The Big Deal Weekly: SA Premier coy on Gather Round plans, World Cup latest, A-League grand finals sold to Sydney, Melbourne F1 tickets sell out, Noble switches gears and more
The Big Deal Weekly: SA Premier coy on Gather Round plans, World Cup latest, A-League grand finals sold to Sydney, Melbourne F1 tickets sell out, Noble switches gears and more
Newsletter No. 14: December 12, 2022
Welcome to The Big Deal!
The World Cup is reaching its crescendo and there’s plenty to talk about on and off the pitch. And the AFL has dropped its 2023 fixture which takes quite a different shape next season owing to the first ever Gather Round. But is it in South Australia to stay? The plot thickens!
IN THIS WEEK’S WRAP OF THE BIG DEALS
SA Premier coy on future of ‘Gather Round’
Digital delight for Socceroos
Qatar World Cup fans spend big
Grieving brother cries foul play in Qatar
A-League grand finals sold to Sydney
Melbourne F1 tickets sell out
Noble switched gears into V8s
“You’re gonna shit on the underdogs?!” - Tredrea
Intrigue at United as Glazers reject dividend
Yankees blink first as Judge gets nine
Streaming platforms circle NBA
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SA PREMIER AVOIDS ‘GATHER ROUND’ QUESTIONS AFTER FIXTURE DROP
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas has talked around questions about whether his state has already secured the AFL’s new and oddly named ‘Gather Round’ for 2024.
The Big Deal reported exclusively last week that South Australia has first right of refusal on hosting the round for a second straight season.
But when asked that direct question, Malinauskas was cagey.
“Let’s just focus on this year first and I’m feeling good about that already,” he told News Corp.
“I’m keen to see this event in South Australia as often as possible and should the Gather Round continue into the future, that we will have this in South Australia at least one extra time in the next few years,” he said.
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas and AFL executive Travis Auld
The 2023 round will see Adelaide Hills venue Mount Barker host an AFL game for the first time.
Mount Barker District Council Mayor David Leach said the ground is “one of the premier playing surfaces in the country” and gives the Adelaide Hills region the opportunity to showcase itself to the nation.
“Mount Barker is South Australia’s fastest growing region, expanding by 40 per cent off the back of a forecasted $4.5 billion worth of public and private investment,” he said.
The ‘Gather Round’ will also feature two games at the boutique Norwood Oval which was regularly used in the 1970s for National Football League matches.
The fixture confirmed 23 matches to be played over 24 rounds for the first time in an AFL season.
As virtual hosts of the ‘Gather Round’, Adelaide and Port Adelaide both secured an extra game at Adelaide Oval, giving them 13 of 23 matches in their home state.
DIGITAL DELIGHT FOR SOCCEROOS
The skill of the Socceroos and the power of digital media has combined to produce an advertising and economic bonanza across multiple platforms.
Peter Filopoulous, head of marketing, communications and corporate affairs at Football Australia, tweeted his delight, having identified 36,894 individual reports across all mediums (TV, radio, digital and print) equating to what he says is $109,966,638 worth of advertising value equivalency.
There was a 52-strong Aussie contingent on the ground in Doha, working feverishly for more than five weeks to deliver football-hungry Socceroos fans every moment from Qatar.
And that’s just news about the Australian team. Imagine what the numbers for the entire tournament will look like by the time one country holds up the FIFA World Cup Trophy!
QATAR WORLD CUP FANS SPEND BIG
Despite a ban on alcohol sales, fans at the Qatar World Cup appear to be spending their money on something with official credit partner VISA already reporting total sales reaching 89% of the outlay at the 2018 World Cup in Russia - and with the semi-finals and finals still to be played.
Spending at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil has already been trumped.
The bumper receipts have been collected with fewer people visiting Qatar than anticipated - only 765,000 tourists compared to the expected 1.2 million.
But not all the money has landed in FIFA pockets with a raging black market for tickets.
Some were being sold for US$2000 (A$2900) - up to nine times face value.
That is despite a special law passed in the country threatening ticket scalpers with fines of up to 10 times the face value.
GRIEVING BROTHER CRIES FOUL PLAY IN QATAR
The brother of an American journalist who has died in Qatar believes he was killed.
Leading US soccer writer Grant Wahl collapsed during the quarter-final between the Netherlands and Argentina and died in hospital.
He had earlier been detained and harassed by Qatari authorities for nearly half an hour before the USA’s opening match of the tournament against Wales after wearing a t-shirt with a soccer ball surrounded by a rainbow in an apparent statement supporting gay pride.
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar.
Grant’s brother Eric later posted a video on Instagram where he said: “I’m the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup. My brother was healthy. He told me he received death threats. I do not believe my brother just died. I believe he was killed. And I just beg for any help.”
Grant Wahl had been critical of World Cup organisers for the thousands of deaths and ongoing mistreatment of migrant workers to build the infrastructure for the tournament.
“They just don’t care,” he had written.
“Qatari World Cup organisers don’t even hide their apathy over migrant worker deaths, including the most recent one.”
Last week, he had revealed he had struggled with bronchitis and sought medical attention, but that he was “feeling better today.”
Questions are now being raised as to why there was no defibrillator nearby.
FIFA and Qatari officials organised a touching tribute before the start of the quarter-final between England and France, showing his face on screens around the Al Bayt Stadium to warm applause from fans.
“YOU’RE GONNA SHIT ON THE UNDERDOGS?” - TREDREA
The Big Deal’s Warren Tredrea has turned his guns on the AFL for its cynical attempt to undermine Australia’s ultimately ill-fated World Cup round of 16 joust with Argentina by leaking the opening round of next year’s fixture to local media to coincide with the start of that match.
The round one draw hit social media almost in tandem with the opening whistle in Qatar and Tredrea didn’t like it.
