Central District rallies to support major sponsor Holden in hour of need

CENTRAL District holds grave fears for the future of its long-time major sponsor Holden, the heartbeat of its northern suburbs supporter-base.

CENTRAL District Football Club holds grave fears for the future of its long-time major sponsor Holden which is the heartbeat of its northern suburbs supporter-base.

The Bulldogs have joined forces with the Northern Network of Service Providers to organise a public rally on Saturday, December 14, to call on the Federal Government to invest more in Australia's automotive industry and save the car manufacturer.

Holden last week moved to end speculation it would close its Australian manufacturing in 2016, after SA Premier Jay Weatherill said the longer the Federal Government takes to respond to Holden's pleas for more funding, the greater the risk of closure.

Holden has been Central District's major sponsor since 1989 which is the longest current deal in the SANFL.

But the club's general manager Kris Grant said there was far more at stake than just his football club if Holden shut shop.

He estimates that about 50 per cent of Central District's supporter base either works or has worked for the car manufacturer.

"When you're talking 25 years, their contribution has been pretty large," Grant said.

"But more so because Holden has involved a lot of our supporters, most of them work there.

"We have a great relationship with them and this is very worrying for the whole community."

The club's current seven-time premiership coach Roy Laird has a personal connection with Holden where both his brother and late father worked.

"My dad worked at Holden's every day for 35 years," Laird said.

"My brother worked there. In fact, everyone living in the northern suburbs would have crossed paths with Holden in one way or another.

"We've enjoyed a 25-year relationship with Holden as our major sponsor (and) with sponsorship so hard to get in the current economic environment, not only would it be very sad for our partnership to end, it would be a big headache for our club.

"They have been fantastic to us and the factory is central to the life of the northern suburbs. It's certainly a very uncomfortable thought imagining life without Holden."

The Northern Network of Service Providers fears the impact of a Holden closure would compound unemployment and other social problems in the northern suburbs.

"We've all heard the economic costs associated with losing the car industry - up to 13, 000 jobs and $1.2 billion - but we hear less about the social costs," Northern Network of Service Providers spokesman Peter Sandeman said.

"In the suburbs where our network operates we cannot only talk about the issues, but we know the people's names who'll pay the price.

"We see them drawing down on their super to pay the rent. We help their homeless teenagers find homes after families fall apart when the stress of unemployment gets too much."

Saturday's community event will be held from 11am to 1pm in the Central District Football Club carpark off Goodman Rd, Elizabeth, and will include speeches and a free barbecue lunch.