KEY POINTS:
From his palatial office on the 14th floor of his downtown business, Terry Serepisos often finds himself glancing at the Wellington Stadium just 1.5km away.
It's not exactly Manchester United's Old Trafford but it is his theatre of dreams. It's where the Wellington Phoenix will kick off New
Zealand's third attempt at the Australian A-League in 10 weeks, when Serepisos will start to discover if he was right to save the franchise from extinction.
Talk to Wellingtonians and most insist it's going to be a resounding success. For others who have been left jilted by their experiences with the New Zealand Knights and the Kingz before them, it's more a case of wait and see. Twice bitten, quite shy.
But if fresh starts count for anything, you can't get much fresher than Wellington.
It's a city that traditionally supports its teams and the club have dispensed with the baggage of years gone by, the squad is unrecognisable from previous seasons and they have an owner prepared to open his bulging cheque book.
Last week, Serepisos was even named Wellington Sports Personality of the Year for his philanthropic acts of not only saving the A-League franchise but also the Saints basketball side and racing's Wellington Cup.
"I have always lived a bit of a tall poppy syndrome and people knew who I was from the business sector but when I walk through town now, people are thanking me," Serepisos says. "I'm quite taken aback."
It's one thing saving a club, it's an altogether different proposition turning it into a success.
As one Australian journalist mentioned to coach Ricki Herbert recently, the club is starting a 100m race 30m behind the other seven competitors. It would be a massive achievement, he said, if the Phoenix managed to finish ahead of just one of them.
Serepisos is more ambitious than that. As someone estimated to be worth around $300 million, he's used to winning and is targeting a top-four finish in the eight-team A-League.
The 40-something property developer is pumping as much as $5.5 million into the venture in the first 12 months and expects to lose as much as $2 million of that.
He had no interest in seeing how the Knights operated because, as he says, they were a failure.
"I didn't go into it to make money," he explains, "but I'm also not a bank. It was done for the right reasons, to give something back to the community."
Adam Brown is a member of that community. The self-confessed football tragic and a handful of his mates decided over a few beers to set up a supporters' club website.
Eight weeks later, yellowfever.co.nz now has close to 1300 members, which rivals anything in Australia.
Brown expects he will be one of between 15,000 and 20,000 spectators for the Phoenix's opening game against Melbourne on August 26 and also average crowds of about 10,000.
It's a lofty ambition. The Knights averaged 3009 in 2006-07, with a biggest crowd of 7304, and 3909 in the first A-League season.
But there is a distinct parochialism in the capital and many will venture to games out of curiosity or merely to attempt to outdo Aucklanders.
"Wellingtonians are more passionate about their football than Aucklanders," Brown declares.
"In general, Aucklanders are perceived as being quite apathetic towards their sport, whereas Wellingtonians are more passionate."
It's hard to imagine Wellingtonians coming out in droves, however, if they had to endure the standard of football Aucklanders did for seven years.
Success will ultimately depend on results on the field. Herbert is aware of this and has assembled players with A-League experience.
Among the 18 players signed so far, there are nine Kiwis and, understanding the need to entertain, two Brazilians. Herbert could well fill his quota of four imports with Brazilians.
He's already signed Daniel Lins Cortes and Felipe De Souza Campos and is in serious talks with Cleberson Souza Santos Gois and George Santos. South Korean international right back Ki Hyung Lee and Australian midfielder Tas Psonis are trialling with the club and will play the New Zealand under-20s in Masterton today.
Another feature of the squad is the fact Herbert has recruited a lot of players who have points to prove - from skipper Ross Aloisi to Steven Old and Richard Johnson to Shane Smeltz.
"If we harness it in the right way, it could be a powerful [motivational] thing in our favour," Herbert says.
"While top four is something we want to achieve, I think we need to be the quiet achievers. It needs to be different from the past two years. There won't be any chest beating coming out of this club because there is a lot of hard work to do."
If they did become chest-beaters, it would mean they are succeeding on the field. Then everyone could enjoy the view, not just Serepisos.