“The Socceroos are the workmanlike team, you know what I mean? We were the underdogs, you’re gonna shit on the underdogs? Come on!” he said on The Big Deal podcast.
“I think they misread it unbelievably well.”
Football Director at Melbourne Victory John Didulica has an incredible pedigree in the game and was also critical but more measured in his analysis on podcast.
“It comes across as petty and self-serving,” he said.
“I was super surprised. If it was calculated, it’s a massive miscalculation.”
Didulica says becoming the ‘biggest’ football code down under shouldn’t necessarily be Football Australia’s ambition for the game anyway.
“I don’t think it should be a goal,” he added.
“Soccer’s target should be to be internationally competitive as a national team with its clubs and with its players.
“If you have that goal the rest will take care of itself.
“On some measures maybe we already are the biggest sport or the best sport in Australia because we have more people playing the game because if that’s your metric, we’re number one.
“If your metric’s this sort of chain reaction of euphoria that we unlock across the country, we’re already number one. But what we don’t do is get 85,000 to the ‘G’.”
Listen to the full interview now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts and follow the show.
A-LEAGUE GRAND FINALS SOLD OFF TO NSW IN THREE-YEAR DEAL
The A-League grand finals will be hosted in Sydney for at least the next three years on the back of an eight figure deal with the NSW government.
Australian Professional Leagues, which runs the A-League men’s and women’s competitions, wants to create “a new tradition” in the same way that the AFL grand final is played at the MCG every year.
It’s the first time in the league’s 18 year history that the highest placed team will not host the grand final.
While the deal brings in a cash injection, the move has put many fans and pundits offside.
MELBOURNE F1 TICKETS SELL OUT
The Formula One juggernaut keeps expanding the world over as fans scramble to quench their thirst for the high-octane sport.
That remains true in Australia as much as anywhere where tickets, which started at $125 for general admission for the Sunday of next year’s grand prix in Melbourne, sold out in just three and a half hours last Tuesday.
It has organizers optimistic about a new record attendance in the order of 130,000.
There is also optimism that similar crowds could attend on the Friday and Saturday of the event.
The impetus provided by the Netflix series “Drive to Survive” appears to be partly responsible for the rise in interest, as well as the cancellation of the race twice during the pandemic.
A total of 419,114 people attended this year’s Australian Grand Prix including 128,294 on the Sunday.
That was a record for Melbourne but still shy of the Adelaide record of 520,000 recorded in 1995 for the last race in the Festival state.
An incredible 210,000 attended on the race day of that event.
NOBLE SWITCHES GEARS INTO V8S
Former North Melbourne coach David Noble has switched gears, adding to his incredibly diverse CV by joining Shell Racing Team as CEO.
David Noble and Dick Johnson
It’s allowed executive chairman Dr Ryan Story to step back from running the ship and into a non-executive role.
“The opportunity to work with Shell V-Power Racing Team in such a competitive industry is incredibly exciting and a challenge that I am looking forward to,” Noble said.
“It is a privilege to be working in such a well respected and iconic business.
“I look forward to working with our staff and partner group as we embrace the challenges of being a successful organisation.”
Motorsport legend Dick Johnson AM said he had no doubt Noble was the right choice for the position.
“I have sat down with David and based on all his experience and business acumen; I can’t think of anyone better to run the team day-to-day,” Johnson said.
Noble worked as an assistant coach, head of football and list manager with Adelaide before joining Brisbane as general manager of football in 2016.
INTRIGUE AT UNITED AS GLAZERS REJECT DIVIDEND
The intrigue at Manchester United is growing after its owners, the Glazer family, decided to forgo its semi-annual dividend.
It comes off the back of a £26.5 million (A$47.8 million) loss for the first quarter of 2023.
It’s the first time since 2016 they haven’t taken a dividend from the club and comes after strong criticism at their scooping an £11 million dividend in June.
It’s been a big month at Old Trafford despite the club not kicking a ball in anger due to the World Cup break.
The club’s financials indicate the Glazers rejected the dividend on November 15.
A week later, on November 22, it formally announced its plans to sever ties with club great Cristiano Ronaldo.
That came on the same day it floated the idea of a restructure or even potential sale with the statement: “The board will consider all options, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions”.
The news has delighted fans who want the Glazers out, having seen their club fall behind cross-town rivals Manchester City, arch-rivals Liverpool and London giants Chelsea in recent years.
United hasn’t won the Premier League since 2012-13.
YANKEES BLINK FIRST AS JUDGE GETS NINE
The New York Yankees have blinked first and hot-hitter Aaron Judge has his nine-year deal worth in the order of US$360 million (A$529.6 million).
The Yankees moved quickly to ward off interest from the Giants and Padres.
The outfielder pummelled an American League record 62 homers this season and did it by holding his nerve after bravely rejecting a smaller offer at the start of the season.
Judge said ‘thanks but no thanks’ to a seven-year US$213.5 million offer before the first pitch of the 2022 season was thrown.
His bold gamble was effectively worth US$146.5 million or US$2.36 million for each and every one of those 62 shots which sailed out of US ball parks.
Judge’s new deal becomes the biggest in MLB history for a non-pitcher.
He is indeed, a very good judge.
STREAMING PLATFORMS CIRCLE NBA
Amazon, Apple and Google are waiting in the wings ahead of what promises to be a fascinating round of talks for the rights to broadcast the NBA.
The NBA will likely seek between US$50-75 million for TNT and ESPN to renew their deals from the 2025-26 season.
But Warner Bros. Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav’s warning last month that “we don’t have to have the NBA” has thrown a spanner into the works and potentially opened the door for new bidders and new platforms.
It could be the trigger for the NBA to explore a brave new world as the ever-growing presence of streaming providers makes a bigger impact.
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