Re: Brookvale Oval & our future
Here is my little offering:
I am a qualified economist and the thing that does not appear to be considered in these discussions is the true economic benefit of the Manly Sea Eagles brand, and the threat to the region being caused by these few NIMBYs who would seek to drive them out of the Northern Beaches.
Of all the Sydney NRL clubs there are few clubs so intrinsically tied to a particular region as the Sea Eagles. Where other clubs chop and change their home venues or indeed present a brand that is not advantageous to their region (how happy must Parramatta be to be represented by Eels?) Manly is recognised with the Northern Beaches area, has an enviable reputation for winning, and an emblem that is reflective of the area.
In terms of economic benefit, the Sea Eagles would surely be a promotional brand worth millions to the region. They soak up many hours of television coverage and each time they are mentioned, by default the Northern Beaches are represented. With many hundreds of hours of media coverage, their contribution in terms of representation of the region is immense - perhaps they are the biggest national promoter of the region.
As a major employer spending millions in salary payments they are also a large economic force (particularly when the Leagues club is taken into account), bringing a lot of dollars into the local economy.
Game day events also attract thousands of spectators from outside the region. A cursory discussion with shop keepers up and down the length of the commercial strip near Brookvale Oval will quickly reveal that a home game for the Sea Eagles represents a major windfall for local business. As a former franchisee of a major food chain I know that the local shop of that business has its busiest trade days on the 10-12 days where Manly is playing at Brookvale.
In short, it seems to me there are a few malcontents who would try to shanghai this discussion into an exercise in purging the region of the Sea Eagles, simply because for 10 days of their existence they suffer some minor inconvenience.
They ought to be confronted with the major economic benefit that is the Sea Eagles and the far reaching implications for the region, in terms of lost promotion and revenue should they have their way.
By making Brookvale Oval inhabitable or inhospitable for the Sea Eagles, the naysayers will be causing major economic, and perhaps even social, damage to the region. This is not acceptable.
I would also like to address the insinuation above that the private owners of the Sea Eagles are major recipients of rate-payer largess. This is a nonsense. The owners of the Sea Eagles are local people who have invested heavily into the club to ensure it stays where it is, with little prospect of seeing *any* financial return. They have done so to ensure the local future of the club and are arguably philanthropic in their endeavour.
They ought to be congratulated and encouraged for keeping a major local asset in the region, not vilified using false information and nonsensical foreign studies that have no relevance to the local region.
