$50 Million reason Wests Tigers are prepared to quit Campbelltown.

[Tom Shines]

Not shit at all dude. I bleed Campbelltown. Grew up watching footy there from 1993 onwards. Jason Taylor, Tommy, and then the Glory Days. Had my school carnivals there. Grew up and lived in housing commission in Minto. I know my shit.

Campbelltown will never work, and never give us what the 'experts' think it will unless the club moves there. And that's never going to happen.

Our juniors would rather play at Commbank than Campbelltown anyway. Half our catchment area, is like Picton and Camden and wants next to nothing to do with Campbelltown in general. Galvin is a great example of this and so is Tedesco. The only batch of juniors that cared about Campbelltown was Fulton, Gibbs, Collis et al. They came up with Tommy's magpies, but that's totally vanished from the area and no young footy player coming up in that area now experiences nothing that we should expect young players to be loyal to.

So it will never work at Campbelltown …apart from the time it did … were crowds for “Tommy’s magpies” any better than now ?

Where are they gunna get juniors from without Campbelltown ? Holy Cross Ryde still playing League ?

 

[Tom Shines]

It has the nasty smell of bulldog shite to me. Would not be surprised to find the inbreeds are trying to move into the Campbelltown area. Slimey inbred animals

I don’t see how moving games away completely from Campbelltown is going to keep them at bay,,,

 

[Tom Shines]

It’s getting worse as the new developments happen out in Orange County Park , and as it heads down northern road well past cobbity and towards leppington . My guess is those teams once they get the participation numbers will be able to chose between Penrith and wests , like teams in the Liverpool area between wests and parramatta .
The problem with the wests brand … and this is going to piss a lot of people off , is it’s synonymous with battling and struggling in life . And whilst that can be a call to arms , it can also be a huge deterrent as many people , in fact most people , want to push past whatever station in life they either think they are in their head , or literally are .
The fibros v silver tails thing seems to really have captured many guys who are now 60 plus , it just doesn’t resonate with today’s youth . You can blame americanisation , you can blame the you tube/ tik tok brain , you can say kids are disloyal , forget where they came from bla bla bla … whatever floats your boat . It doesn’t change the fact that Wests and Campbelltown is a brand associated with failure and struggling in life/ battling .
Like I said that is not attractive to many kids out that way , especially if they grew up on acreage and upper middle out Camden way to Picton , or in the new estates both on the outskirts of c town , down towards Douglas park or the new estates in and around Narrellan.
I don’t say any of that to gloat or turn my nose up or anything . Nor am I commenting on the validity or truth of that , the way of life or anything . Just merely commenting on perception and brand recognition .

Penrith were a bit of a basket case themselves not so long ago …although not close to our levels admittedly…

 

[weststigers]

So it will never work at Campbelltown …apart from the time it did … were crowds for “Tommy’s magpies” any better than now ?

Where are they gunna get juniors from without Campbelltown ? Holy Cross Ryde still playing League ?

Brother, our best junior of all time came from Keebra Park on the Gold Coast.

The stadium we play at makes no difference in my opinion.

If they had an academy out there it would go further to developing and holding onto juniors from the area than playing out of Campbelltown Stadium ever would.

It's just setting up the systems and pathways.

 

[Tom Shines]

Brother, our best junior of all time came from Keebra Park on the Gold Coast.

The stadium we play at makes no difference in my opinion.

If they had an academy out there it would go further to developing and holding onto juniors from the area than playing out of Campbelltown Stadium ever would.

It's just setting up the systems and pathways.

Cousin …if money is coming from the Govt to refurbish CO as Richo himself has requested and Riccio is saying is gunna happen…. Then the team will be committed to be playing games there ..so this will all turn into a pretty moot point

 

[Lestronge]

Brother, our best junior of all time came from Keebra Park on the Gold Coast.

The stadium we play at makes no difference in my opinion.

If they had an academy out there it would go further to developing and holding onto juniors from the area than playing out of Campbelltown Stadium ever would.

It's just setting up the systems and pathways.

I agree . I don’t see why there’s this fascination with the team playing in a stadium in the area that holds its geographical footprint . In Melbourne all teams play out of 2 stadiums . I’m not saying that extreme , but it’s not blasphemy to suggest an alternate stadium . I still don’t understand why there’s not a massive stadium somewhere around Bradfield , or the airport / Liverpool etc. Especially if they’re trying to establish parramatta lite in Bradfield .

