On sports funding

Marcus L’Estrange writes: Re. “Keane: grand final or no, funding sport is a complete waste of money” (Friday). Great article by Bernard but I would add that the F1 GP doesn’t just lose $60 plus million a year but when you add on the ‘off budget’ costs of police presence, the hiring of 800 tram runs, interest free loans to the GP Corp and a peppercorn rent being paid plus other costs, the real figure is a loss of $100 million a year and this can go up even further if the $A goes down vs a vs the $US as Bernie’s contract is in US dollars. In this part of the sporting world turning wheels ain’t earning wheels.

Patricia Kirkman writes: Who will pay attention to the latest review on money spent on elite sportspeople? When we see pampered sports people throwing tantrums and behaving badly, it is time for a rethink. Just look at the different attitudes and performances of our disabled (hardly so, a very negative term) athletes.  Where is the big money now? Remember how shabbily the football team was treated. All this money very unequally shared. There are other areas of human endeavour which could do with a leg up. The arts are being strangled by some weird restrictions on funding. Very hard to be a well rounded society when the ‘arts’ are treated with such disdain.