgamation then.

[JK]

I don't understand people wanting Port out of the competition

I don't think there are many who would want to see that

[CUTTERMAN]

That quote just mentions that the SANFL and the commission have no intention to cut a club but if Ports license was handed to the AFL it wouldn't be the SANFL's choice, it would be the decision of the license holder as to where the club is playing or not.

[mighty_tiger_79]

sanfl clubs reduced to 8

then enter

crows reserves
+
power reserves

[Booney]

I don't understand people wanting Port out of the competition

I don't think there are many who would want to see that

Some on here have made it very clear they would. Like they say, you can forgive but not forget.

[CUTTERMAN]

Good article on the topic of the PAFC license.
http://www.bigfootynews.com/2012/08/bew ... omment-203

[on the rails]

The fact this whole issue re 8 clubs has been raised in the past and recently again by the League Directors / CEO's suggests that something is going to happen and you can bet it definately will when the AFL Clubs (Crows and Power) come up with a workable solution to field reserves teams.

[gossipgirl]

The reality is the SANFL competition ended after 1990. The competition now is so compromised its not funny. Its supported by money from AFL clubs, players from other competitions, money from pokies, ridiculous byes and fixtures etc etc etc. If PORT goes then crowd numbers would fall dramatically and lets face it beating Port is the sweetest victory of all.

[CENTURION]

sanfl clubs reduced to 8

then enter

crows reserves
+
power reserves

for no points?

[Booney]

The fact this whole issue re 8 clubs has been raised in the past and recently again by the League Directors / CEO's suggests that something is going to happen and you can bet it definately will when the AFL Clubs (Crows and Power) come up with a workable solution to field reserves teams.

I dont see a workable solution to the reserves issue and I dont know that either AFL club or the SANFL do either, without completely compromising the SANFL.

[mighty_tiger_79]

would the AFL when in control of both licenses actually care about compromising the SANFL???

I think not