 

[Tom Shines]

I agree . I don’t see why there’s this fascination with the team playing in a stadium in the area that holds its geographical footprint . In Melbourne all teams play out of 2 stadiums . I’m not saying that extreme , but it’s not blasphemy to suggest an alternate stadium . I still don’t understand why there’s not a massive stadium somewhere around Bradfield , or the airport / Liverpool etc. Especially if they’re trying to establish parramatta lite in Bradfield .

Well… Richo wants the team to increase its presence in Campbelltown… I think he has also said they will play the majority of games there if the ground is upgraded … is he wrong to think that?

 

[mtd#2]

The issue with cambo ,Leichhardt and all the other areas mentioned in this thread comes down to one thing
Population Density growth
sure cambo and its surrounding areas (including places like Oran park) are growing ,but by single dwelling family homes.not the high density growth that the government looks for

When the government is looking at spending money on new services , they try and look for projects that will improve the lives of the most amount of people possible
This is why areas with high density population gets things first

Cambo and certainly not Leichhardt will never be a high density areas with the likes of say Surry hills or paddington ,so there is no incentive for the government to build or upgrade anything

There is one place within our catchment (or close to it ) that would be perfect for the government to sit up and take notice and it’s not even built yet.


I don’t who we should blame weather it be Richo , Barry O or the muppets at Holman group ,but we should have really gone hard at the government and the NRL to build a new stadium for us at Bradfield.

The plans for Bradfield have recently been released and of course there is no planned stadium there(yet).

it’s such and easy sell .
the government wants Bradfield to be the 3rd major city in NSW behind the CBD and Parra.

It has the space ,it will have the development ,it will eventually have the transport and most importantly it will have high density population.


All we needed to do was to push the narrative that Bradfield won’t be successful without a stadium
and a team to support
(And let’s be honest if they think that sticking a population of a couple hundred thousand people in apartment towers in a new city in the middle of nowhere will be successful without things like a stadium or a team then they are dreaming )

guarantee 11 of our 12 home games be played there (1 retro game per year at leichhardt) and the government would have caved

From a game logistic perspective
It’s right next to a airport so out of town/state teams could literally fly in/out for the game and for the teams like the warriors or the PNG or Perth where fly in fly out may be to strenuous there will be hotels next door

Build a west tigers branded leagues club next to the stadium (owned by wests or whoever) and we become a force like the panthers or the bulldogs

It’s close enough for the cambo fans to travel to regularly
(and when the train link between leppington and Bradfield is announced and completed it will be a breeze)

I fear we have missed our opportunity to really push the narrative for Bradfield to be our new permanent home and had the Leichhardt and cambo upgrades as plan B in case it fell through or was delayed for too long

It still might happen in the next 5-10 years but it’s a harder sell when we have been pushing governments and councils for a hundreds of millions to upgrade a couple of old stadiums now

As someone who lives in the inner west I hate the Bradfield idea... As a Wests tigers Supporter though I love it..

Challenge then is we have built a centre of excellence halfway across the city, so how would we still utilise both facilities?

 

[Lestronge]

Well… Richo wants the team to increase its presence in Campbelltown… I think he has also said they will play the majority of games there if the ground is upgraded … is he wrong to think that?

I think personally it’s the idea that Ctown is the epicentre of Wests JRL. With the expansion out along Camden valley way , and Bradfield being built in our footprint , I honestly think we need to reevaluate that baseline thinking . And rebrand the epicentre of wests JRL , and therefore the “wests” brand as a whole , as somewhere around Bradfield / narrellan . Otherwise we risk serious encroachment from the bulldogs .
I think we have to look at it strategically. .
Even the bulls HQ is at Gregory hills .
And I think Ctown is a shit stadium . It’s cold AF , it has limited covered seating , it’s a wind tunnel , all ambient noise is drowned out and doesn’t carry , so the atmosphere can ebb and flow , mainly ebb … yea . I’ve taken my kids to 6 games there in 2 years , and I really really want it to better , as it’s convenient for myself , but it’s not . It’s atrocious . I don’t think it’s a people issue , but the stadium itself . And I don’t see it being fixed outside of an extremely expensive reengineering of the design , or a cheaper knockdown rebuild .
And if we are knocking down rebuild , I argue , we then should be looking at the idea of whether a stadium literally on the edge of Sydney is the best location. Especially with our areas in footprint , who to be honest are far “sexier” ideas . Like I said before , C town is pretty much the opposite to that …

 

[weststigers]

I don’t see how moving games away completely from Campbelltown is going to keep them at bay,,,

I've said it before. We need to get some real stats around who attends the games at Campbelltown. How many away supporters, how many travel from other areas and how many locals. We've been talking about "growth area" since 2000, yet 25 years on, this "growth" hasn't translated to sell outs.

