A $30,000 naming rights partnership between the City of Joondalup and West Perth Football Club could see the Falcons finally include the Joondalup name after 30 years of calling the suburb home.
The City of Joondalup will decide at its February 27 council meeting whether to proceed with a $30,000 sponsorship which would see the city become naming and streaming rights partner for the club’s 2024 WAFL season.
The details of the new sponsorship were made public ahead of the city’s February 13 briefing session, using the name “City of Joondalup West Perth Falcons” as one example of what the naming rights partnership could look like.
“West Perth Football Club is a family-based club and the oldest WAFL club, currently in its 138th year. For over 130 years the club has been a key part of Perth’s society and sporting culture. Originally based in Leederville the club relocated to Joondalup in 1994,” a council report said.
“2018 saw new state of the art club rooms open and the last 10 years have seen a period of sustained success with two WAFL men’s flags, two Rogers Cups flags and the introduction of a WAFLW team in 2022. With a membership base of approximately 3000, 65 per cent of these live within the City of Joondalup with approximately 35 per cent visiting from outside of the region for each home game.”
West Perth Football Club president Neale Fong confirmed the name, City of Joondalup West Perth Falcons as the club’s preferred option should the city vote in favour of the sponsorship.
“There’s age-old debate about West Perth being in Joondalup, West Perth is the name of our football club historically for 135 years, so we’re not going to change the tradition of that,” he said.
“We’ve got Joondalup Health Campus on the back of our jumpers this year so they’ll be promoting Joondalup and if we get the City of Joondalup on the front and refer to ourselves as the City of Joondalup West Perth Falcons we think that’s fantastic.
“We’ve been there (Joondalup) for 30 years and we’re not going anywhere, we see that as our home. We’ve got three generations of players that know nothing about Leedervile Oval, they know about our history of course but Joondalup and Pentanet Stadium is our home. “
Council agenda documents noted the city administration’s recommendation for the council to accept the sponsorship application.
The possibility of the Joondalup name added to the club follows a sponsorship stand-off between the club and city in 2016.
The city opted not to renew its three-year sponsorship worth $40,000 per year in mid-2016, writing to the club that it would “not enter into any further sponsorship agreements with the West Perth Football Club after the agreement in Part 1 above expires, unless the club has changed its name to better reflect its location and home at Arena Joondalup.”
Shortly after the decision not to renew, West Perth’s board of directors issued a statement of the club’s intention “not to explore the possibility of changing the club’s name”.
“The board’s decision not to pursue the matter means the club will continue to compete in the WAFL as West Perth Football Club in 2017 and beyond,” a statement on the club’s website said.
“In recent months, speculation has been rife that the club was considering changing its name. This speculation occurred following a City of Joondalup council resolution they would only continue their $40,000 per year sponsorship if the club changed its name to better reflect its location.”
West Perth president at the time Brett Raponi said then that the club would opt to keep the West Perth name to keep the club’s history intact.
“The club received representations from several of its most prominent players and supporters who were all in favour of retaining the name the club has used since 1891,” he said.
The Falcons will commence their WAFL season at home under lights on March 28 against Claremont.