Phoenix eye Hutt Rec

Wellington Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison wants to investigate taking some of the team’s games away from Westpac Stadium and relocate them to Hutt Recreational Ground.

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Morrison flagged a significant expansion of their academy programme as well as a return to the Hutt Recreation Ground.

Known as ‘Hutt Rec’, the club built a boutique temporary stadium there during the 2014-15 season which played host to three matches while their usual home ground, Westpac Stadium, was unavailable during the Cricket World Cup.

‘‘That Hutt experiment was great,’’ Morrison said. ‘‘There’s no question we will revisit that if we can see this way forward, because it’s a great little ground, works really well, you have the right numbers in there and it is about the fan experience.

‘‘You can’t play games in those really big stadiums unless it happens to be a really big game. [It’s like] a bloody tadpole in a 40-gallon drum, it doesn’t work.’’

Morrison also believes there is room for another team from New Zealand, whenever the A-League expands beyond 12 teams.

‘‘The largest population base in Australasia without a licence is Auckland,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s been tried before, failed – but failure in the past is not necessarily indicative of what can be achieved in the future.

‘‘I certainly think that’s well worthwhile, looking at Auckland as a possible base for an A-League franchise.’’

Morrison is confident a new operating model for the A-League will confirm the club’s long-term future in the competition.