Kogarah's
OKI Jubilee Stadium will host only five out of twelve St.George-Illawarra
home games in 2006 following a joint announcement between
the Wollongong Sportsground Trust and the Dragons regarding
a new lease agreement at WIN Stadium.
In
2006 there will be six home games at WIN Stadium, five at
OKI Jubilee Stadium and one at Aussie Home Loans Stadium for
the annual ANZAC Day match against the Roosters.
Although
WIN Stadium's number of home games has been reduced from seven
to six, the Dragons have managed to keep seven fixtures in
the Illawarra by allocating a trial to Wollongong at the beginning
of next season. However, the number of fixtures at WIN Stadium
next year is likely to increase to eight through another home
final if the current form of the Dragons continues.
While
the new allocation of home games again favours WIN Stadium
over OKI Jubilee Stadium, the 2006 split is more equitable
for the St.George District than when the Dragons last hosted
the ANZAC Day match in 2004. In that season, WIN Stadium hosted
seven home matches compared to Kogarah's four.
Despite
the fact that Kogarah has achieved superior crowd averages
over WIN Stadium for three consecutive seasons since the Dragons
returned to the venue in 2003, the success of OKI Jubilee
Stadium hasn't been tangibly recognised.
Although
Kogarah is more cost effective than WIN Stadium, the St.George
District is again being forced to wear the sacrifice so St.George-Illawarra
can host the ANZAC Day match outside its key communities.
The
decision suggests that there may not have been enough reflection
on the inequitable 7/5 split in Wollongong's favour from 2002
to 2005 and that the decision makers could become more adept
at drawing a distinction between the St.George District and
the greater Sydney metropolitan area.
WIN
Stadium gained an impressive northern grandstand through the
7/5 contract over four years at the expense of OKI Jubilee
Stadium and St.George based supporters. It is disappointing
that the Dragons were unable to conclude negotiations with
a new agreement that reflected that sacrifice.
With
a fixed number of matches guaranteed for WIN Stadium, there
is no equitable way through which the Dragons could consider
the previously mentioned 'swinging blockbusters' in 2006.
It would be a disgraceful outcome if any Kogarah matches are
switched to venues such as Aussie Stadium and Homebush next
year.
R2K
has consistently called for a 50/50 split of home games and
for WIN Stadium to match Kogarah's sacrifice every four years
in relation to the ANZAC Day game. Despite the merit of the
50/50 argument, today's announcement indicates that the St.George
District may never gain 50% of home games unless the fans
reignite a campaign with increased vigour to protect the best
interests of the St.George District and ultimately the St.George
Illawarra Dragons.
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