This is my view on the Perth Glory offer to licence 70 Parry Street.
The Streetwise article attributes this quote to Tony Sage; “the City of Fremantle offered it Ken Allen Field as part of its proposal to move into Fremantle Oval by the end of October”.
The deal was sealed two weeks ago with South Fremantle Football Club with Mr Sage saying Glory administrators had liaised with the Mayor of Fremantle.
Acting Mayor Andrew Sullivan has said that he had no authority to make any deal nor had he spoken to Mr Sage.
Ken Allen is a community asset for community sport and will remain so because it is our elected job to act in the best interests of the community.
Fremantle City Football Club has every right to be upset at how they have been treated by the City. The Fremantle Football Club lease expired 2 years ago. The club is transparent regarding their plan for the field and have followed the process set by the Council.
The City will need to spend about $400,000 to retro fit Parry Street for a return of $350,000 a year. Perth Glory is a privately owned club with a reputation of being difficult. Their financial position is precarious which should be a red flag. This deal exposes the ratepayers to another rushed deal with poor risk assessment or any.
This is a poor deal for the club and the community, but the real causality is the next generation of kids who will be squeezed out of their basic right of playing sport at their local sports ground.
Last night I supported the amended motion which is, in my view, still a poor compromise. I flagged a procedural motion to defer the decision, but I knew it did not have support.
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