St Kilda facing financial hit should China clash with Port Adelaide be moved due to Coronavirus fears
As coronavirus fears continue to grow, a back up venue has emerged for St Kilda’s Round 11 clash with Port Adelaide. But it could lead to a significant financial hit for the Saints.
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A monday night match at Marvel Stadium is the frontrunner should the Round 11 Shanghai showdown between St Kilda and Port Adelaide have to be moved amid ongoing coronavirus fears.
The AFL continues to meet regularly and continues to consult with government and health officials as broadcasters push for an answer on whether the game is going ahead within the next fortnight.
China’s National Health Commission confirmed on Monday that infections in the country had risen to 40,171 – up 3062 cases from the day prior.
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Should the match be brought back to Australia, St Kilda could be in line for a hit of hundreds of thousands of dollars to its bottom line.
The three-year deal with Port Adelaide — which is also heavily backed by the Victorian government — to play at Jiangwan Stadium in May is in its second year, with the Power having demolished the illness-depleted Saints in last year’s meeting.
Holding the match at Marvel Stadium – which is booked on both the Saturday and Sunday of the Round 11 weekend at the end of May – is a key contingency plan being considered.
Moorabbin is not being considered as an option and St Kilda does not want to play the match in Adelaide.
Both teams have a bye fixtured the following week.
An advance team of international experts – led by the World Health Organisation – yesterday left for Beijing to investigate the outbreak.
It has emerged that a key factor in broadcast considerations is potential added costs should production staff members – many of whom are employed as freelancers – be quarantined for two weeks following any trip to China.
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It is understood that broadcast producers could be liable for paying freelance staff for the entire quarantine period, blowing out the costs associated with covering one AFL match.
It also has the potential to wreak havoc for rostering both on and off-air employees in Rounds 12 and 13 should Fox Footy and freelance staff be quarantined.
The AFL – which is receiving regular advice from authorities - has not wavered from its position on the matter, maintaining yesterday that its “priority is the health and safety of all our people”.
“We will continue to take advice from the Australian government and World Health Organisation regarding any health and safety precautions related to travel to China,” it said.
“Our planning for the Shanghai match on May 31 continues, with the situation being closely monitored.”
The latest update by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which was still current yesterday, states that the Australian chief medical officer has advised that Australians do not travel to China and that those currently on the ground should leave as soon as possible by commercial means.
A second assisted departure flight from Wuhan arrived in Darwin on Sunday.
The WHO investigative mission – led by Dr Bruce Aylward, a Canadian epidemiologist and emergencies expert – reportedly took almost two weeks to be given a green light by the Chinese government.
The coronavirus death toll in China yesterday rose by 97 to 908, with the majority of the additional deaths in the Hubei province, surpassing the toll from the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic.
The LPGA announced yesterday that it had cancelled the HSBC Women’s World Championship — which was scheduled to be played in Singapore from February 27 — and the Honda LPGA Thailand tournaments.