WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR CAIRNS TO GRAB AFL’S SAINTS V PORT CHINA DATE?
TEQ working to bring coronavirus-affected clash to Cairns
FUNDING could be the biggest hurdle in the way of bringing St Kilda and Port Adelaide’s Shanghai clash to the Far North, but AFL Cairns have a strong ally in the race to secure the contest.
The Cairns Post can reveal
Tourism and Events Queensland officially got the Sherrin rolling to bring elite footy back to Cazalys Stadium in the past two weeks.
With the coronavirus issues bubbling along for months in the background and the China clash looming towards being canned, staff at AFL Cairns have been hitting the phones since the start of the year to try to land the game.
AFL Cairns can only do so much, however, with the FNQ football association needing the big funds from TEQ to bring the highest level of the sport back to Cazalys Stadium.
That is when TEQ CEO Leanne Coddington stepped in.
“Tourism and Events Queensland initiated talks with the AFL more than a week ago about bringing this game to Cairns and we look forward to their response in coming days,” Coddington said. “We know an AFL fixture in Cairns is well supported by local fans and Cazalys is a ground that provides an amazing game day experience.”
The Australian reported Port Adelaide chairman David Koch conceded it was unlikely the game will go ahead in Shanghai, though the AFL has maintained its position that the match was still scheduled to go ahead in China.
With the fixture’s future in doubt, AFL Cairns, TEQ and Cairns Regional Council will now have to find the funding, around $800,000, to bring the Round 11 game to Cairns at the end of May.
With other bidders set to emerge, St Kilda, as the home team, will also need to be convinced to bring the game north.
Should the group succeed and secure the game, it would be a homecoming for Port Adelaide forward Charlie Dixon, who played his junior footy at Redlynch and Cairns Saints.
Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas said last week there were four contingency plans for the game, which would revert back to a St Kilda home match, if it was not safe to go to China.
“If we were just considering footy we could probably make a decision in May but it’s not. It’s about giving people confidence that they can travel to China and that we can hold an event in China that is safe,” Thomas said.