Uncle Steve No Problem embracing the opportunity to watch Phoenix play Galaxy but i find the insinuation in your post that that by criticizing one aspect of the proposed game ie the use of ratepayers money to "entice" Becks and co to come here somehow means that im not a "REAL football fan"is pathetic and whats more there a lot of REAL football fans out there that are also REAL rate payers and REAL voters that inspite of the obvious joy and euphoria since Sunday still have the common sense to look at the councils proposed use of funds for this venture in a critical and objective way!
So forget the hes not a fan cause he isnt towing the line on what i believe angle cause its bullsh*t mate ,i have supported my football club Heart Of Midlothian FC through thin and often thinner since i can remember and played the the beautiful game in what can only be described as a less than beautiful way since i first discovered my two left feet!!
The answer to life's problems are rarely found at the bottom of a beer glass - but it's always worth a look.
Kiwi Jambo - I thought uncle steve was questioning WARZYCHA's
assertion that "Beckham or anyone is not welcome". I didn't read
any criticism of your concerns over the use of public funds. uncle
steve?
I'm not keen on the idea of rates, but for me it's a question of
scale i.e. how much relative to all the other stuff they fund?
Prendergast is so obviously jumping on the bandwagon for political gain and the means of doing this is by secretly spending other peoples money ,do you agree with the lack of disclosure Uber?
One of the richest sportsmen on the planet will play football for a club owned by one of the richest men in Wellington and heres the punch line the council are going to help pay for it ,hilarious
Hope people will find the 30% rates increase thats on the cards as easy to swallow as this and as a side issue do you think the council should be turning down funding for events like the dragon boating festival but still find money for Beckham and co which one benefits the community more in the long run ?
My love of football is completely undiminished but my lack of love for a profligate local council who will not even tell us how much money they are going to spend on bringing Becks the Galaxy and his missus down here also shows no sign of waning!!
Its a council who has a committee some of whom are not even elected who have a ten minute meeting and then dip into council coffers and secretly give out council/rates money to high risk entertainment ventures!
Its three weeks out from an election ,Prendergast has spotted a euphoric wave on the horizon in the shape of The Phoenix football club and its fans and like any politician she is instinctively opportunist,manipulative and desperate, she can also can smell a juicy bit of publicity from miles away !!
iI think we are being had on this one
High risk??? Or we could just not have the Galaxy play here, not have 35 000 patrons come to the Ring of Fire, not have 35 000 patrons see the Phoenix in action, not have 35 000 people hearing (and succumbing to) the noise of the Yellow Fever boys, and we could just not use this as a fantastic way to spread yellow fever. At least your rates would be safe. But is such a drastic measure really supporting the Phoenix "through thick, thin and thinner"??

