Western Melbourne shoots for stars during Geelong era
BIG-PROMISING A-League entrant Western Melbourne Group has made no secret of its ambition to set new benchmarks for Australian soccer.
It is building a multimillion-dollar football-only stadium in Tarneit with its own funds. It has been looking at marquees at the level of Italian World Cup winner Alessandro Del Piero.
And it is hoping to challenge for the title in season one with the benefit of big-name recruits and an experienced coach.
But who is it and where is the money coming from?
Ex-Socceroo and Geelong soccer identity Steve Horvat has acted as bid spokesman and interim football boss.
Football entrepreneur and player agent Lou Sticca has provided the football nous, with KPMG partner Maurice Bisetto providing the financial acumen.
There is also a bevy of people working on the bid, and now building the club, at Wyndham Council.
Council director of deals Kate Roffey said it was satisfied with its bona fides, as FFA must also have been after awarding them a licence.
“We won’t go into who directly who it is but they are Australian-based investors,” Roffey said.
“We did an exceptional amount of due diligence to make sure we were very confident that the invested money behind the group was good, solid, Australian money invested in the A-League concept.
“It’s up to them as individuals and family groups and other owners (if they want to go public). Western Melbourne Group are our partners and who’s behind them we don’t need to reveal.”
Fairfax reported the group had agreed to pay $19 million cash up front for the A-League licence compared with $13 million by Macarthur South-West Sydney. Horvat denied paying that amount, less, or more.
“We haven’t paid $19 million. I don’t know where that figure has come from,” he said.
“I’m not going to talk about licence fees.”
WMG knocked its expansion competitors out of the park with a bid that promised football-only facilities, financed by private investors in an Australian sporting first.
That won over the FFA board but Horvat and his team know a sterner test awaits: winning over the west.
Until its 15,000-seater is built, WMG will play out of Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium for at least two seasons.
Horvat said he expected to sign a deal with the stadium soon after agreeing to inprinciple terms.