SMH wrote:It's inevitable: McGuire puts night grand final in focus
By Caroline Wilson and Melissa Ryan
February 18, 2005
http://www.smh.com.au/news/AFL/Its-inev ... 49337.html
The prospect of a night grand final moved one step closer to reality yesterday when Collingwood president Eddie McGuire thrust the debate back onto the AFL's agenda.
McGuire, whose employer, the Nine Network, is an AFL broadcaster, confirmed he had put forward the proposal to a relatively enthusiastic response at yesterday's annual general meeting of the AFL. He said last night: "I think it's something that's probably inevitable."
Although AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has said a night grand final would take place "over my dead body", the bid to reopen the debate was embraced by the majority of clubs at yesterday's meeting, at which 13 of the 16 club presidents voted to expand the AFL commission by one to include a woman for the first time.
While only about half the clubs indicated significant support for a night grand final, the fact that the push has come from the clubs is notable. In the past, the clubs have opposed the move.
McGuire is understood to have pointed to the impressive success of the Australian Open tennis final, staged at night this year for the first time, and the move by the NRL to play its grand final on a Sunday night - a move that attracted significant ratings numbers in Melbourne.
"It's always exciting at the end of the year when the annual ratings are released to see the grand final and footy at No.1," McGuire said. "The added attraction of the extra money it could raise could see that money distributed among the clubs, which would see more tickets become available to the club members."
The strongest opposition to McGuire's proposal came from former VFL chief and Kangaroos president Allen Aylett, who disputed that recent grand finals had lacked atmosphere due to the large proportion of attendees not supporting either club. The Bulldogs were also against the prospect of the move.
Channel Ten sports chief David White confirmed that he had raised the prospect of a night grand final with Demetriou, who had always rejected it.
"I think a grand final at night would rate higher," said White, whose network holds the rights to AFL finals until the end of 2006, "but whether or not that makes it a better commercial proposition I'm not sure. We would have to be careful not to jeopardise what has traditionally been a very successful all-day event."
The AFL will soon reopen negotiations for a new TV deal, with chairman Ron Evans conceding yesterday that the league's determination to increase its coverage in the tough but lucrative Sydney market could cost the AFL money in terms of the next financial deal.
Evans also raised concerns over the possibility that the revamped tribunal system - which will operate on a points basis, similar to the NRL - could allow a suspended player to win the Brownlow Medal.
He was of the "firm" belief that the Brownlow Medal should remain ineligible to suspended players, and said it was a matter of closing off the anomaly in the points-rated system that could mean a player found guilty would escape suspension because of a good record while another with a poor record would be banned for an identical offence.
"I think it's a question of sorting out the potential anomalies rather than the fundamental concept of whether it's best and fairest," Evans said. "My personal view is that the Brownlow Medal should be the best and fairest."
AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson agreed it should remain a best and fairest award, and suggested ways to overcome the anomalies. "We have to decide: one, do we leave the system as it is, if you're suspended you're ineligible?" Anderson said. "That has an anomaly. Two, whether you'd set the points at what you get at the tribunal, say 100 points. Or, three, do you set the points at a level like 125 points, where if you took an early plea you wouldn't miss a game. There are three clear options there."
Yesterday's meeting also discussed aggressively targeting western Sydney as part of a goal to double the league's operating profit within five years.
Evans said more needed to be done to promote the code throughout NSW. That would include more games at Telstra Stadium and in south-east Queensland in coming years, with a long-term view to clubs being based in those areas.
I'm with Eddie on this one and am all for a night GF.
If a night GF means more $$$ in the AFL's pockets I'm all for it. That money could be well spent promoting the game in the northern states.
. You cant explain your point without using corporate dollars as an excuse. 