Western Australia’s AFL clubs could be playing home and away season games in the state’s South West under a new deal currently being negotiated between the WA government, the AFL, and the North Melbourne Football Club.
The deal, which has been the subject of several months negotiations, would see North Melbourne host West Coast and Fremantle for two “home” games in WA each season.
Under the deal, which is yet to be announced, one game would be played at Perth Stadium with the other to be played at Bunbury’s Hands Oval.
Hands Oval, which has recently undergone a multimillion dollar refurbishment, is the flagship ground for the South West Football League.
The South West Football League hopes the Bunbury game will attract a crowd of 15,000 people. (ABC South West WA: Michael Philipps)
League president Barry Tate said negotiations around the proposal had been ongoing for some time.
“We’ve been encouraging the AFL for the last six months to see the work on the ground,” Mr Tate said.
“We had a meeting two and a half to three weeks ago and we were pleasantly surprised when Todd Viney from North Melbourne arrived.
“When North Melbourne turned up at the meeting it was the first inkling we knew that something special was going to happen.”
He said a number of meetings had been held over the course of the Hands Oval redevelopment, with representatives of the West Australian Football Commission and AFL also in attendance.
Hands Oval, the flagship venue for the South West Football League, has recently undergone a multimillion dollar redevelopment. (ABC South West WA: Sam Tomlin)
North Melbourne looking for revenue bump
The move comes at a critical time for North Melbourne who are looking for a new revenue source to supplement revenue from playing home games in Tasmania prior to the AFL debut of the Apple Isle’s own team in 2028.
Seven News Perth’s Ryan Daniels reported the deal would likely earn North Melbourne around $1.2 million, with the WA government making an additional contribution to bring the second game to regional Western Australia.
It also reduces the travel burden on the two WA teams who lave long lobbied for additional home games to counter the natural fixturing advantage held by Victorian sides and the additional home game granted to South Australian clubs by the AFL’s Gather Round.
The game would mark the first in-season AFL game to be played outside of the Perth metropolitan area.
With direct flights between Melbourne and nearby Busselton, South West community leaders are hoping the game will provide a tourism windfall.
Hands Oval in Bunbury is the flagship ground for the South West Football League. (ABC South West WA: Bridget McArthur)
“It’s going to be great for our region and hopefully we will get around 15,000 people there,” Mr Tate said.
“This is perfect timing with the [Bunbury] outer ring road and [Busselton] airport being completed.
“North Melbourne has a great following in WA. It’s just perfect for them to be part of the game in a regional area like Bunbury.”
A WA government spokesperson would not confirm the deal or any details of negotiations with North Melbourne.
The South West Football League hopes potential AFL games would draw thousands of spectators. (ABC South West WA: Bridget McArthur)
The spokesperson said the government was always looking for events that would “drive visitation, support our local economy, and showcase Western Australia.”
The City of Bunbury said it had not received confirmation of the local fixture but was in favour of the proposal.
“With the federal and state governments’ support of the Hands Oval redevelopment, along with the recent completion of the impressive stadium, it would come as no surprise that there would be interest in an AFL game being played in Bunbury,” chief executive Alan Ferris said.
“We look forward to further conversations with the state government and AFL, and continuing the city’s work to attract sporting events to Hands Oval and Bunbury more broadly.”
