Cricket Australia "is at war with key states over a multi-million-dollar bid to extract cash from taxpayers that some governments fear will result in competitive bidding between cities for the right to host tests and one-day internationals," according to John Ferguson of THE AUSTRALIAN. The cricket body "has been in confidential talks with the states over controversial new revenue-raising measures that have raised questions about existing fixtures becoming part of a bidding war from other states." In the first instance, governments "are being sounded out to pay for the right to promote their city and state through television and branding at grounds." Fears of a bidding war as part of the new commercialization agenda "have led the Victorian government to declare the iconic Boxing Day Test must stay in Melbourne." In a "strongly worded" statement, the Andrews government warned that "the Melbourne Test belonged to the game." Victorian Sports Minister John Eren said, "It doesn’t belong to Cricket Australia; it belongs to the fans, who come in their tens of thousands every year to the MCG." At times, heated discussions with multiple states have centered on CA telling them that the "new era" of competition for major events means that "there is demand from other cities to steal big-ticket clashes, such as the Boxing Day and new year’s tests in Melbourne and Sydney." Industry experts believe naming rights and other fees could be worth up to A$20M ($15M) for the cricketing body, "depending on how many states signed up." While CA wants to capitalize on its prized "content," the catch is that it "benefits greatly" from the use of taxpayer-funded facilities across Australia that are worth more than A$2B ($1.5B) (THE AUSTRALIAN, 6/26).
