Aussie team owner restricts crowd to save money

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GOLD COAST, Australia (AP) -- The billionaire owner of one of Australia's A-League football team is restricting attendance at his club's next home match to cut costs, a move that has run him afoul of league authorities.

Clive Palmer, a mining magnate who owns Gold Coast United, has capped the crowd at Saturday's match to 5,000 spectators by only opening one of four sides of the 27,400-seat Skilled Stadium on the Gold Coast.

By limiting the crowd to 5,000, the team is not required to pay a state government transport levy of $3 a ticket. It will also save money on stadium staff by opening fewer concession stands and not having to implement a traffic plan, reducing its costs by about $100,000.

United's opponent in the match is the other first-year side in the competition, the North Queensland Fury, which has as its marquee player the league's biggest international star, former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler.

A-League chief Archie Fraser has asked the club for an explanation.

"Capping ticket sales is not in the best interests of the club, the A-League, football or the people of the Gold Coast," Fraser said.

Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley said his group wanted to cooperate with Palmer and the team so attendance restrictions were not in place.

"If they choose to do things without informing us, it's very disappointing," Buckley said. "We'll have to look at what action we can take."

Palmer has been trying to renegotiate his lease with stadium officials due to the lower-than-expected crowds. He gave stadium officials the necessary 10-day notice for the reduced crowd for Saturday's match and for another on Nov. 7 against Sydney FC.

Clive Mensink, chief executive officer of the Gold Coast side, was not immediately available for comment when requested by The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The Gold Coast is averaging about 5,600 spectators a match, the lowest in the league, with its biggest attendance coming when 7,526 fans saw the side beat the Fury 5-0 in the second round.

United is in third place in the 10-team league with six wins and two draws in 12 matches and trails first-place Sydney by two points.

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