UPDATED: AFL to go to 18

[BB61]

For the dozen or so of my fellow footy fans on the board.

The Kangaroos, who had been rumored to make a move to the Gold Coast, have decided to stay in North Melbourne. To emphasize that decision, they are returning to the North Melbourne Kangaroos moniker that they had had prior to 2000 (they had been known simply as the Kangaroos FC to keep their relocation options open).

With this occuring, the AFL, in a bit of a surprise move (at least to me, considering that they seemed dead set on 16 teams), decided to start the process of adding a 17th club to begin play no earlier than 2010.

I guess everyone wins, especially goalieboy82.

[goalieboy82]

I AM HAPPY TODAY!!!!!

[DEAD!]

Well, I suppose this adds another week to the AFL season, 24 weeks, because every week needs to have at least one team having a bye and it seems each club would get two bye weeks.

... oh and just what we need... another football club that is run by "The Footy Show" host

[scooter13]

I have been following the Kangaroos relocation stories for a couple of weeks now. I hope they can survive in North Melbourne. It seems like they passed up on a sweet deal from the AFL to help them relocated to the Gold Coast.

I am surprised they are talking about adding a 17th team due mostly to having scheduling issues with a team having a bye every week.

[BB61]

I have been following the Kangaroos relocation stories for a couple of weeks now. I hope they can survive in North Melbourne. It seems like they passed up on a sweet deal from the AFL to help them relocated to the Gold Coast.

I am surprised they are talking about adding a 17th team due mostly to having scheduling issues with a team having a bye every week.

I am too... I'm surprised they haven't looked at Tasmania or the ACT yet considering that they play two games there every year.

[Mac the Knife]

Is adding an 18th a possibility?

[jr79]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/07/2113130.htm

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou says the league is interested in establishing a club based in western Sydney, opening up the possibility of an 18-team competition.

The Kangaroos rejected a multi-million dollar deal to move to the Gold Coast, forcing the league to explore the option of starting a 17th club in the Gold Coast region.

Is Gary Bettman running this league? Its the path to ruin.

The Kangas moving I could understand, even though the Gold Coast is a professional sports graveyard. But adding more teams to expand into questionable markets? Oh dear.

[Alphabet Man]

I'm glad North Melbourne stayed at Arden St.

I don't go for them, but I don't think it's good for anyone to see clubs being forced to move.

The name change to Kangaroos was more a marketing ploy to expand their national appeal. It didn't work.

And good on Brayshaw on telling Fonzie to get :censored:ed.

With news St Kilda is setting up base at Frankston Oval, and Richmond at Cragieburn (I think), maybe North Melbourne could look at say Ballarat or some other outlying area north of the city to expand their supporter base.

North Melbourne is a small area, and there's not many families there - its too expensive.

I hope they succeed as a Melbourne based club.

I don't mind going to 17 teams, if any league in Australia can make it work, its the AFL.

The AFL have earmarked the 2010-2011 for the 17th club.

But they need a stadium. Carrara is a :censored:hole and is too far out from the coast. Something close to the beaches and city would be better.

And Mr Mac, apparently the AFL are working on an 18th club for Western Sydney for 2015.

I'm not sure about West Sydney, I think a 3rd Perth side would be more viable as West Coast and Fremantle sell out games in a small venue (they're gonna build a new stadium one day) but a 3rd club could work financially.

And they're looking at a name-the-team competition too.

Don't like that!

[jr79]

A third club in Perth won't work. The Dockers are still poor cousins to the Eagles in terms of media presence, sponsorship etc. A third club would struggle further.

At some point they have to accept that 16 teams is the most they can handle. Sydney and Brisbane are not AFL cities and one team is enough to cater for the fans there and attract the bandwagoners in good years.

[BB61]

So if another team in Sydney or Perth would fail, why not Launceston / Hobart or Canberra?

[Alphabet Man]

Hobart/Launceston/Tassie would have the public support - its a football state. But they don't have the corporate money in Tassie. Maybe Gunns. They'd get 20-25,000 each home game without a doubt, but they don't have the money.

Canberra isn't much of a football city, its not much of a city either. They only get about 8,000 to matches up there.

[Discrim]

therein lies the quandry...on one hand, you got places not named Melbourne, Adelaide or Perth can stir up the necessary support, but are too small to suit the suits; the places the suits like (cus they see dollar signs abounding), they aint known for bein real big on footy. What with this 17th team being on the Gold Coast, I'd be shocked if club #18 isn't in Sydney. It's no real secret, the fellas in AFL HQ probably have wet dreams thinkin about a second Sydney team.

[Alphabet Man]

How about North Sydney at North Sydney Oval..........i'm not sure, just throwing it out there.....

[BB61]

I'm bumping this up again because it was announced today that the AFL has announced their timeline for expansion and, in the process, announced that they would indeed add an eighteenth club to the competition. According to the article, the Gold Coast club would come in for the 2011 season and the other club, which would represent Western Sydney, would come in the year after.

Firstly, I had no idea that Western Sydney had any interest in the AFL. They don't play any games there, do they?

Secondly, I know they want to pad the "national" outlook, but doesn't that include having teams where there weren't teams to begin with? Like, y'know, Tasmania?

[DEAD!]

I'm bumping this up again because it was announced today that the AFL has announced their timeline for expansion and, in the process, announced that they would indeed add an eighteenth club to the competition. According to the article, the Gold Coast club would come in for the 2011 season and the other club, which would represent Western Sydney, would come in the year after.

Firstly, I had no idea that Western Sydney had any interest in the AFL. They don't play any games there, do they?

Secondly, I know they want to pad the "national" outlook, but doesn't that include having teams where there weren't teams to begin with? Like, y'know, Tasmania?

I knows the Swans about a couple of games at Olympic Stadium (now known as ANZ stadium). The proposed new team is a little further west.... (I checked Google Maps just to be sure )

The Western Sydney area probably is growing, much more than Tasmania can ever hope for and the AFL wants to take advantage of that.

[Alphabet Man]

Well ANZ is where theyre going to play. That's a fair way west of the city. The Swans supporter base is mainly north and eastern suburbs.

I like the idea as long as they don't make Riewoldt go to Gold Coast.