Is Eddie McGuire’s proposed “Victoria Stadium” what Melbourne needs?
Posted: March 11, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 CommentCollingwood football club Chair Eddie McGuire has a grand proposal for a new stadium he says provides “an opportunity to reshape and remodel Melbourne for the next 50 to 100 years”
Is Eddie McGuire’s proposed “Victoria Stadium” what Melbourne needs?
The Melbourne Urbanist 
Hello again Alan from the Save Albert Park research department,
This looks like an ambit claim to boost Eddie’s empire that just happens to be centred in the Olympic Park precinct,
Victorian governments appear to have two priorities for major infrastructure investment:
1. Sport first because Melburnians love sport.
2. All the necessary investments that are benchmarked apart from sport like schools, public transport, hospitals etc.
Number one gets money based on perception while those at number two are either based on benchmarking or politics. The East West Link versus Melbourne Metro was politics, for example.
I have updated our fact sheet to show the grand prix has consumed $695 million in cash and a billion all up when the hidden state subsidies are included, all on Jeff Kennett’s promise that Victorian taxpayers would not be asked to pay for the event. It appears Eddie is usurping Kennett’s position in today’s Victorian political landscape. The word boondoggle comes to mind.
Here’s the fact sheet: http://www.save-albert-park.org.au/sapweb/SAP%20Fact%20sheet%202016-1.pdf
Peter Logan