H20 confirmed as Lakeside architects

Not much to say, but interesting to note that H20 are confirmed as the architects - as sort of revealed on this blog, like ages ago - and the budget figure is bcak down to $50 million, from the $74 million as said by Michael Danby. Still clapping now?



Athletics pushes for more funds

Dan Silkstone
April 2, 2009


ATHLETICS could be the loser in Melbourne's great stadium shuffle if the State Government does not increase its commitment to redeveloping Albert Park.

But the city is likely to recapture a piece of its history as the sport pushes to have the new stadium renamed the Lakeside Oval.

Athletics Australia Chairman Rob Fildes said the city's IAAF world tour meeting, the only top-class athletics event in Australia, was in danger of being poached by Sydney if the sport's eviction from Olympic Park was not cushioned by a move to a modern new stadium.

"It could be in another city in Australia or it could go offshore to another country," he said. "If Melbourne wishes to continue to be the sporting capital of Australia, the facilities — we must have the facilities to put on a truly international performance at the new venue."

The sport's move has eventuated after construction of the new rectangular stadium for soccer and rugby league meant a new training surface had to be found for Collingwood. The Magpies — who have a contract guaranteeing it a ground close to the Lexus Centre — are slated to demolish and take over the dilapidated Olympic Park, while athletics will move from its traditional home to Albert Park.

The Government has said it will spend as much as $50 million — a budget that must cover the demolition of Olympic Park, the move to new facilities, refurbishing the heritage protected old grandstand and building new stadium facilities. But athletics officials say as much as $20 million more will be needed to ensure an adequate home for the sport.

"We wanted to stay where we were but we realise the Government wants us to go to the Lakeside Oval," Fildes said. "We accept that but in good faith we look forward to having the international standards that are needed to hold international events."

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire — also a board member of Athletics Australia — has been lobbying the State Government to increase its financial commitment to the new home for athletics. Athletics officials want the State Government to subsidise school use of the new stadium for athletics carnivals, which would cost around $1 million a year.

The Age has seen plans for the new stadium, drawn up by architectural firm H2O. A northern grandstand — seating 2500 people — will be built for athletics but there is no provision for administrative space. A second stand — seating 2500 — will house the South Melbourne Soccer Club. The current car park becomes a warm-up track and throws area, while the old grandstand will be refurbished and become home to the Victorian Institute of Sport. Plans include a gym, indoor swimming pool and 100-metre indoor track.

But the present budget is not considered sufficient to accommodate lighting needed for television broadcasts, an electronic scoreboard or video replay screens. Such facilities are considered essential if the Lakeside Oval is to be a spectator venue as well as a training centre. "These things would really allow us to present athletics in a modern way," Fildes said. "The stadiums plans are very good but it is probably 1980s and we need to bring it into 2009."

Sydney has a legacy of top athletics facilities from the Olympic Games and is desperate to use them. A new scoreboard and video screens will be installed at Homebush later this year. Approaches have been made by Sydney, as recently as last month, to snare Melbourne's top event.

The Government wants to rationalise Melbourne's sporting facilities, creating a professional precinct around the MCG that will house soccer, rugby league, the Collingwood, Melbourne and Richmond AFL clubs as well as tennis and basketball. Albert Park will become the "Olympic precinct".

Why in Quetzalcoatl's name are people applauding this?

Ok, so I can get the part about how people are enjoying having their egos stroked, furiously. But take a step back from the initial good feeling, and you realise the guy has next to no clue what the fuck he's on about. Either that or the work experience kid (or more likely one of the uni labor students who work in MPs offices) got into the liquor cabinet.


South Melbourne FC celebrates 50 proud years with a big win

by Michael Danby MHR
Monday February 23, 2009
from Hansard


Mr Danby (Melbourne Ports) (6.53 pm) - On Saturday night I celebrated with my friends at the South Melbourne Football Club the opening of the 2009 season and 50 years of tradition of the great South Melbourne Football Club. I want to congratulate President Leo Athanasakis and his commilla on a glittering event marked by a beginning to the year, with South Melbourne winning the Hellanic Cup, defeating Heidelberg United by 3 - 0. It was a good beginning to the year and I hope the club will have continuing success under its coach, Michael Michalakopoulos.


Now I don't what the fuck a 'commilla' is, but I think it's married to the Prince of Wales. As for 'the event marked by a beginning to the year', I'm not sure that even Kevin Rudd's 'education revolution' can save us from words strung together in such a manner which might make intuitive sense to some clod out there, but will probably leave most people struggling to remember proper English syntax after encountering it. Ahem.



It is very interesting to see the development of the South Melbourne team. Its new captain is a young Turkish Australian called Ramazan Tavsancioglu. My friend, Martin Foley, the Member for Albert Park, and I are working very hard with the S.M.F.C on the refurbishment of the South Melbourne ground - the Bob Jane Stadium - with Victorian Athletics, the Victorian government is undertaking a $74 million proposal for the refurbishment of the whole ground.


Ok, so now the money's gone up from $50 million to $74 million. I take back everything I've said so far, and will say in my next paragraph. Just gimme, gimme, gimme!


Ultimately, South Melbourne deserves its place in the A-League - it will get back there as it must get back into national competition. It is now exclusively hooked up to the local community in training youngsters. It is not simply an ethnic based club anymore and South Melbourne will get its rightful place in the A-League when it is recognised as a more widely based club. When a new round of clubs are being asked to join the A-League, S.M.F.C. should be considered on its merits.


I don't know which youngsters being trained by us he's referring too. Surely not the ones out at Caulfield though. Unless he's talking about one of the junior girls teams... but somehow I don't think so. And where the fuck did he find this connection to the local community? Unless he means himself and Foley. And then he goes into this A-League thing... while we have unlimited space for me to go over this whole thing again, we sadly don't have enough people with unlimited attention spans.

To be fair, the version on the official Hansard transcription reads better, if only because it is not the result of something written by a thousand monkeys at a thousand typewriters, but the sentiments to me are opportunist and typical of the hobnobbing efforts of local MPs within their constituencies. Maybe I've just read too many of Shane Maloney's Murray Whelan books. Or maybe I recall when we had the patronage of an even more prestigious political advocate, who pissed off when we he didn't need us anymore, and an important lesson was forgotten somewhere along the way.