AFL rebuffs Cats’ bid for increased funding

JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
THE AFL is standing firm against a Geelong Cats push for a bigger allocation of funding, according to media manager Patrick Keane.
“Our position hasn’t changed from when the Future Fund allocations were released,” Mr Keane said.
The league had also yet to decide whether to grant Geelong president Colin Carter’s request for a face-to-face meeting on the funding bid.
Geelong received the base allocation of $3.25 million from the 2012 to 2016 fund.
Greater Western Sydney, Gold Coast, Hawthorn and Adelaide also received the base amount.
Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne received the highest allocations of $7 million each.
“There are different levels of funding for different clubs. There was a base level for all clubs but an extra amount for different clubs based on needs,” Mr Keane said.
The allocations are funded out of the AFL’s new five-year broadcast rights.
The Cats’ funding hit follows revelations its Simmonds Stadium redevelopment faces a $12 million funding shortfall.
Club chief executive officer Brian Cook revealed this week that building tenders came in at $12 million above the estimated project cost.
The club was forced to find cuts in the redevelopment of the Doug Wade stand.
The cuts included reducing plans for overall seating capacity from 34,500 to 33,500.
The AFL said the $3.25 million allocation to Geelong was tied to stadium redevelopment.
About $92 million of the $144 million future fund was “tagged” to specific initiatives, the AFL said.
The funding for the most-constrained clubs was skewed to debt reduction, commercial growth and stadium revenue gaps.