Get your passports ready

[Macs Flooders]

The Australian reports:

St Kilda have replaced Gold Coast and will play Port Adelaide as the home team in China for premiership points next season.
The AFL will make the announcement as early as this week on the two clubs’ participation for the third match in Shanghai in as many years.
The first Melbourne-based club to play at Jiangwan Stadium — a match tentatively set for late May — has been the result of a strong push by the Victorian government and the reluctance of the Suns to host the Power for a third straight year.
The Saints were flagged by The Australian in an exclusive report in April as the club set to be Port Adelaide’s next opponent in China.
Falling home attendances this year at the AFL-owned Etihad Stadium made the debt-ridden Saints vulnerable to surrendering a home fixture next year. The Saints finished 16th with just four wins.
Home crowds in 11 matches in 2018 fell by 65,000 (19 per cent) compared to last year.
The average St Kilda home attendance this season was 25,503, down on last year’s average of 31,410.
However, with millions of television viewers expected in Australia and China, it could be an exposure opportunity for the Saints to attract more corporate revenue. They currently carry a debt of more than $10 million.
This year’s game in Shanghai was estimated to have been seen by a live television audience of up to 10 million, including nine million Chinese viewers. The match was shown live on commercial channels in China with a reach of 160 million.
Shanghai proved to be a tough market to break into for Gold Coast, who are understood to have made less than $200,000 from this year’s match at a cost of giving up a true home-ground advantage.
The Australian revealed in April that a push for a Melbourne-based club playing games in China had been part of a state government blueprint for the future, which included a monster cash and stadium deal with the AFL. That was followed up by a strong lobby by Victorian Minister for Trade Philip Dalidakis to replace the Suns.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan confirmed the government wish.
“They are very keen on getting a Victorian club … so we will assess and see where the Suns and Port are and talk to the Victorian government and Victorian teams about the level of interest,” he said.
Gold Coast chairman Tony Cochrane officially opted out of the China deal earlier this month. “The board has decided that to give the playing group every possible chance in the future that the trip is too onerous and too difficult,” he said.
The Suns, who have lost both games at Jiangwan Stadium, had the option to continue, but apart from being a tough schedule for players to conquer, it was also not as financially lucrative as forecast.
For a fee, the Suns agreed to forgo a home match at Metricon Stadium to allow Port to be the away team and honour their contract to play 11 home games each year at Adelaide Oval.
In late May, St Kilda said they had yet to be approached by the league or the Victorian state government to host Port in China.
“I haven’t envisaged being approached by the AFL or the state government, and we haven’t considered it”, chief executive Matt Finnis said. “Like any new idea or opportunity, you sit down and you look at what are the pros? What are the cons? And you go through a pretty robust process of looking at it. But what I can say is that we haven’t been doing that yet.”
Finnis, who said the Saints still had a “long-term interest” in playing premiership games in Auckland, said his club would not consider playing in China simply for a financial benefit.
The Saints flirted for several years with playing home games for premiership points in New Zealand, which ended in 2015 with an Anzac Day game against Carlton at Wellington that drew a crowd of just over 12,000.
The state government’s proposal to involve a more traditional Victorian club followed a Victorian stadiums agreement by the Andrews’ government to inject close to $500 million to the code, with nearly half going to a makeover of the Etihad Stadium precinct. Women’s and grassroots clubs were also promised a significant slice.
The Power are still pressing for a long-term contract from the AFL to continue to play an annual premiership match in China, but they are also keen to be involved in the AFLX concept, which could open with a series in Hong Kong late next year.

[SaintPav]

omg

[dragit]

Never gets old…

[saintadamski]

First it was pulling out of Tassie...

Then it was F*cking Seaford...

Then it was the bebacle New Zealand...

China....new lows

God help us

[whiskers3614]

Siberia anyone?

[mr six o'clock]

So that's one guaranteed loss for richo.
Will he or won't he make it to China?

[fugazi]

Great to be part of a failed gimic.Respect!

[Barneysaint]

Waste. Typical. St kilda to do this. Playing in China is a waste. As if China cares. Seriously.

[Barneysaint]

Waste. Typical. St kilda to do this. Playing in China is a waste. As if China cares. Seriously.

[cwrcyn]

The booby prize

[prwilkinson]

Oh well... beggars can’t be chooses I guess and St.Kilda’s f**kin’ broke. Embarrassing.

The irony being that St.Kilda’s only played Port Adelaide about 5 times in a home game in Melbourne since they joined the comp in ‘97.

[robbie muir]

If we play a home game in China next year, I will seriously consider whether I will renew my membership.

After 43 years of membership, i'm fed up with the crap decisions this club makes.

Its a financial decision and nothing else. How does flying to China help the team play better football.

So because Port have a commitment to play 11 home games in Adelaide we have to give them one of our home games.

And this will be on top of the customary 5 or 6 interstate games we play.

Enough is enough.

St.Kilda grow a pair.

[bigred]

yeah two thumbs up for this bulls***.

[whiskers3614]

Not easy to grow a pair whilst living on the largesse of the AFL!
This is what you get for poor performances and dismal crowds at prime time-slots and locations.

[outside66]

At least we don't have to go to Adelaide. I'm all about it if we get some $$ and corporate exposure as the article suggests. We would get a replacement 'home match' for our memberships and at the end of the day, China wouldn't be at the top of my list of places to visit but if the Saints were playing then I'd strongly consider going!

[outside66]

At least we don't have to go to Adelaide. I'm all about it if we get some $$ and corporate exposure as the article suggests. We would get a replacement 'home match' for our memberships and at the end of the day, China wouldn't be at the top of my list of places to visit but if the Saints were playing then I'd strongly consider going!

[kosifantutti]

I’m off to Shanghai next week. I’ll see what the word is on the street about the Saints.

[robbie muir]

Outside 66 we may still have to go to Adelaide.
We are giving up our home game. If we play Port twice next year then the 2nd game would be in Adelaide.

[saintspremiers]

Finally we are selling off a game for money.

Dees have 2 home games in the NT, Dogs in Cairns
North 3 games in Hobart and Hawks 4 in Lonnie

And our silly monkey had 11 home games at Jihad-Marvel

I’d be happy if we played 3 games in China for a million.

[The Fireman]

man in chinese restaurant claims his fish is rubbery..waiter says "thank you rery much"

[ausfatcat]

I wanna know the dollars the saints will get, to me that will make the dif from a good idea to a bad idea

[saintsRrising]

I don't see why the AFL does not make PA use their home game for these stunts.

They want the benefit and they should cough up their game and not one of ours.

[guitars4]

Not easy to grow a pair whilst living on the largesse of the AFL!
This is what you get for poor performances and dismal crowds at prime time-slots and locations.

As much as I'm not sold on the idea I have to agree this is what you get for or on field performance this year. We obviously need the money so I suppose we really only have ourselves to blame.

[The Fireman]

this might be a good fit...maybe the chinese will understand AR because I f****** don't

[dragit]

I’m off to Shanghai next week. I’ll see what the word is on the street about the Saints.

I've heard everyone there hates Australians. Be careful.