Australian Football League clubs Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide have turned to South Australian
Premier Jay Weatherill to "resolve the crippling Adelaide Oval impasse"
that has seen Port Adelaide lose close to A$2M ($1.72M) in '14 and the Crows
"struggle to make a profit," according to Caroline Wilson of THE AGE. Weatherill will deliver an ultimatum to the South Australian National Football League in the coming days
that could "ultimately lead to the restructuring of the prize stadium and
alter the balance of power in South Australian football." With AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan "determined to resolve the Adelaide Oval
dispute, the SA Government is reportedly becoming disenchanted" that its
A$560M investment has become the "so-called jewel in the Adelaide
crown while failing to resolve the financial issues of the two clubs." Should the SANFL, which holds half the seats on the stadium's board in a
50-50 split with cricket, "refuse to budge further on the profit sharing
arrangement, the state government is expected to reshape the Adelaide
Oval structure giving the Crows and Port Adelaide a place on the Stadium
Management" (THE AGE, 11/19).
