In My View - Quarter 4 2006

By Luke Brailey
Back to Belmore President

It was a cold winter’s day. I got on the train at Belmore and travelled all the way to Lidcombe. From there, we took another train to Olympic Park. Once alight, there was no pub in sight so the only thing to do was walk to the stadium. To get to our home ground at Telstra Stadium it took about an hour. We watched the West Tigers Jersey Flegg side, and then the Souths Premier League side, as it was their home ground too. A little over 18,000 people arrived that day; the stadium was three-quarters empty. When play started, you needed binoculars to see the play, and a periscope to see the other side of the stadium. The boys were winning that day and we tried to encourage them, but because the arena was so big, it was hard to get any atmosphere going.

Belmore Sports Ground is a treasured part of the Canterbury-Bankstown community. The advantages of a return to Belmore by the Bulldogs are far-reaching and would be beneficial to Bulldogs supporters, the football club and the overall community. The Bulldogs aren’t the same without Belmore Sports Ground; it is their lifeblood and traditional home ground.

As a resident of the local area and a committed Bulldogs fan of long standing, I can already feel the pain the abandonment of our traditional heartland will mean for the way of life embodied in the Bulldogs club. As SAG's (Stadium Australia Group, the stadium's operator) debt to principal lender ANZ Bank balloons to more than $140 million, and continues to rise, how can the future of the biggest infrastructure white elephant in Sydney be assured as a bright one?

Telstra Stadium ranks as the least favourite ground to watch NRL football. Out of the Bulldogs' 11 home games at Homebush in 2006, only 3 managed to attract more than 18,000 spectators. As businesses in Belmore continue to suffer, as the turf woes at Telstra Stadium continue and as proud Canterbury supporters lament the loss of their traditional home ground, the football club board may want to think about the role Belmore played in the life of the Bulldogs.

I understand the football club is running a business. The Bulldogs need to maximise their financial opportunities, which is crucial for economic growth and success in the NRL. However, the relocation to Homebush for financial reasons means an extremely painful process of being uprooted from our traditional heartland. When you plant a tree and nurture it for many years, it becomes very difficult to uproot. The board of directors, who did not consult any of their fans and supporters about the move from Belmore, should be aware of our spiritual attachment to BSG.

Without the driving force of the Bulldogs, the local area would not be where it is today. It has often been said that when the Bulldogs are winning so is the local area. In the week leading up to the 2006 Grand Final Qualifier against the Broncos, morale was high in Belmore because of the Bulldogs' success. Banners, flags, jerseys, and everything blue and white were proudly swaying in the streets of Belmore and the wider Canterbury-Bankstown area, not in Homebush.

If there is anything more important to a club, it’s tradition. However, while Malcolm Noad’s heart is in the right place, his vision is a little astray. The CEO said: “I felt I could contribute with my experience in rugby league in the short term and in the longer term build back the club to its proud traditions.” [Sydney Morning Herald; 2/4/2004] Nothing equivocal about that. But in June 2005, a little over a year after taking the job, Mr Noad made the move for the Bulldogs to leave their traditional heartland after 70 illustrious years, and transplant the whole football club to Olympic Park. Despite this, Mr Noad insists the Bulldogs would maintain strong ties to the Canterbury-Bankstown area.

How did Mr Noad rationalise his “build back the club to its proud traditions” pledge meant a move to Homebush? The enormity of this false and misleading statement really hits home when you revisit the actual words. If a certain lack of trust applied in 2004, the situation is much worse today in 2007.

I call for the strengthening of representation of Back to Belmore in the Bulldogs Rugby League Club. In the long run, it is only by encouraging multi-party talks aimed at achieving State and Federal Government funding to upgrade the dilapidated venue that this campaign can succeed. By mid-2007, Back to Belmore will form an exploratory committee to determine whether or not I, as President of Back to Belmore Incorporated, will seek a seat on the Bulldogs Board of Directors at the 2009 Annual General Meeting. The committee will also determine the feasibility of my potential candidacy as a Labor Party nominee for Canterbury Council at the next local election in 2008.

The Back to Belmore committee believes we need to reposition the Bulldogs back to where they belong. Because if we don’t, we might lose the team, our tradition, and those old tales by the fireplace of the good old days at Belmore might be gone to the dogs. I would never wish the Bulldogs any ill will but if the current board stick with their plans to abandon Belmore and the Canterbury-Bankstown area, that resolve will be sorely tested.