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Can the Wellington City Council save the Phoenix?

Publish Date
Wed, 28 Oct 2015, 8:49AM
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Can the Wellington City Council save the Phoenix?

Publish Date
Wed, 28 Oct 2015, 8:49AM

Could the Wellington City Council save the Phoenix? The council's Sport and Recreation Committee chair Paul Eagle thinks it could - by way of a new High Performance Centre.

It’s been revealed the Phoenix were only offered a four-year license by Football Federation Australia, instead of the ten year deal the club was seeking, and this has lead to chatter about the demise of the club.

Mr Eagle said he’s already identified a site for the new High Performance centre in Kilbirnie and they're already talking to different sporting codes about how it could benefit them.

He said the centre could be developed over the next four to five years and thinks that it would “reassure the FFA... and have a significant impact on ensuring that the Phoenix would be able to continue”.

Mr Eagle is excited about what the centre could mean saying Wellington could become “the hub for sport in New Zealand.”

“I think that would give the reassurances that the FFA is looking for from the city council perspective.”

The news will be welcomed by the Phoenix’s support club, Yellow Fever. Ring Leader David Cross is one of those concerned that the new licence will be the death of the club. He said the decision is hard to take.

“There will be a lot of banners and a lot of noise at the next game and hopefully there’s a very big crowd to show that the Phoenix are important to this city and the league,” he said.

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