No more Richmond home games at the Dome from 2015?---------------------------------------
Telstra Dome to host less games under new proposal
Jon Ralph | August 07, 2008
THE AFL's ace in the hole to force better stadium deals at Telstra Dome has been revealed. The League yesterday announced the possibility of playing only 35 games per year at the venue from 2015.
The news came as chief executive Andrew Demetriou dismissed speculation a boutique stadium was an ambit claim to help clubs with paltry venue deals.
Demetriou said the AFL would consider a 25,000-seat stadium, and AFL numbers showed up to 30 new Melbourne games would be created by the introduction of the 17th and 18th teams.
They would come about through the end of deals to play games in Canberra and the Gold Coast, and the option to only play 35 games at Docklands.
Of those 35 games, five can be pre-season games, which would leave the venue short on high-drawing encounters.
The AFL must play 44 games at Telstra Dome this year, but after it gave up the right to a Melbourne final last season, it was awarded two bonus games.
Playing only 35 games would grossly affect the venue's bottom line.
"In 2012 onwards, various things change. We don't have to put three games on the Gold Coast," Demetriou said.
"We get two games back from Canberra, I don't know where the Hawthorn agreement will be, and the Telstra Dome venue agreement goes down from 45 games to 35, so we have got 26-30 games.
"We are playing more than we are required at Telstra Dome and more than we are required to at the MCG.
"So it's somewhere near 30 games (that would be created)."
Demetriou said a 24-round season was not guaranteed, but it would provide greater scope for all the fixture requirements.
"One of the things we talked about as options and doing the work for our clubs was modelling a 22 and 24-round season," he said.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,24139679-19742,00.html
