“We spend multi-millions of dollars every year on temporary infrastructure,” Tiley said. “And we need to stop doing that and probably convert that to more permanent infrastructure that we can bump into when we run the event,and it can be used for other activities throughout the year.”
It’s a complaint he’s made publicly several times in recent years.
Those ambitions,and moments like Hrdlicka’s speech,have ruffled state government feathers.
Interviews with four senior Labor sources,who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal private discussions,revealed a level of vitriol,distrust and personal animosity towards TA that had descended into name-calling behind closed doors.
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They say the fury stems from regular news articles about TA’s ambitions for an expanded footprint at the site,and a perceived ingratitude for the hundreds of millions in taxpayer money funnelled to tennis organisations through facility upgrades and bailouts during COVID.
Much of the tension dates back five years,when the then-Andrews government knocked backan unsolicited $1 billion pitch from TA to assume management of the precinct. The plan would have seen the trust replaced by TA as landlord for every venue – and by extension,other tenants.
Asked about the organisation’s push for greater control of the precinct,a TA spokeswoman admitted to “competitive tension”,but was unapologetic about “pushing boundaries” to ensure the success of the Australian Open.
One of the senior Labor sources said the idea of TA as landlord for the whole precinct was “a total conflict” and had gone down badly with the government and other tenants.
“The argument against it is that Craig[Tiley] is very good at running a two-week tournament,but no evidence he can run a precinct year-round,” they said.
Another senior Labor source said TA had repeatedly made the case for more development or more control of the area.
“They try it every year with the tennis. They’re trying … to make it more profitable for Tennis Australia,” the source said. “They always pushed the envelope,and I get it. But the trust is for the benefit of the precinct – not just one sport or event.”
Another described the pitch as crazy:“You don’t want your major tenants also being the operator of the facility. It’s a recipe for disaster.”
Tiley,Hrdlicka and TA were approached for a response.
TA responded with a statement saying it had worked “hand in glove” with the government and the trust for many years and that it appreciated the “incredible efforts” of the Victorian government,“which allowed the staging of the CovidSafe AO in 2021,making it the first global sporting event to welcome back crowds during the pandemic,and again in 2022”.
The influence the tennis establishment has over the Melbourne and Olympic Parks precinct was also echoed by some of the biggest hirers of Melbourne Park’s venues – those who host major music concerts,shows and non-tennis sporting events. The trust says the use of the site is split almost evenly between sport and live music.
“Tennis Australia is about tennis,” says Geoff Jones,boss of entertainment giant TEG Group. “They have benefited,and the precinct have benefited from the fact that the Victorian government and the taxpayers of Victoria put so much money into it. But they’re there for two weeks.
“The other 50 weeks of the year are the permanent hirers,who are the sporting codes,the promoters like TEG and Live Nation. We are much bigger users because we’re there week-in,week-out.”
Secret Sounds boss Paul Piticco said there was no argument that the current facilities at Melbourne Park were “incredible” for their location,but said “the problem is the tennis,because you’ve got all these facilities that basically go offline for about five or six weeks in the height of summer in the AO.”
Basketball club Melbourne United is forced out of its beloved John Cain Arena every January for the Australian Open,to the displeasure of the team and the National Basketball League (NBL).
Melbourne and Olympic Park’s tenants
- Melbourne Football Club
- Melbourne Rebels
- Melbourne Storm
- Melbourne Victory
- Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre
- Tennis Australia
- Tennis Victoria
- Collingwood Football Club
- Calibre Feasts
- Imaging @ Olympic Park
“There’s no doubt we’d like to understand how we could look at being able to play during that time,” Melbourne United chief executive Nick Truelson said.
NBL chief executive David Stevenson said:“The reality is,not having access to a primary venue for two teams during a significant portion of the season is not ideal. We will continue to work with the Victorian Government,the trust,Melbourne United and the South East Melbourne Phoenix on identifying potential solutions.”
Global touring behemoth Live Nation – which brought Sting,Lizzo,the Backstreet Boys,Rod Stewart and 50 Cent to Rod Laver Arena in 2023 – toldThe Age it has pitched a new 18,000 to 20,000-seat purpose-built music arena,similar to London’s O2,directly to the state government. The company said the current venues,which were built primarily for sports,did not suit music production or acoustics.
Live Nation’s vice president of touring,Luke Hede,said a second large-capacity arena would be “game-changing” and mooted the idea of redeveloping the 10,500-seat John Cain Arena,which is now 24 years old.
Live Nation isn’t the only organisation with ideas for new venues. Collingwood boss Craig Kelly floated plans for a new AFL stadium on a part of Gosch’s Paddock,which is currently the training ground of the Melbourne Demons.
