10.05.2023 – Industry News – AFL, Budget, Cricket, Football, Netball, NRL and more

All the Industry News for May10th, 2023.

AFL

• The AFL looks set to be free to use the Devils nickname for the new Tasmanian club after Warner Bros reached out to the league.
• Some divisions of the Central Australian Football League could return to Traeger Park later this week following top level discussions in Melbourne between the local council and the AFL.
• The Adelaide Football Club is touring regional schools across South Australia to implement its STEMfooty program, using football principles to teach students about science and maths.
• A Queensland-based custom branded beer with an image of Jason Horne-Francis and a reference to part of his controversial departure from North Melbourne has been pulled after the brewery was contacted by Port Adelaide.

Broadcasting

• FIFA is ropeable that offers from England, France, Italy, Germany and Spain are way under their own market valuation for the 2023 World Cup. This isn’t based on winning a modern-day equal rights PR war, but cold hard facts.
• One in five Australian households have cancelled streaming service subscriptions to save money, with viewers looking to cancel Netflix first, then Optus Sport and Disney+.
• Optus Sport has revealed an all-female host lineup for its coverage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup due to take place in Australia and New Zealand in July.
• Craig Hutchison and Channel 9 are at loggerheads after the SEN boss froze his major rival out of the AFL App – In the radio rights deal Hutchison paid a high premium to be the only AM commercial option on the App

Budget

• $305.0 million over 5 years from 2023–24 for the Macquarie Point Precinct and University of Tasmania Stadium, to deliver urban renewal projects in Hobart and Launceston (pg 176)
• The Government will provide up to $3.4 billion over 10 years from 2023–24 to support venue infrastructure for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• our full budget coverage here

Cricket

• The pink ball is again poised to be unleashed in Brisbane with the Gabba being earmarked to host its first day-night Test in five years as part of a summer shake-up.
• The multi-billion dollar redevelopment of the Gabba for the 2032 Olympics cannot come quickly enough after the venue’s declining status was laid bare in the new Test cricket schedule.

Football

• Six months after they were knocked out of the World Cup by Argentina, Graham Arnold’s Socceroos could be set for a mouthwatering rematch with Lionel Messi and Co next month – in China, of all places.

Netball

• While the Australian Netball Players Association is pushing for a revenue-sharing model, Netball Australia has stated that any form of pay rise is off the table, despite the growing rewards available in sports such as cricket and AFLW.

NRL

• The National Rugby League is the latest major sporting code to back the Indigenous voice to parliament, joining a growing list of elite athletic organisations campaigning for a yes vote in this year’s referendum.
• Public health experts and recovering addicts have criticised Racing NSW chief executive and Australian Rugby League Commission chair, Peter V’landys’, comparison of sports gambling to entertainment as “disgusting” and “out of touch”.
• One New Zealand CEO Jason Paris may have put his company’s sponsorship of the Warriors at risk over his Twitter outburst during the teams’ 18-6 loss to the Panthers.
• If there is to be NRL expansion, it must be from New Zealand, but not until the ARLC funds the Warriors’ development program.

Stadiums

• The Tasmanian government is pushing for the new $715 million Hobart stadium and redevelopment of the surrounding area to be fast-tracked, giving a boost to the state’s future AFL team.
• Victoria will also have to convince Canberra to chip in for the 2026 Commonwealth Games – to be held in five regional towns – with federal Labor refusing to allocate any money for the $2.6 billion event in Tuesday’s budget.
• If private investors are keen to help fund a Civic stadium and convention centre, should the ACT government reconsider a proposal to revamp the city?

Super Rugby