A-League chief has ‘no regrets’ about selling decider to NSW government
A-League supremo Danny Townsend is sticking by his decision to sell the competition’s grand final, which is set to be played at a packed CommBank Stadium.
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A-League boss Danny Townsend has tipped a sellout crowd at Saturday night’s grand final and says he has “no regrets” about selling the decider to the NSW government.
As of Tuesday, Townsend said more than 22,000 tickets had been sold for the final at CommBank Stadium – which has a capacity of 30,000 – between premiers Melbourne City and the Central Coast Mariners.
Courtesy of their higher-placed finish on the ladder, City would have previously hosted the match in Melbourne.
However, the Australian Professional Leagues’ decision to sell A-League grand finals for the next three years to the NSW government for as much as $20 million means NSW club Central Coast is likely to have double the amount of support compared to City’s.
Despite the outcry from fans, several of whom walked out of games earlier this season as part of a competition-wide protest, APL chief executive officer Townsend made no apologies for the financially driven decision to sell the grand final.
“It’s a great event, it’s going to be sold out … we’re going to have a full stadium on Saturday night,” Townsend said.
“I’ve always said there have been no regrets. The regrets were attached to the execution of the announcement (in December), but the commitment to doing what we’re doing has always been there.
“At the end of the three-year period, we’ll assess it on a bunch of different criteria to determine what we do after that.”
The “festival of football” which will serve as a build-up to the decider includes Thursday’s Dolan-Warren Medal night and Friday’s “grand final party” at Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter.
However, there won’t be an A-League All Stars match, which fell over earlier this month when proposed opponent, German giants Bayern Munich, pulled out due to alleged broken promises over the amount the club was to be paid for coming to Australia.
“It’s not a simple thing to do,” Townsend said.
“This year was the hardest year we’ll ever have (to stage the All Stars match) because the World Cup was in the middle of the season.
“It will be easier next year and I’m confident we’ll get something away.”
Meanwhile, Queenslander Chris Beath will referee his fourth A-League grand final in succession, with Anton Shchetinin and Ashley Beecham appointed as the two assistant referees.
Football Australia head of referees Nathan Magill said: “(Beath) has had yet another standout 12 months, both at a domestic level and when representing Australia abroad at AFC and FIFA tournaments.”
The fourth official is Adam Kersey, while Kate Jacewicz will be the video assistant referee.”
Originally published as A-League chief has ‘no regrets’ about selling decider to NSW government
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