“I know Richmond[Football Club] and ourselves have both said that if there was an opportunity as a code with the AFL … we’d be more than happy to explore how do we have another facility there that can be utilised for that sort of 25,000 seat[stadium].”
The AFL,Melbourne Football Club and Richmond Football Club declined to comment.
Even though the John Cain Arena had a recent $15-million fitout to replicate the entertainment-heavy American NBA experience,Truelson questioned how suitable the arena would be for Melbourne United in future:“Capacity is definitely going to be a key one for us to put on the agenda. We’re now averaging 9700 fans versus 7500 fans last year,and the capacity[at John Cain Arena] is 10,500.“
The Melbourne Rebels have less ambitious requests. The embattled Super Rugby club,whichowes $1 million in lease fees to the trust,is pushing for a slightly bigger space at the bubbled-domed AAMI Park – cramped offices have forced the club to conduct meetings in the stadium’s gym.
In the push-and-pull fight for land,the powerful Magpies often come out on top. They expanded their empire in 2007by secretly lobbying to push out the Victorian Institute of Sport and Athletics Victoria from what is now known as the Glasshouse.
Kelly wants to secure tenancy for another 50 years and toldThe Age about Collingwood’s vision to expand further,adding a grandstand and permanent cafe so the facilities could be used as an AFLW venue.
Cain’s vision to bring the Australian Open to the city and create the precinct was fought tooth and nail by the opposition of the day,led by Jeff Kennett,and conservationists due to the loss of public parkland. Today,Kennett regrets that approach.
The former premier,known for privatising state assets during his leadership in the ’90s,was adamant the precinct should always stay in public hands,managed by the trust.
“I don’t believe Tennis Australia should be given ownership or control,but I do think the relationship between Tennis Australia and the state government is important,” Kennett said.
“The ownership of the site should stay in Victorian hands at all times – that said,like any government building or any commercial building,if you don’t keep upgrading it,if you stand still,the facility becomes obsolete – you get overtaken.”
The current shadow sports minister Sam Groth – himself aformer Australian tennis champion – was approached for comment. In a statement,he spoke of the precinct’s need to “deliver key facility upgrades,enhanced accessibility and greater integration with the broader CBD”.
He did not say whether the opposition would change the governance of the site if it came to power.
A government spokeswoman said there were no plans to change the existing governance arrangements at Melbourne Park as it was “a public space,and a state-owned community asset”,and that by law the trust was responsible for “securing a range of local,national and international events across its venues and balancing the needs of its diverse stakeholders”.
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But the spokeswoman admitted there was growing competition for access and space from the entertainment industry:“There is a queue for a mile long of gigs,events and license holders who want to access the Melbourne Olympic Park sites.”
Beyond the machinations of various sporting and events bosses are the realities of financing and urban planning for redevelopment on a site that’s bisected by a major road and separated from the city by train lines.
Veteran Melbourne planner and architect Rob Adams said the master plan should bake in the long-discussed vision for building over the rail lines to “knit” the precinct more neatly into the CBD,a proposal he contributed to in the 2001 Yarra Plan as then-City Council architect.
Although this ideanever eventuated due to the sheer cost – and the engineering feat it would require – Adams still believes it is a matter of “when not if”,and the master plan could include incremental projects to get there.
“It’s an incremental process that will take – I think – decades.How do you make every small change add up to something that’s big? You need to have vision.”
The City of Melbourne – which will be consulted as part of the master plan – has a wishlist that includes more “greening”,and “activating” the precinct with the introduction of more facilities for community sports such as basketball and netball.
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Lord Mayor Sally Capp said “vertical” basketball courts – which she’d seen recently in high-rises in Tokyo – could be built to accommodate community sports where space is tight.
She also supports the development of permanent cafes and restaurants in the precinct – currently,food and drink can only be bought inside the arenas or stadiums.
“Just knowing you can get there beforehand and there’ll be something open … would be fantastic. After shows as well,so we don’t all have to rush to leave the precinct.”
Advocate Fiona Bell,president of the Protectors of Public Lands,said any development plans should not “alienate” more public space.
Bell said the Cain government had promised replacement parkland that Melbourne was still waiting for.
“We are also waiting for an announcement about proposed parkland offsets for past,and what appears may be the loss of even more public open space,” she said. “As theheat island effect increases,and more and more Melbourne residents have little or no private open space,we need parks and public open space more than ever.”
The Age asked the person tasked with wading through the quagmire of the politics,the public,demands,egos and turf wars in producing the master plan this year – the trust’s chief executive,John Harnden – how he was feeling about handling the most political job in Melbourne.
He declined an interview,but in a statement said:“As a multi-use precinct which stages events year-round,future planning for the site needs to balance the needs of our myriad stakeholders,including Tennis Australia,our sporting clubs,entertainment promoters and the community.
“We look forward to collaborating closely with our stakeholders.”
with Cara Waters
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