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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-11-13 Daily Xml
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ADELAIDE UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. T.J. Stephens.

That this council—

1. Recognises—

(a) That Adelaide United Football Club represents Adelaide and South Australia in a national sporting competition;

(b) That Adelaide United Football Club represents Adelaide and South Australia in an international sporting competition outside of our national league;

(c) The social, health and economic benefits that Adelaide United Football Club contribute to our state; and

2. Condemns the state Labor government for its current lack of support for Adelaide United Football Club.

which the Hon. Carmel Zollo has moved to amend by leaving out paragraph 2 and inserting—

2. Recognises the state Labor government for its support for Adelaide United Football Club.

(Continued from 20 September 2013.)

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (23:19): I rise to support the motion of my colleague the Hon. Terry Stephens. South Australia has always been a state which rallies behind its sporting clubs. Our passion for the Crows, the Power, the Redbacks, the Thunderbirds and many others is infectious and I believe it sets us apart from the rest of the nation. No other state has united behind their teams and our supporters are known for their passion and dedication. The Crows have even named their supporters the 19th Man, such is their commitment.

Adelaide is a sporting-mad city with some of the most fiercely supported teams in the country. Adelaide United is no different; in fact, I would almost go so far as to say that United's fans, the Red Army as they are known, are some of the most passionate supporters you will find. Witnessing thousands of fans holding aloft the team's scarf and chanting the song in unison is an awe-inspiring sight.

Many have heard the Reds' call and many have answered. Adelaide United has an average live attendance at home games of around 12,000 so far this year, and its community programs reach upwards of 87,000 children throughout South Australia. In the 2012-13 season, total crowd attendance was some 289,411 fans. This season, they hope to reach 10,000 financial members.

This year is the club's 10th anniversary, and what an incredible decade it has been. Many of our achievements include minor premiers in the 2005 inaugural season, being finalists in the AFC Champions League in the 2007-08 season and reaching the AFC Champions League quarter finals in 2012. Our efforts have seen Adelaide United maintain a presence throughout Asia that remains unmatched by any other A-League club. In many Asian nations, some of them being our largest trading partners, Adelaide United is a household name. In fact, the Reds are now in the top 20 all-time successful clubs in Asia, even though they are less than a decade old.

You only have to look at past World Cups to see the galvanising power of football in full effect. No other sport can capture the feeling of an entire nation being united by one team and one cause—the quest for the holy grail of the football world, the FIFA World Cup. When a World Cup match is on, the entire country comes to a standstill, streets are deserted, pubs are packed and families cluster around the television screen. The nation watches with bated breath, hanging on every slick pass, every curving shot and every diving save. It does not matter if you do not follow football or even care, for that matter; it is impossible not to get caught up in the euphoria football creates. Put simply, there is nothing else like it in the world of sport.

Knowing this, it is a bright future for football and for Adelaide United in South Australia. The game of soccer will only continue to grow. Soccer, or football, is ranked as the most popular organised team sport in South Australia, with 4.4 per cent of the community participating. The AFL is ranked at only third, with 3.8 per cent. Football is growing at the highest rate in all structured competitive sports, at 7.7 per cent biannually, and it is clear to me that future sporting trends will be towards the growth of football and that we need to plan ahead for when soccer is one of the dominant players in Australian sport.

Yet, despite all that Adelaide United does for the state, and despite how passionately supported by the public it is, support from current government has been truly abysmal. During the 2012 AFC Champions League, Adelaide United was without a major sponsor and so approached the government to seek sponsorship. Such a partnership would have been greatly beneficial to both parties; instead, they were outright ignored. Phone calls went unanswered, written submissions were overlooked and, despite a range of requests, the government gave them nothing.

Adelaide United played out their match against the huge Japanese club, Nagoya Grampus, without a main sponsor. The Adelaide United shirts were completely blank. An audience of some 35 million people watched that game—35 million people watched Adelaide United down one of the powerhouses of Japanese soccer one-nil. Furthermore, Adelaide United was the only Australian club left in the competition at that point, so the entire nation, not just South Australia, was watching, yet their shirts were blank because our government ignored them.

South Australia could have jumped on board the team that represents them in the world game. The sponsorship would not have been a massive sum, certainly not compared with the $6 million the government recently handed out for tourism ads. We could have focused on KI, with a logo or a silhouette of the island splashed over the shirts and broadcast to the millions across Asia. The television exposure in Asia is immense; with an audience of 35 million people for one game, the mind boggles and the opportunities were simply endless. A partnership with Adelaide United would have had a huge return on investment.

