A Wellington City councillor has accused New Zealand Football of not being upfront over behind-the-scenes discussions involving the Wellington Phoenix.

New Zealand Football and car dealer Colin Giltrap are understood to be looking to shift the club to Auckland, away from its Wellington fan base.



It is believed there have already been tentative moves to book up to six games in the coming A-League season at Auckland venues, including Eden Park, as well as to rebrand the club as the New Zealand Phoenix.



Other home games would be played in cities around the country, including Wellington.



Another possibility is that the club could simply move to Auckland and Wellington would get to host a couple of games each season.

Speaking on Radio New Zealand this morning, Wellington City Council councillor John Morrison said comments made by NZ Football chairman Frank van Hattum that there was not an "active programme" to take the Phoenix to Auckland as "not being totally upfront.”



"They are charged as a New Zealand body to be totally transparent at all times. We suspect on very good grounds they have been looking at the (Phoenix) syndicate that, if the worst came to the worst and Terry was not in charge of the Phoenix, they would look at a syndicate based out of Auckland," Mr Morrison said.

PETER MEECHAM WE'D LOVE IT, BUT...: Auckland Phoenix fans Tony Wilson and Todd Darvill under the Sky Tower. "It's a kick in the teeth for Wellingtonians but I would love it,'' says Wilson. Aucklanders would support them as long as they won. Darvill says he'd love them in Auckland too, "but the Phoenix are doing so well in Wellington, they should stay there''.

Mr Morrison said "it was absolutely true" that van Hattum and Giltrap were involved in moves to relocate the club.



"My sources tell me that they are looking at doing this. It is very disappointing and, if New Zealand Football and anybody else think they are going to do that, then they have another thing coming."



He said Mr van Hattum would be signing his own death warrant as chairman of NZ Football if he admitted he was working with other syndicates (who might take over ownership of the Phoenix) in a clandestine manner.



Mr Morrison agreed it would be prudent for Mr van Hattum to be in a position of having a backup (syndicate) in place.



"I believe he is doing that but he is not being upfront in telling you that ... that is the truth of the situation," Mr Morrison said.



He said the new Auckland supercity had an $18 million event fund in place with nothing to spend it on at the moment.



"They have got a taxpayer-funded stadium [Eden Park] with 60,000 seats in it with very little to play in it … at the moment. I can understand Auckland being keen to get hold of a team like the Phoenix."



Mr Morrison said Wellingtonians would not be happy if there was any suggestion of the Phoenix moving to Auckland.



"It would be dreadful. If they want their own football team or soccer team they should go and get it and call themselves the Auckland Albatrosses or something like that," Mr Morrison said.



Mr van Hattum denied there was an "active programme" to take the club to Auckland but said that, if there was a "change in circumstances" involving owner Terry Serepisos, then "that would be a whole different ball game".

SEREPISOS RUBBISHES CLAIMS

Mr Serepisos rubbished the claims of the background discussions involving Mr van Hattum and a possible new Auckland syndicate.



He was 100 per cent confident he would remain the owner of the Phoenix for the next five years.



"NZ Football has no say in any part of the Phoenix. We are part of the Australian A League," Mr Serepisos said.

YELLOW FEVER OUTRAGE



Yellow Fever fan club ringleader David Cross said he thought the move was "foolish" and somewhat unlikely to work.



"I can't see how playing the A-League games at Eden Park would be financially viable," he said.



"It was hardly a roaring success last time."



Cross said he would like to know organisers had explored every option in Wellington before they looked at moving the side



"Fans in Auckland now support the Auckland City side [in the national league], they don't want to be involved in an Australian-based tournament again," he said.



"It's too big a risk."



Comment on the Yellow Fever fan site forums echoed Cross' feelings.



"Teza" said it was a "disgusting move by NZ Football if true", while others posted they hoped Giltrap would be smart enough to realised the club only worked in Wellington.



"Napier Phoenix" wrote, "I just don't see how Auckland would work, they won't get the same crowds, sure great potential but how often have they failed to live up to it."



"Somewhat prophetically that Auckland fan said they would support them if they won and that sums up the Auckland sports fan," he wrote.



Serepisos called any relocation plan a "ridiculous, embarrassing joke" and said the chances of success were "a big, fat zero".



MAD BUTCHER REACTION



Auckland league identity Sir Peter Leitch said it would be a shame for the capital to lose the franchise.



"For me it would be sad to see them go because Wellington has embraced it."



Only time would tell whether Aucklanders would get behind the Phoenix as there were so many other events competing for people's time and money.



Sir Peter said he was recently asked by a friend why he never attended local basketball games even though he was a fan.



"Mate, I just don't have time, mate. You can only do so much."



"I think most Kiwis love all sport but it's just a time factor."



CELIA WADE-BROWN VOWS TO FIGHT

A council spokesman said senior council managers were also aware of the threat to the Phoenix.

Mayor Celia Wade-Brown said anyone wanting to take the Phoenix from the city would have a fight on their hands. "I strongly support Wellington as the home of football and the Phoenix. It's the beautiful game and Wellington is the home of the beautiful game."

Attendance figures in the capital would tend to support that view. In December 2007, David Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy drew a then-record crowd of 31,853 to Westpac Stadium for an exhibition match against the Phoenix. When the Galaxy played in Auckland 12 months later, just 14,409 turned up, leaving Auckland Regional Council with a $1.88m loss.

Van Hattum said talk of a Phoenix move was "rumour-mongering". "We have general conversations with [Football Federation Australia] about lots of matters and the Phoenix comes up from time to time [but] there is no active programme [to relocate the club].

"At this stage, everyone is assuring everyone else that the Phoenix will be taking their position in the league in October. If that changes, then our stance will change."

The spectre of a takeover comes as Serepisos faces the receivership of two companies, personal bankruptcy action and serious cashflow problems.

Serepisos said he was the holder of the A-League licence and NZF had no rights, or even a say, in issues involving the club. "It is between myself and the FFA. And even if they were discussing this sort of rubbish, the chances of it happening are a big, fat zero."

Auckland-based Phoenix fans spoken to yesterday had mixed views on a move. Tony Wilson said it would be a "kick in the teeth for Wellingtonians, but I would love it".

He believed the club would be better supported than the now-defunct Auckland-based professional teams the New Zealand Knights and Football Kingz – but only if the team consistently won.

But Todd Darvill said the Knights and the Kingz had been a failure and he couldn't see how having NZF or Giltrap involved would make any difference.

"I would love it and it would be easy for me, but the Phoenix are doing so well in Wellington, they should stay there."

Giltrap, an Auckland-based European car dealer and owner of the Kiwi A1GP motorsport team, couldn't be reached for comment.

CROWD NUMBERS

In Wellington

Average crowd attendance at the Phoenix in the Hyundai A-League

2010-11 – 8017

2009-10 – 11,575

2008-09 – 7193

2007-08 – 11,683

Longest unbeaten home streak: 24 games, which ended in November against Brisbane Roar.

Record home crowd: 32,792 v Newcastle Jets in March 2010.

In Auckland

Average crowd at New Zealand Knights in the Hyundai A-League

2006-07 – 3009

2005-06 – 3989

Average crowd at Football Kingz in Australia's National Soccer League

2003-04 – 1273

2002-03 – 2613

2001-02 – 3874

2000-01 – 6620