WACA name won’t be soiled by selling rights

The Western Australian Cricket Ground is weighing up selling the naming rights for the historic venue as it grapples with the multimillion-dollar fallout from a soil contamination issue.

The WACA ground in Perth during a cricket Test match in 2017. Picture: Getty Images

The Western Australian Cricket Ground is weighing up selling the naming rights for the historic venue as it grapples with the multimillion-dollar fallout from a soil contamination issue.

The cost of removing contaminated soil from the WACA ground as part of a $163m redevelopment of the oval’s northern side is understood to have ballooned from an original estimate of about $2m to more than $10m.

It is understood that the state government has told the WACA that it needs to come to the party in finding money for the overrun, with the state having already made major funding commitments to the project.

One of the few fundraising levers yet to be pulled by the WACA is the naming rights option, ­although an outright corporate rebranding of the ground and the loss of the WACA name would spark apoplexy across the organisation’s membership and cricket fans generally and is not being considered.

Instead, the organisation is understood to be exploring various options including selling naming rights over parts of the redevelopment, which will include a public swimming pool, a high-performance centre, an all-abilities playground and a gymnasium, or adding a corporate name as a prefix to the WACA ground.

WACA chair Avril Fahey confirmed that the organisation was considering various options around naming rights, but stressed that those considerations predated the issues with soil contamination.

“The strategy to secure the naming rights for our new WACA Ground has been a strategic focus since the beginning of the improvement project. There is no connection between the soil contamination and the naming rights strategy,” she said.

Before becoming one of world cricket’s most famous venues, part of the WACA site was used as a rubbish tip. That history is believed to have contributed to the soil contamination issues.

Ms Fahey said the budget for the project had allowed for contingencies.

“The finding of contaminated soil is not unusual given the age and location of the WACA ground, and we proactively set aside provisions to address such occurrences. We are currently working through a number of funding scenarios to ensure the safe and efficient completion of the redevelopment,” she said.

The state government has previously taken an unsentimental view over naming rights, having brokered a deal to rename the city’s major new arena as Optus Stadium soon after it came to power in 2017.

Unlike the Optus Stadium deal, any naming rights deals at the WACA would be a decision for the organisation alone.

Many second-tier sporting stadiums around Australia and the world have sold their naming rights, although the major historic venues such as the MCG, SCG and Adelaide Oval have resisted the ­financial lure. London’s second most-famous cricket stadium ­behind Lords has been rebranded from The Oval to The Kia Oval since 2010.

The soil contamination issue is the latest complication for a project that has proved divisive among the WACA membership. Critics of the project have expressed concern over the organisation’s capacity to fund its share of the redevelopment, even before the cost of addressing the soil contamination grew, while a decision to exclude urinals from the men’s toilets also sparked controversy.

The redevelopment has taken shape at a time when construction costs across WA have risen sharply. The current $163m redevelopment plan does not include the internal fit-out of the new grandstand and members area, with the organisation instead betting that it can reduce the cost of those final touches in the future.