The Reds are currently sponsored by Veolia, one of the world leaders in environmental, water and waste management which also sponsors FC Lyon, one of the elite European clubs. FC Lyon were the champions of France for seven consecutive years, from 2001 to 2008. They are one of the biggest teams in Europe, and Veolia has chosen to sponsor only them and Adelaide United. Obviously, this still is not a good enough reason for our government to jump on board.

Other sponsors include Stratco, which had to drop key sponsorship deals, including Adelaide United in 2012, but returned to the sponsorship fold as the exposure the club gives was too good to pass up. Harvey Norman now sponsors every free-to-air Friday night A-League game and say they are already seeing a significant return on their investment. These companies have recognised the huge opportunities Adelaide United and football offer; it is unforgivable that our own government does not.

I commend the Northern Territory government for its alertness in signing on to sponsor our team. It showed initiative and was proactive in seeking out an agreement. I only wish that our own Tourism Commission had as much insight to recognise the potential benefits to be realised from such a landmark partnership. I have no doubt that Tourism NT will profit greatly from such an arrangement, but it should be South Australia's logo on the back of the Adelaide United shirt.

The state government should be recognising that Adelaide United represents Adelaide and the state of South Australia in national and international sporting competitions. Every time the players walk onto the pitch they are broadcasting South Australia around the globe. Adelaide United is the team for all South Australians. It is the team to truly represent us in one of the world's most popular games.

Other states support their clubs. Destination NSW is one of the primary sponsors for the Sydney Football Club. I condemn the current Labor government for its supreme lack of support for Adelaide United and for abandoning them when they came seeking an agreement. Now that opportunity has well and truly gone.

Adelaide United represents us, and its success is our success. If we want to have a thriving sport and tourism scene, the state government needs to support our teams in their growth. We should recognise the social, health and economic benefits that Adelaide United contributes to our state, whether it be grassroots participation, community involvement, sponsorship or simply promotion of South Australia as a fit and active destination.

Steven Marshall, the Leader of the Opposition, and I were guests at the season launch recently, and it was interesting to note that there was not one government representative at that launch. Adelaide United does much for South Australia and will do much, much more in the future. It is disappointing that our government does not do anything for them.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (23:27): I will be brief, but this is a very important motion moved by the Hon. Terry Stephens. I commend him for moving the motion, and I acknowledge his interest in all sporting codes. Family First is proud to support this motion. The Adelaide United Football Club has done a dynamic job for South Australia in soccer. My own legal and policy adviser, an avid soccer fan and soccer coach, is forever telling me about what happens when he goes to watch one of Adelaide United's matches at the Hindmarsh Stadium.

We will be supporting this motion, but we absolutely cannot support the amendment by the Hon. Carmel Zollo, as we personally like her, because the amendment is on behalf of the government. This government cannot have it all ways. I can remember when this government tried every trick in the book as an opposition to try to condemn the former government for the upgrade of the Hindmarsh Stadium.

That stadium came in on budget at about $28 million, from memory—and that $28 million investment allowed the success of a premier soccer club such as the Adelaide United Football Club. When you consider that we are now seeing $43 million being spent just on a footbridge across the River Torrens and the Hindmarsh Stadium upgrade was done for $28 million, in real terms, I know which was the better value investment.

I also note that the former premier, amongst all of his other attire he would have on the back parcel shelf of his car, such as two or three SANFL teams (Centrals and South were two of them), he had his Adelaide United stuff there as well if he was going to an Adelaide United match. He would run out there—and it would not be on this occasion 'Go Panthers': it would be 'You beaut! Great Adelaide United Soccer Club.' He would go out there on the pitch and present to them, and they would boo him—but he still continued to go out there.

You cannot have it both ways. You cannot try to capitalise on a soccer club and then jack up the rent by $7,000 a game—when they are on the oval and on the pitch, it is about $80,000 a year, according to my learned friend the Hon. Mr Stephens—and then expect to get accolades from soccer. You cannot have it both ways, and this government needs to learn that. With those few remarks, I indicate that we will be supporting the Hon. Terry Stephen's motion.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (23:29): The hour is late, so I will keep it brief. I rise on behalf of the Greens to support the Reds. Therefore, in doing so, we will oppose the government amendment. We will support and stand united behind the motion of the Hon. Terry Stephens.

Amendment negatived; motion carried.

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