PERTH'S remoteness is a logistical nightmare for professional sports clubs wanting to participate in national or international competitions, forcing them to spend more money and time travelling than their eastern states counterparts.
PERTH'S remoteness is a logistical nightmare for professional sports clubs wanting to participate in national or international competitions, forcing them to spend more money and time travelling than their eastern states counterparts.
Over the years, financial pressures have made it difficult for Western Australian teams to maintain a presence in national rugby league and soccer competitions.
Fortunately, Perth Glory was one of only three clubs to survive from the now defunct National Soccer League, having undergone a major overhaul to enter the A-League.
"I think the difficulties in having a national soccer competition were there, absolutely. But with the injection of Frank Lowy firstly in the sport, and then his capital, the quality of the ownership structure in every state has improved because virtually every owner is in the top 200 rich list in Australia," Perth Glory co-owner Tony Sage said.
"I think these clubs are on very sound footing and that's based on the cash flow from Football Federation Australia, and the FFA is in a fantastic position, particularly with government funding."
Mr Sage attributed Perth's survival to Glory founder Nick Tana, who, as the owner of Allia Holdings, which manages Members Equity Stadium, waived any fees for its use.
"We are not in that position anymore so it's a bit of a struggle for us, because Nick Tana still owns the venue but we have to pay him rent now for that venue," Mr Sage said.
"Our other struggle that other clubs don't have is every time we travel we have to spend three nights' accommodation away.
"That's an extra $300,000 [annually] to the Perth club that no other club pays."
Wildcats chief executive Nick Marvin said it was tough being competitive in Perth.
"It's expensive and it's difficult to attract a player who could go to Melbourne or Sydney, because we have to pay more," he said.
"To attract a player to leave his family to come to the most remote capital city on the world, we have to provide more.
"More money, a better car, better housing, better conditions, that's just the cost of being competitive. We have costs relating to being remote - we have to fly a day early to go to Melbourne or Sydney or Brisbane, so we incur more costs for accommodation."
Western Force chief executive Greg Harris said rugby was also not immune to the struggles of participating in a national competition.
He said since the Force joined the Super 14 in 2006, its membership had halved to 11,000 and that the "honeymoon period" was over.
"At the end of the day there's always going to be a contraction in the marketplace after a new product is launched, or new sport, but we're confident of getting our membership back up provided we have an adequate venue," Mr Harris said.
