Western United FC's A-League future rests on a 62-hectare development at Tarneit, west of Melbourne, where 900 homes and a 15,000-seat stadium are planned under a deal with Wyndham City. The club faces a federal court wind-up over unpaid tax; Horvat's firm owed nearly $11 million.
As I told the Australian Financial Review: “If they (WMG) are struggling to get it done under those circumstances, you can only imagine how much harder it would be for someone to do it on a purely commercial, arm's-length basis,”
I also said: “It's whether or not they can find the right long-term patient investment capital to see the long-term benefit. If they can do that, they (WMG) will get it up. If a financier doesn't have that long-term view, it's going to be harder.”
And I added: “This model of privately owned stadium combined with major development areas has been moderately successful in other parts of the world,”
I went on to say: “The US is doing it better than most places, but it's not a model that's been done successfully yet in Australia.”
Australian Financial Review, 28 April 2025 — Read the full article