Interview: Back to Belmore President, Luke Brailey

Graeme Hughes, "Talkin' Sport", Radio 2SM, Sydney -
February 3, 2006


EDITED TRANSCRIPT

Graeme: Luke, Back to Belmore! What's happening with your efforts to try and raise everybody to get everybody back to Belmore Sports Ground?

Luke: Well Graeme, I've spent a lot of time asking local residents in the streets that encircle the sports ground, trying to get their opinion and their feel of the situation and I can tell you now, a lot of residents seem to point out the fact that council and the football club had an agreement. In that agreement was that the football club would pay minimal rent on the proviso that they keep the place up to an acceptable standard, they do any maintenance work when need be, so evidently, the football club haven't held up their end of the bargain and it seems to me that they're avoiding their responsibilities by wanting to vacate the premises. So they've seen that there's a problem and they just want to pick up and go elsewhere.

Graeme: Well, it's going to take an enormous amount of money to upgrade Belmore and that's obviously a government thing, Luke. If you have any success there, we'd like to hear from you.

Luke: I mean, essentially Graeme, if the football club's management really cared about their fans they would meet us half way. All I'm asking for is a select number of home games per year, and this would maintain their presence in Belmore, which is the true heart and soul of the Bulldogs, not that big, colossal Telstra Stadium, but they could still have their home games at Homebush as well as having some home games at Belmore, and as I said a select number of home games, which is not much to ask for, it would entail a very minimal cost to upgrade the existing facilities which is all that would be needed. I mean, we're not talking about reconstructing the Stewart Stand or building another grandstand where the existing hill is, that would be completely preposterous, and it would be a cost that could easily be afforded by the football club's financial backbone, the Leagues club, which should be, as it is stipulated in their charter, that they should be assisting the football club, and I believe recently it recorded a profit to the tune of $20 million. So, I seriously hope that the football club, the Leagues club and the Council will get serious this year and work towards bringing the Bulldogs back to Belmore in some sort of capacity.

Graeme: Well if you hear any news back either way from that Luke, we'd love to hear back from you, appreciate your call.