Freo race towards 50,000 members
The WA Football Commission could receive a $12 million boost from WA's two AFL clubs out of the 2014 season.
And Fremantle may break the 50,000-member mark in 2015, with early sales putting the club on track to sell out reserved seating this month.
The growth of AFL football in WA has continued despite capacity restrictions at Patersons Stadium.
With the reserved seat priority renewal period at Fremantle due to close on Monday, the Dockers have just 1000 reserved seats left and 5000 Purple Army members waiting to see if any aren't taken up.
Fremantle expect to hand over $5.7 million to the WAFC from the 2014 season, up from about $5 million last year.
West Coast expect their figure to be over $6 million after $6.4 million last year.
The figures are good news for the commission, which has had to restructure in order to balance its books.
The handover from each club will be boosted by $450,000 in payments to be given to WAFL clubs for the alignments with East Perth and Peel.
West Coast are yet to audit 2014 figures but Fremantle, currently mid-audit, expect to make a profit of about $200,000 after the payments to the WAFC.
It will be their 12th profit in a row and the sixth consecutive year the club has exceeded its budget.
The demand for memberships has Dockers chief executive Steve Rosich excited.
"We have already passed 44,500 members which is about 5000 members more than we were at the same time last year," he said.
"Last year we were able to achieve a membership record of 48,777.
"The fact that we are about 11 per cent up on last year is really significant. The priority renewal period for reserved seat members at Patersons Stadium has been extended until Monday."
Rosich said the Dockers had aimed to maintain last year's membership.
"If this interest and demand were to continue, it is possible we would exceed that and maybe even reach the 50,000 mark," he said.
"The feedback we have from members is that one of the reasons they continue to be interested in memberships is the priority that it gives them into the new Perth stadium."
West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett said last year's $6.4 million payment was boosted by maturing investments. He is expecting another strong financial result with rent, royalty and alignment payments to the WAFC and WAFL clubs likely to top $6 million.
Nisbett said West Coast's membership sales for 2015 had been strong, and both WA clubs were in good shape.
"We are over 41,000 at the moment. We peaked at 58,500 last year," he said.
"There seems to be a real expectation that both of the clubs are going to be OK (on-field) going into 2015."
"… it is possible we would exceed that and maybe even reach the 50,000 mark …""Fremantle chief executive *Steve Rosich *
