Stateline segment on Lakeside redevelopment

I'm a bit worried about anyone who spends their Friday nights watching ABC1's Stateline program, but in this case it's probably a good thing. Thanks to Diagoras off the main South forum for alerting South of the Border to this piece by the said program, which comes almost entirely from the Athletics Victoria point of view.

It goes to show that it isn't all strawberries and cream, and that Athletics Victoria will quite likely become the key tenant, with expectations of the privileges of such an arrangement. While the fairness of it all may be something left to desire, considering all the money that we as a club have invested in the venue, it may be the obvious way things were due to turn out, after all, they're probably going to get higher crowds and more event use out of it than we will. Also shows what happens when governments cave in to people like Eddie Everywhere, instead of following a pluralist approach to this kind of thing.

Also note that the 1926 stand is not slated for demolition as hinted in Neos Kosmos English Weekly earlier this week - rather, it appears that it will be converted into the headquarters for the Victorian Institute of Sport. Again, drip, drip, drip, information coming out so slowly. And lastly, where are we? Why aren't we in the segment, as in like, ask us our point of view? Should we have started a brawl first in order to rate a mention?


Victoria's Athletics community lament football's takeover of Olympic Park

Broadcast: 09/05/2008

Reporter: Kathy Bowlen
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RON CLARKE, FMR WORLD CHAMPION: The only world record set in Australia on any track that's still there was set at Olympic Park.

JAMES MERLINO, SPORTS MINISTER: You don't see as many athletes training at Olympic Park. You don't see as many schools using Olympic Park.

ANNE LOVE, ATHLETICS VICTORIA: There's lots of school events that are conducted here at Olympic Park, training most nights, athletes come in to train. We hold - over the summer - we hold all our championship events here.

JANE FLEMING, FORMER HEPTATHLETE: I just think it's really sad. I mean, Olympic Park has been the home of athletics for 50 years.

KATHY BOWLEN, PRESENTER: For the girls competing at this week's Secondary Catholic Sports Association at Olympic Park, there was plenty of history to inspire them. This is the track where Kathy Freeman first ran under 50 seconds. Raelene Boyle, Jane Fleming and Melinda Gainsford-Taylor competed here. Going back further, it was here that John Landy stopped running to help a fallen Ron Clarke before going on to win the event. And some of those champions are among the most strident critics of the Government's plan.

RON CLARKE: It's always been in that area and that city precinct. And so many memories, so many traditions, so easy to get to. And how it can't be combined with everything else they're doing now, I don't know. It just seems strange.

JANE FLEMING: One of the reasons that athletics thrives in Victoria - most of our national teams are made up of more than 50 per cent Victorians - is because of Olympic Park's location. It's very, very central. And I think by moving it to anywhere else, we're going to lose that to start with and we're also not in the middle of the major sporting precinct of the major, you know, of Australia's sporting capital any more.

KATHY BOWLEN: Jane Fleming, who's expecting twins next week, lives in Sydney these days, but she's horrified by what she sees as a blatant disregard for the sport's tradition.

JANE FLEMING: People within athletics are very emotionally attached to that track because of all the history. And, I think that, you know, whilst the Government might have all sorts of, all sorts of reasoning behind what they're looking at doing, I think they need to put a value on the history and the emotion.

JAMES MERLINO: I can understand the heritage argument, but if that's the only basis on which that sport stays at Olympic Park, I don't think it stacks up in terms of the benefits we're gonna see down the track.

KATHY BOWLEN: James Merlino, who's been Sports Minister for 18 months, inherited the plans for Olympic Park. Nevertheless, he's committed to what he says is the future of athletics at Albert Park.

JAMES MERLINO: All of the principal Olympic sports will be based at Albert Park. So, you'll have track and field at Lakeside Oval. At MSAC, you already got the principal aquatic sports, so swimming, diving, water polo - all of those sports based at MSAC. In addition to that, we'll have the VIS base there. So, we'll have a new purpose built facility for the VIS based in the old 1926 grandstand, so that's gonna be completely renovated. We've also got sports medicine Australia, a number of state sporting associations based in that precinct. So, we're creating something quite special.

KATHY BOWLEN: Negotiations have been going on for well over a year and Athletics Victoria is cautiously optimistic.

ANNE LOVE: In a perfect world, no, we'd probably stay at Olympic Park. But, as I said, we've got to do the right thing by our members and our past members as well as our present members and to move the sport forward and to get a better deal for our sport is what we're after. And that's what we're working closely with the Government, you know, towards that. They've been terrific. And we have no doubt that they'll deliver on their insurances.

KATHY BOWLEN: The plan would see athletics share the lake side venue with the South Melbourne Soccer Club, who are also part of the negotiations. The plan is to provide another two ovals so their junior and women's teams can be based at Albert Park, giving the club a proper home. Their lease runs for another eight years, as does the sponsorship deal, which names the venue the Bob Jane Stadium.

The Minister concedes it's an odd name for an athletics stadium.

JAMES MERLINO: So, it's Bob Jane Stadium for a period of time, but what is absolutely crucial to athletics and I agree totally is that this is to be known as the State Athletics Centre or the Victorian Athletics Centre and we're completely in agreement with that. And we'll make sure that athletics gets the recognition that it deserves in this facility.

KATHY BOWLEN: When Melbourne staged the Friendly Games in 1956, Olympic Park was the home of our swimming, cycling and track and field teams. It was the warm up track for athletes competing at the MCG. At the conclusion of the games, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne pledged that the area would always be kept for amateur sports. That hasn't happened. The area now plays host to the Australian Open tennis, the Melbourne Storm and Melbourne Victory and perhaps most controversially, the Collingwood Football Club.

Collingwood now trains at Gosh's Paddock on Punt Road, but when Olympic Park is pulled down it will have a purpose built training facility, right next door to the club rooms.

Collingwood President Eddie McGuire is also a board member of Athletics Australia. Many in the athletics community believe he has a conflict of interest when it comes to dealing with what's best for athletics.

RON CLARKE: I'm flabbergasted why they should even do it. I spoke to Eddie McGuire and - some time back - and he was assuring me that they wanted to retain Olympic Park, they wanted to retain track and field there. And I really can't understand the big change-about. Either - I don't know if this is the State Government or driven by Collingwood themselves.

JANE FLEMING: The Storm and the Victory have been able to share the venue, and it's only really the AFL clubs. And I feel like saying to them: "Don't you have enough already?" You know, in comparison to the amateur sports.

KATHY BOWLEN: Businessman and former decathlete Rob Fildes chairs the sport's governing body in Australia and invited Eddie McGuire to join the board. He says the Collingwood President has acted in good faith.

ROB FILDES, ATHLETICS AUSTRALIA: It hasn't been a big issue at the board level. At our last board meeting, we did however raise it with Eddie and we went through any questions that there might be. And from his point of view, when he comes to athletics he's been very supportive of our sport.

KATHY BOWLEN: As a successful international businessman, Rob Fildes has a pragmatic approach to his former sport and believes funding of athletes and coaches is far more crucial than where they train. But as our competitors invest heavily in their sporting futures, will we come to regret relinquishing the connection to our golden era of track and field?

JANE FLEMING: I just want the Government to think about the next time they want to have a photograph taken with a Cathy Freeman or a John Landy or a Ron Clarke or at the Premier's fundraising for the Olympic Games team about removing piece of integral infrastructure to the history and success of our sport.