AllezLesJaunes2007-08-30 15:06:19

And would you not take the money he's getting paid if it was offered? Like f**k you wouldn't.
How does Beckham think he's better than his country? He's the one who got dropped by McLaren remember.....and if i'm not mistaken the lad flew across the Atlantic to be part of the squad even though the game was only a friendly.......thats probably the greatest act of selflessness once can display as a player. Who's got their head up whose arse now? Muppet.
Many years ago now the WCC decided to brand the city as an event city and subsequently began spending money to attract a variety of events here. The logic was sound, attract a number of high quality, internationally recognised events to the city which will attract large numbers of visitors. These in turn will promote the growth of existing businesses and the creation of new businesses all of which will increase the amount of rates paid. So really it is seen as a mid to long term investment with a realistic return.
So the spending on this game is just a continuation of that policy and should be viewed the same as WoW, the X games, the Edinburgh Tattoo, the International Festival of the Arts and a variety of other such events. Why is this game different and why complain now and not about any of those events, especially as they collectively make our city a better place?
Just imagine is the NFL wanted to bring a preseason game here, heaven forbid!
Kiwi Jambo2007-08-30 16:44:30
The answer to life's problems are rarely found at the bottom of a beer glass - but it's always worth a look.
Prendergast is so obviously jumping on the bandwagon for political gain and the means of doing this is by secretly spending other peoples money ,do you agree with the lack of disclosure Uber?
One of the richest sportsmen on the planet will play football for a club owned by one of the richest men in Wellington and heres the punch line the council are going to help pay for it ,hilarious
Hope people will find the 30% rates increase thats on the cards as easy to swallow as this and as a side issue do you think the council should be turning down funding for events like the dragon boating festival but still find money for Beckham and co which one benefits the community more in the long run ?
)Anyway here is the
editorial which i agree with funny enough!How much should ratepayers be willing to stump up to bring a fading football superstar to the capital to play against the Wellington Phoenix? That's none of their business, according to Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast, writes The Dominion Post.
She is wrong. It is their money, and therefore very much their business.
Yesterday's Funding Local Government report, which pointed to rates becoming unsustainable unless councils rein in spending and make better decisions, only underlines the need for that accountability. By refusing to reveal how much Wellington City Council is willing to put toward the financing of an appearance of David Beckham and the rest of the LA Galaxy, Ms Prendergast undermines that accountability.
Ms Prendergast says the money in the Events Development Fund comes "100 per cent from commercial rates" because that is the sector that will benefit from the Beckham appearance. There is a certain amount of sophistry in that approach.
Rates income is not tagged. The council has a pool of money from both business and residential ratepayers, which it spends across a wide range of activities.
Ms Prendergast justifies the secrecy on the grounds of commercial confidentiality. She cites the ombudsman's view last year that it can remain confidential which events receive money from the Events Development Fund, and the amount they receive. There is a difference between can and must. In a tiny number of cases it may be defensible not to make public the amount - though it is hard to imagine when the public should not be informed how much of its money is being spent - but they should be the very occasional exception, not the blanket rule.
Helping to finance the Beckham visit is not one of those rare exceptions.
Ms Prendergast argues that, if the amount the council is putting into big events is known, there will be a bidding war with other cities. That does not apply in this case. The Wellington Phoenix are the only possible opponents for the LA Galaxy. Owner Terry Serepisos is astute enough to realise that the quickest way to destroy his chances of building the long-term, loyal fan base in Wellington his franchise needs to succeed would be to effectively raise a one-fingered salute to those fans by moving the Beckham game somewhere else.
There are occasions when the council should spend money to make money, and to bring vibrancy to the city. The World of WearableArts, the International Arts Festival and the Rugby Sevens are good examples of that.
However, it is not a given that any event is a good event.
In 2002 Wellington City Council decided to spend $233,000 underwriting Tiger Woods' appearance at the New Zealand Golf Open. That money was lost.
A gung-ho approach to hosting the V8 Supercar race, based on disputed claims that it would deliver a $23 million annual fillip to the city, ended up costing $175,000.
As Ms Prendergast observed in the wake of the V8 bid, Wellington needs to be the events capital, not the "events-at-any-cost capital".
The value to ratepayers of a one-off appearance of an increasingly fragile Hollywood wannabe is questionable, to say the least. However, ratepayers cannot question that value without knowing what the cost to them will be.
Ms Prendergast should give them the information they both need and are entitled to.SOURCE DOMINION POST 29/8/07The answer to life's problems are rarely found at the bottom of a beer glass - but it's always worth a look.
(or in this case local government!)
Thanks for the endorsment you can be my campaign manager next time round

The answer to life's problems are rarely found at the bottom of a beer glass - but it's always worth a look.
The answer to life's problems are rarely found at the bottom of a beer glass - but it's always worth a look.
It is a football forum and the subject of the thread does involve the Phoenix football team but if don't want to talk about this issue feel free not to theres heaps of other stuff on the site that you may find easier to deal with and more comfortable to look at ,anyway my posts are mainly responses to other posters do you want them to piss of as well .
Its about open discussion not not sycophantic back slapping and blind acceptance of everything, if you are not up to debating the issue then simply ignore it and vote in the drum poll or something!
The answer to life's problems are rarely found at the bottom of a beer glass - but it's always worth a look.
Maroon (and Yellow) vs Yellow.
Frankie
Mac2007-08-30 19:48:39
All I do is make the stuff I would've liked
Reference things I wanna watch, reference girls I wanna bite
Now I'm firefly like a burning kite
And yousa fake fuck like a fleshlight

Fire it up farken!!!
<= that won't be
me...AllezLesJaunes2007-08-30 20:22:29
Just imagine is the NFL wanted to bring a preseason game here, heaven forbid!
You just like pretty boys - open minded


Im a bit long in the tooth to take on the whole YF board in pugilistic display in the fever lounge (and i fancy keeping that tooth as well Frankie )
Ok a half time arm wrestle for the Prendegast cup(hopefully get sponsorship from the council for this) winner gets the pints in?




Fire it up farken!!!
<= that won't be
me...The answer to life's problems are rarely found at the bottom of a beer glass - but it's always worth a look.

Im not going to start wearing flares to the football my Bay City Roller days are over!
The answer to life's problems are rarely found at the bottom of a beer glass - but it's always worth a look.
