most paying the usual $2.50 to get into a fumbleathon
2,000 freebies
1,500 members .... ( I thought they had 12,000
.... do they not know where Skoda is ? 
) 330 corporate hangers on
F me .... what a disgrace
what an absolute debacle ...... & as this article says
197 million spent so far
why aren't VFL fans livid
many of their teams are going down the shitter in order to prop up these oxygen thieve *********
would not happen in the NRL
a competitive team from day one ... at a 10th of the cost ... that's the NRL
VFL fans
dumbest on the planet
The AFL's $197M debacle
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 6645899142
IF it were a business and not a sporting franchise, the money being burnt on the struggling GWS Giants would be bordering on a scandal.
Today, we can reveal a staggering $197 million is being invested on the AFL easybeats, a team that attracted less than 2,000 paying customers to last week's capitulation against the Adelaide Crows.
At the same time, traditional old rugby league venues such as Brookvale and Leichhardt ovals are being neglected and left to rot by state and federal governments that don't care.
The governments have funded a $60 million Skoda Stadium redevelopment for the Giants' exclusive use, the $27 million Blacktown complex and the brand new $10 million Giants training base at Homebush.
On top of that, AFL boss Andrew Demetriou has thrown in $100 million over the next five years.
Such an enormous outlay would be almost understandable if the facilities were being properly utilised by Sydney sporting fans.
After 18 months, GWS have already bailed out on Blacktown as their headquarters.
Their average crowds are fewer than 7,000 at Skoda, even allowing for thousands of giveaways for every game.
From last Sunday's crowd of 5830, as many as 2,000 were complimentary tickets, 1,500 GWS members, 2,000 sales and 330 corporates.
At the same time, rugby league clubs are attracting up to 20,000 fans to suburban grounds. Yet the facilities are a disgrace.
Brookvale Oval is now a crumbling , decaying old footy park - yet it is home to one of the glamour teams of the NRL.
It has two old red brick toilet blocks to service the entire hill area. They have been there since the ground opened.
You stand in mud in the queue to use them. Old food outlets, long lines, poor parking - you name it and Brookvale suffers from it.
The likelihood of Tony Abbott becoming Prime Minister in September will help the Sea Eagles' cause, although the O'Farrell government will only spend money on major venues such as Parramatta Stadium, ANZ or Allianz from here on.
So the AFL easybeats keep receiving their Giant handouts - and league fans are left with a giant snub.
