Australian Football League CEO Gillon McLachlan said that a deal is "98 per cent" done for AFL games to be played at the new Perth Stadium next year and could be finalized "as early as" Tuesday, according to Dale Miller of PERTH NOW. Speaking ahead of his "historic" first meeting with Premier Mark McGowan, McLachlan "refused to make any formal funding commitment" toward the A$1.4B ($1B) stadium from the AFL. He also said that a western derby "would not necessarily be the first AFL game played at the Burswood venue in round one next year." McLachlan said, "It's been a long journey this. We're very close to the end. We've got a couple of things to work through and I'm sure we will." McLachlan "refused to publicly commit" AFL funds to the stadium ahead of a meeting that will also involve West Coast CEO Trevor Nisbett, Fremantle counterpart Steve Rosich and West Australian Football Commission CEO Gavin Taylor. McGowan has previously written to the AFL requesting retrospective funding for the sporting venue. McLachlan said, "We're contributors to grassroots football, to our clubs and to facilities across the country" (PERTH NOW, 6/6). The AAP's greg Roberts reported the 60,000-seat, A$1.4B stadium is "nearly complete," but a disagreement over funding between the WA government and WAFC, which effectively owns the state's two AFL clubs, "is a stumbling block." The WAFC, which also runs the West Australian Football League, wants more than the A$10M ($7.5M) per year, 10-year deal the previous Barnett government offered in which "it would give up its lease on Subiaco Oval" (AAP, 6/6).
