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Post by doubleplay on May 22, 2018 9:12:04 GMT 10
Just read that a South Korean Team will be based in Australia somewhere(Base to be decided) for the upcoming ABL Season. Interesting times ahead I would say.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2018 10:10:47 GMT 10
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Post by enricopalazzo on May 22, 2018 12:00:46 GMT 10
Would be great to hear some updates from Guild All Stars and Geelong baseball club on what upgrades or maintenance is happening at Waurn Ponds.
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Post by doubleplay on May 22, 2018 12:49:19 GMT 10
Yeah Kingsley. Just woke from a deep slumber. Not much happening down this way. LOL
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Post by stuartcapel on May 23, 2018 16:42:56 GMT 10
What does this do for the Melbourne Aces?
Speaking of the Aces, any word on who will be the private owner?
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Post by baseballnewby on May 24, 2018 8:57:59 GMT 10
What does this do for the Melbourne Aces? Speaking of the Aces, any word on who will be the private owner? It certainly means no other ABL expansion team into Melbourne (which they were unlikely to do anyway but this puts a clear lock on it.) I presume a portion of the Aces game attendees came from Geelong, some of them might go watch the Korean team play. BV is all aboard the Aces and Altona this will help lock them into that.
I will probably take my boys down to watch the Korean team next season, it is not that much further to Geelong than Altona
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Post by enricopalazzo on May 24, 2018 12:35:27 GMT 10
Geelong crowd will beat Aces crowds 10 fold. Lots of positive mumours around clubland in GBA from club players saying they will def go and its a great excuse to get together and start the night ahead of the pubs.
All who are saying they have never been or will go to an Aces gane at Altona.
Altona has killed the Aces from the start. Bulldoze the thing.
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Post by enricopalazzo on May 29, 2018 10:14:18 GMT 10
F**k the Aces and F**k that nuts hole Altona. Im on board Korea!
야구 야. 한국.!!!!!!
If Aces are to survive they need to move them out of Altona. Simple as that.
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Post by baseballnewby on May 30, 2018 7:50:31 GMT 10
I don't begrudge Geelong the team, but I would have thought they would have placed the team near the Korean population in Victoria. Is there a significant Korean population in Geelong? Was unable to find much precise data. museumsvictoria.com.au/origins/history.aspx?pid=34 |
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Post by baseballnewby on Jun 5, 2018 16:25:19 GMT 10
Baseball Victoria Announcement
In line with our 2040 vision to grow baseball in western Melbourne, along with the current teams in Altona and Geelong, we are planning to introduce three new francises at Avalon, Torquay and Truganina. To bring the crowds to our stadiums we will be exclusively playing Western music cause Country & Western, just isn't western enough for us.
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Post by enricopalazzo on Jun 6, 2018 6:43:59 GMT 10
Baseball Victoria Announcement In line with our 2040 vision to grow baseball in western Melbourne, along with the current teams in Altona and Geelong, we are planning to introduce three new francises at Avalon, Torquay and Truganina. To bring the crowds to our stadiums we will be exclusively playing Western music cause Country & Western, just isn't western enough for us. Could no problem at all believe that came from the BV office. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2018 12:22:09 GMT 10
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Post by baseballnewby on Jun 15, 2018 16:18:27 GMT 10
Oddly enough another Sports Minister from the same seat and party that gave us Altona. Build a stadium for Geelong peoples convenience and then put a team there as well. Congratulations Geelong, and good luck surviving Altona Aces and the ABL. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2018 22:53:23 GMT 10
Labor Party bias, newby? Is that what you are suggesting?
Factually not correct. Far from it.
Altona stadium was built under the Rupert Hamer Liberal Party state regime in the late seventies and Geelong Baseball Centre under the Kennett Liberal state government around 2000/2001.
The Geelong Baseball Centre project had been in the pipeline for a long time and was one aspect of a master plan for development of the then quite barren Waurn Ponds area. Aside from accommodating grassroots clubs, the baseball complex has attracted the 2002 World Masters Games, Australian Masters Games, Victorian Masters Baseball Carnival, Chiba Lotte Marines Spring Training camp and ABL games along with regular National Championships and Winter Championships.
The stadium is fully utilised twelve months of the year. It was not built simply "for Geelong people's convenience" and for a Korean ABL side. It was a visionary project that - of course - has been of benefit of local baseball, but that has proven to be a terrific investment in terms of attracting major events and tourism for the region.
Melbourne Aces and the Altona stadium face challenges, for sure. All of the ABL clubs face challenges of one sort or another. How the Korean team entry impacts upon the Melbourne-based club remains to be seen. It could yet be a positive.
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Post by baseballnewby on Jun 16, 2018 13:16:26 GMT 10
Labor Party bias, newby? Is that what you are suggesting? Factually not correct. Far from it. Altona stadium was built under the Rupert Hamer Liberal Party state regime in the late seventies and Geelong Baseball Centre under the Kennett Liberal state government around 2000/2001. The Geelong Baseball Centre project had been in the pipeline for a long time and was one aspect of a master plan for development of the then quite barren Waurn Ponds area. Aside from accommodating grassroots clubs, the baseball complex has attracted the 2002 World Masters Games, Australian Masters Games, Victorian Masters Baseball Carnival, Chiba Lotte Marines Spring Training camp and ABL games along with regular National Championships and Winter Championships. The stadium is fully utilised twelve months of the year. It was not built simply "for Geelong people's convenience" and for a Korean ABL side. It was a visionary project that - of course - has been of benefit of local baseball, but that has proven to be a terrific investment in terms of attracting major events and tourism for the region. Melbourne Aces and the Altona stadium face challenges, for sure. All of the ABL clubs face challenges of one sort or another. How the Korean team entry impacts upon the Melbourne-based club remains to be seen. It could yet be a positive. Melbourne Ballpark was financed in 1988 till Jan 1990, during the Cain government. Neil Tresize was Minister for Sport throughout Cain and Kirner governments, he was member for Geelong West then Geelong North (which covers Lara). The current Sports Minister John Eren from Lara seat. I was in no way taking about Geelong Baseball Centre but the placement of the Melbourne Ballpark at Altona despite it being down at number 5 on the list of sites. Your free to think that the Sport Minister had no swaying that decision but I think it unlikely. As for current decision, in regards to the Korean team, no matter how awesome Geelong is as a location, this close to state election and the marginal seats around Geelong , I don't think it is unreasonable to see at the very least political encouragement with the location. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2018 13:48:27 GMT 10
I stand corrected on the Altona history, newby. I had a sense that the stadium was built earlier than that (ah, the ravages of age on human baseball memory!).
