Auckland ‘crying out for A-League team’
Auckland City Football Club chairman Ivan Vuksich says New Zealand’s biggest city is ‘‘crying out’’ for an A-League team, but any prospective bid would have to come from a separate entity despite his own personal interest.
‘‘Wellington Phoenix have a great group of people behind it and that’s what you need – people who are prepared to invest in the city, tourism and all the spinoffs that go with it,’’ Vuksich said.
‘‘But you need those people to be able to back it up and that’s what we need to look for. I’m sure they are around.’’
His comments follow a Sydney Morning Herald report which suggested various A-League club owners have identified Auckland for possible expansion in 2023 given it is the largest popu- lation base without a current team.
The New Zealand Knights were based out of Auckland in the early 2000s but they struggled both on and off the pitch and only lasted two seasons.
However, interest is growing in Australia regarding a possible return to Auckland, exciting Vuksich who firmly believes New Zealand’s largest market is deserving of another shot at the A-League, pointing to last season’s record crowd when 22,000 people turned out to watch Wellington Phoenix play Melbourne Victory at Eden Park to prove the audience is there.
‘‘The way that New Zealand Football is set up, it’s absolutely vital that we have something like that in Auckland,’’ he said.
‘‘To try and battle away like we do, like others in New Zealand, in our league is bloody hard work and we do our share of developing players but a pro club can certainly do more – a lot more.
‘‘The market in Auckland, if you get up to 1.8 million to 2 million, then there’s got to be a place for another team in this market.
‘‘It’s a big city, it’s as big as Perth and they have a very successful team that got second last season, they lost in the shootout.’’
Despite his own personal interest, Vuksich said the project would be too big for seven-time New Zealand champions Auckland City to undertake and it would require a separate entity to apply for expansion.
Vuksich said the club had taken a huge financial hit after failing to qualify for the Club World Cup for the past two seasons. That cost the club its front of shirt sponsor, Japanese candy company Hi-Chew.
‘‘It has to stand alone in my view. It’s just too big a project. It’s massive. Personally I would love to be involved and I would love to drive it, but that would mean moving out of Auckland City.
‘‘It does really fascinate me and it really does interest me and I’ve had three or four informal discussions with Greg Griffin, the chairman [Australian Professional Football Clubs Association] and he has always expressed positivity towards a team from Auckland and I guess the Phoenix have now too.
‘‘It makes sense to me. It’s just a matter of joining all the dots together. But it’s definitely possible.’’
Vuksich said Auckland City has explored A-League expansion previously but ran into numerous dead ends, mainly due to a lack of financial investment – which will be the biggest barrier for any prospective future bid.
‘‘We always contemplated it but that’s where we always landed in the end. We thought we might use a name very similar to Auckland City to capitalise on the brand, or change the other one, but it has to be a completely separate entity with a separate board. One is a professional club and one isn’t, and it has to stay that way.’’
Vuksich said another challenge was Auckland’s stadium situation. He said QBE Stadium in Albany and Mt Smart in Penrose were both difficult to get to, while the city’s premier venue, Eden Park, is ‘‘too big and too expensive’’.