Derby’s $2m economic kickstart

A West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers pre-season derby in Geraldton in February could generate as much as $2 million, providing a healthy kickstart to the local economy next year.

City of Greater Geraldton chief executive Ken Diehm said a derby would attract a crowd of 15,000 and bring a direct econo-mic benefit of between $1.5 million and $2 million. These calculations took into account spending on accommodation, food, beverages, transport and the flow-on effect of wages paid in the hospitality and service industries.

The City and the Great Northern Football League have pitched to the AFL for an annual pre-season derby, with a match between the two teams in Geraldton looking likely on February 25. The pitch is in recognition of the region’s contri-bution to the game, with a host of players from the GNFL hav-ing gone on to play for the Eag-les, the Dockers and other AFL teams.

The February 25 match would be an afternoon fixture at Wonthella Oval, after new AFL-standard 500-lux lighting was installed at the ground earlier this year.

The GNFL and the City have been working together for the past few months on the project, but more actively in the past six weeks, with league president Colin Cox instrumental in presenting a personal submission to the AFL.

Mr Diehm said Geraldton would know officially in the next two weeks if its bid was successful.

“No official decision has been made as yet, to the best of our knowledge, but we encourage residents to show their support by liking the Bring a NAB Cup Game to Geraldton Facebook page so we can make it happen,” he said.

“It would be a massive boon to the region.

“When we held the Triple J concert in April, every accommodation house in Geraldton was sold out in the space of two hours.

“We would expect an even stronger reaction for this.”

Mayor Shane Van Styn said talks were “well advanced” and Geraldton remained confident of its prospects.

He said Geraldton was fast becoming a must-stop regional location for large-scale events.

The town hosted Cold Chisel in 2015, a Triple J concert and Bernard Fanning this year, and now looking to an AFL derby and, in 2018, pitching for the Australian Country Cricket Championships.

“The best way to encourage people to take a fresh look at Geraldton is to get them here and that’s exactly what these events do,” he said.