Publisher's Guest

I welcome my guest for July/August 2010 issue - Dale Holmes, Chief Executive Officer Team GWS. Dale joined Team GWS earlier this year after steering the introduction of the club in his previous role as General Manager AFL (NSW/ACT) and a member of the AFL National Executive team.

Holmes has overseen growth of football in NSW since 2004 and was a key figure in establishing Team GWS and the newly developed AFL precinct at Blacktown Olympic Park.

Dale's energy and drive and his relationships with the community in Greater Western Sydney as well as his football experience will be a great benefit and help to establish a club that is strong, sustainable and here for the long term.

Dale has an intimate knowledge of football in this state and the enormous amount of work that needs to be done over the next few years.

Prior to working with the AFL, Mr Holmes spent 15 years in senior management in the financial services industry, and was general manager of MLC Alliances.

What attracted you to the role and when did you make your decision to pursue it?

I am a firm believer that having a second side based in Greater Western Sydney is important in really engaging almost two million people in our game. It is an opportunity to increase awareness and support of our game but also is an opportunity to work closely with the local community to build jobs, opportunities and awareness of the people and businesses of this region.

After spending two years putting the foundations together, we had built a fair bit of momentum. We had assembled a team of people I had helped bring to the club and I couldn't help but get caught up in the enthusiasm of those people. The opportunity to build something from scratch was too good to refuse. The sell-out for round one of the NAB Cup (the Sydney Swans-Carlton match attracted about 10,000 people) was the defining point for me. Initially, I was of the view that it would need someone who lives and breathes Greater Western Sydney and could dedicate their time 24/7 to the project. As I evolved in my thinking and we brought in people who live in the region, what I recognised is what we needed was a team of people who could deliver that, and I didn't necessarily have to be the person who could deliver it all.

That's why people like Grant Mayer (general manager of corporate partnerships) and Andrew Hill (Academy manager) became important to bring into the team. They understand the DNA of Greater Western Sydney and come from an NRL background. In time, it became obvious I could build a team, and that I did have the knowledge and had built a lot of relationships, so I felt comfortable that I could carry it and wanted to make sure I could commit time to it. Once I got the green light on the home front that was it.

There is a lot of talk about 'war' and 'heartland' lately - is the AFL at war with the other codes?

Absolutely not, we have the utmost respect for all of the codes and the place they hold in the community. But we also believe that there is an opportunity for those people who aren't supporting a team or those sports lovers that love to support any sporting team in the Greater Western Sydney region to get on board.

We are about creating more opportunities for young kids and families to get involved in a national sporting team and to have a sporting team that represents the GWS.

We believe in getting more kids involved in sport - all sports - so that they are healthier and happier.

We simply want to be a part of the local community and support the creation of greater jobs, opportunities, education and health outcomes.

What are your initial short-to medium-term KPIs for crowds and membership, say in the first three-to-five years?

It's a difficult one to really have a high level of reliability around because it's new turf, but we have more than 10,000 registered supporters. We would hope in year one we would have upwards of 7,000 members.

That would be a good benchmark for us. In terms of attendances, we would expect the derbies (against the Sydney Swans) to be very well attended and to be major events in New South Wales and we expect beyond 60,000 people to attend those games. You probably have a second tier, say against big Melbourne-based clubs with strong brands, you might be looking at crowds of 15,000-20,000, and some games we're looking in the area of 10,000-12,000. They're the metrics we're looking at. Our average attendance we're looking for is around 15,000 people. We will need to raise in the order of $15 million per year (on top of AFL grants) to be competitive.

What response have you had from the business community initially?

Fantastic so far. That's one area I feel really comfortable about.

At the start of the year we set ourselves a pretty aggressive target of signing 100 businesses as corporate partners of GWS. With just over six months to go, we are on track to achieve this goal. We've got 50-plus partners that have signed on already.

Corporate Western Sydney is the third-biggest economy in Australia - it's an unbelievable growth engine. We're seeing business parks being established with major ASX-listed companies here. It's an exciting opportunity from a corporate perspective.

The most pleasing aspect of this is that many of the businesses who have committed to supporting GWS are non traditional AFL supporters. This is so important to us because we really are committed to creating a local team supported by local business.

What do you think it is that is attracting these businesses?

The AFL prides itself on providing opportunity and creating genuine health and social benefits to the communities it operates within. Across the corporate sector people are recognising the power of becoming involved in something that has such a strong community focus.

Team GWS is committed to generating jobs and economic and social activity in Greater Western Sydney. It is developing community initiatives focused on Health, Harmony, Education and Employment. That is an important motivator to many organisations who want a meaningful partnership.

It is becoming clear to us that businesses in Western Sydney are also recognising the commercial benefits that the sport has to offer. As Australia's true national code, companies that want to promote their brand feel justified in their decision because of the size and scope of the AFL industry.

For many of the smaller businesses, the opportunity to entertain guests at an AFL match is also proving to be an appealing and exciting experience. The next stage in our offer will be the design and delivery of a unique game day experience. Sydney is a very competitive market and we know that we need to have an edge if we are going to create long term success. Many of our existing partners will be invited to become involved in the development process.

Why do you think interested businesses should get behind this team?

This club is going to be a strong part of the local community and support the creation of greater jobs, opportunities, education and health outcomes.

A new AFL team in Greater Western Sydney will bring with it significant economic and tourism benefits through more people visiting, staying, spending and supporting the economy in the GWS region. This will result in the increased usage of existing infrastructure such public transport and will have flow on effects to local restaurants, hotels and taxis.

By supporting this club, local businesses are inturn supporting the region and its economic growth, which has a positive impact on the entire community.

An investment from as little as $5,000 for a foundation package will allow a local business to get involved with this club from the ground up and be apart of history. How often can anyone say that they have been involved with a professional team from its infancy?

Later this year we will be unveiling our team name and colours in an exciting event. All of our corporate supporters that have joined us on our journey will be part of that historic occasion.

The area has a high multicultural population. What's your strategy to attract people from these groups to the game?

Inclusion is a fundamental principle of our game. Australian Football is a great social leveller. Its success is based on its ability to unify. It is open to people from all cultural backgrounds, all races and religions, all genders, all socio and economic sections of society.

Ten per cent of Australia's population lives in Western Sydney, almost two million people. In the multicultural communities, there are opportunities there because there are some communities that have no allegiance to a sport and, if engaged properly, can become part of our sport. People like the Indian community, some of the Asian community and certainly the African community, which is significant throughout Blacktown. We've already seen some kids who are coming through in those communities who are quite talented. The silver bullet strategy is to get a Hazem El Masri (the recently retired rugby league star), a superstar who becomes an iconic player for his community. With that comes a supporter base. But that will take time. We're seeding relationships with those communities, but that does take time.

What impact will the second club have on the Sydney Swans?

The game will become recognised at another level again from where it is today. Share-of-voice of media will go up. There will be a lot more excitement around the game because there's two clubs in the market. That will be appealing to multinationals looking at AFL in Sydney. There's a clear delineation between the audiences the Swans draw on (Sydney's CBD) versus where GWS will draw upon.

For any business interested in getting involved with Team GWS or for more information simply contact Grant Mayer on 9834 8000.