Government funding had been pledged a decade earlier than you mention to help develop the popular and centrally located Straw Field, which was the preference of most baseball people. When that development was blocked, Laverton was chosen because the land was free and building of the stadium could be at relatively minimal cost in a crappy location.
For Straw Field or another more desirable site to be chosen to build a stadium, then a far more substantial amount of government money would have needed be made available. That was never going to happen - under either Labor or Liberal - because baseball was/is a relatively minor sport.
I don't believe that this year's state election had any influence on the decision to locate the Korean team in Geelong. The complex is already there, and from all reports it was far and away the first preference of the Korean club.
Sure, some money will need to be spent by the state government and City of Greater Geelong on enhancements, but that would appear a pretty decent investment given the benefits are likely to accrue for the region - and for Victoria more broadly.
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Post by baseballnewby on Jun 18, 2018 8:04:53 GMT 10
KC,
Although I have seen it asserted that Altona was chosen because it was free, the author of the Wikipedia article on Melbourne Ballpark disputes the fact that it was the only free land that could have been chosen. I don’t have the details but I find it hard to believe that free ground in the east could not have been found.
Less money on the stadium and more on the location would have been money well spent. A smaller ground at a better location would have been preferable given Altona has already been shrunk from its original capacity. It is generally easier to upgrade a stadium then build a whole new one.
Once a central location was ruled out, I find it very unlikely that a Geelong based sports minister (no matter which party) would agree to a stadium in the east that disadvantaged his own electorate. Unfortunately infrastructure spending in our state is politicized (by both sides), not based on expert advice. (Again the expert report had Altona at 5.) I actually think BV did what they had to do, to get something, as the government and specifically the Sports Minister had the money not them. As you pointed out Baseball is a minor sports, to garner attention and finance from the Sports Minister was essential, so agreeing to a stadium that he could plug to his electorate made sense. However it meant that the stadium was better placed for Geelong and worse for the rest of the city.
Placing the Korean team in Geelong also would have required State finance assistance approved out of the portfolio of the Sports Minister. Geelong may have been the best place and ground in Victoria but Victoria getting it from other states will also have taken committed dollars from the state government.
As for the benefits of Geelong-Korea from my perspectives:
Positive:
1) Stronger and more financial ABL
2) Better facilities in Geelong.
Negatives:
1) No ABL team for eastern/south eastern Melbourne, 2 teams is all Victoria could ever expect to get.
2) Very likely weaker Aces with lower gate receipts needing more money from BV, money directed from the fees of baseball players
3) The limited state money that baseball gets for the next couple of years will be directed to improve Geelong ground and therefore no state money to improve crappy east\south east grounds. Geelong already has a far better ground then cities in the east with larger populations and this will just accentuate the difference.
4) BV money spent to prop up the Aces will mean less money for grounds and player development in the most populated parts of Victoria.
As I’m new to baseball, I would be glad if you could point out some more positives. (A chart comparing baseball players per region verses baseball infrastructure spending per region would be interesting.)
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Post by enricopalazzo on Jun 18, 2018 8:37:39 GMT 10
Really looking forward to flipping the bird to 'Failtona' as i drive past to watch Korea/Geelong in Geelong.
Fail is Fail is Rebuilding Fail is Altona Fail is Fail. Idiots.
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Post by enricopalazzo on Jun 18, 2018 8:40:26 GMT 10
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Post by doubleplay on Jun 18, 2018 9:43:31 GMT 10
To help you out Newby, the breakdown of the metropolitan baseball population works out like this
North/West 36%
South/East 64%
These figures were based upon a survey done about 10 years ago.
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Post by baseballnewby on Jun 18, 2018 13:00:14 GMT 10
To help you out Newby, the breakdown of the metropolitan baseball population works out like this North/West 36% South/East 64% These figures were based upon a survey done about 10 years ago. Thanks for that sort of matches the junior winter team numbers. Do you know if that was done by baseball districts or by government regions? (ie was Doncaster for example placed in North or East? As DV is North league but Doncaster is definitely in the Eastern burbs.) I fully support cross subsidization, and seeking to encourage regional areas. (I grew up in a regional city.) I comprehend that the steps that lead to where baseball stadiums in Victoria are located, were not wholly unreasonable. It is just an unfortunate set of circumstances that lead Altona to be where it was and then the next Victorian license to be offered so close to Altona. |
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Post by doubleplay on Jun 19, 2018 9:03:15 GMT 10
I think from memory(which is fading), there was an imaginary diagonal line drawn through the heart of Melbourne. This survey did include Summer/Winter Clubs. Same players different recipe.
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Post by southpaw22 on Jun 27, 2018 14:46:19 GMT 10
More info on the Korean team out today in the Geelong Advertiser.... interesting few months ahead!
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