Here are some stats. Population in greater Sydney in 2000 was around 4 million. Today it's over 5 million. So with this extra 1+ million people, we still don't see the dial move much at Campbelltown.

What is the purpose of pursuing a "growth" area? Is it crowds or is it junior numbers? Personally, I think the crowds will only come in large numbers if you're winning. The juniors, if indeed junior participation has been positively affected by the "growth area", will give us the luxury of a large base to pick from, but without identifying them and intervening by funding their development within an academy, we are simply hoping that their formative years are good enough to get a crack in the rep teams. There's a big difference between playing for Wests Harold Matthews and being nurtured by Wests Tigers within an academy in conjunction with their rep obligations.

I don't think the kids have a connection to the stadium out there...at least in the majority, but we are more likely to make a connection if we can teach them our brand of football from within our own academy.

 

[weststigers]

Cousin …if money is coming from the Govt to refurbish CO as Richo himself has requested and Riccio is saying is gunna happen…. Then the team will be committed to be playing games there ..so this will all turn into a pretty moot point

Sister...despite this funding, it won't make a lick of difference to who will or won't play for us. No kid ever said my dream is to run out onto Campbelltown so I want to play for Wests Tigers. There comes a point where opportunity to play NRL is all that matters.

 

[Lestronge]

I've said it before. We need to get some real stats around who attends the games at Campbelltown. How many away supporters, how many travel from other areas and how many locals. We've been talking about "growth area" since 2000, yet 25 years on, this "growth" hasn't translated to sell outs.

Here are some stats. Population in greater Sydney in 2000 was around 4 million. Today it's over 5 million. So with this extra 1+ million people, we still don't see the dial move much at Campbelltown.

What is the purpose of pursuing a "growth" area? Is it crowds or is it junior numbers? Personally, I think the crowds will only come in large numbers if you're winning. The juniors, if indeed junior participation has been positively affected by the "growth area", will give us the luxury of a large base to pick from, but without identifying them and intervening by funding their development within an academy, we are simply hoping that their formative years are good enough to get a crack in the rep teams. There's a big difference between playing for Wests Harold Matthews and being nurtured by Wests Tigers within an academy in conjunction with their rep obligations.

I don't think the kids have a connection to the stadium out there...at least in the majority, but we are more likely to make a connection if we can teach them our brand of football from within our own academy.

The problem is the growth isn’t actually in Campbelltown . It’s out narrellan way towards Douglas park , to the south east , and towards the new airport to the north west . That’s a 20 min drive to get to lumeah . And there’s no train network connecting there directly . Even if you live Edmonson Park , you have to catch the train back to Liverpool then change to go C town . Thats hardly conducive to idea they’re the same area .

 

[Tom Shines]

I've said it before. We need to get some real stats around who attends the games at Campbelltown. How many away supporters, how many travel from other areas and how many locals. We've been talking about "growth area" since 2000, yet 25 years on, this "growth" hasn't translated to sell outs.

Here are some stats. Population in greater Sydney in 2000 was around 4 million. Today it's over 5 million. So with this extra 1+ million people, we still don't see the dial move much at Campbelltown.

What is the purpose of pursuing a "growth" area? Is it crowds or is it junior numbers? Personally, I think the crowds will only come in large numbers if you're winning. The juniors, if indeed junior participation has been positively affected by the "growth area", will give us the luxury of a large base to pick from, but without identifying them and intervening by funding their development within an academy, we are simply hoping that their formative years are good enough to get a crack in the rep teams. There's a big difference between playing for Wests Harold Matthews and being nurtured by Wests Tigers within an academy in conjunction with their rep obligations.

I don't think the kids have a connection to the stadium out there...at least in the majority, but we are more likely to make a connection if we can teach them our brand of football from within our own academy.

I don’t have these stats either about who is attending games … the numbers are bad , but the results and crappy stadium don’t do much anything to help that I would imagine…

Google AI tells me the population at Campbelltown is expected to increase 36 percent from 2021 to 2045 and these are gunna be in the main young families … I think it would be shortsighted to abandon that area …

Just my opinion of course

 

[Lestronge]

As someone who lives in the inner west I hate the Bradfield idea... As a Wests tigers Supporter though I love it..

Challenge then is we have built a centre of excellence halfway across the city, so how would we still utilise both facilities?

It’s no different to now really . I’m just saying if we have to spend money on a stadium that could and probably will be , a white elephant . Why would we pump it into C town . I don’t get it …. I think the tigers future really is the inner west , and we should lean in hard .
But that pisses a lot of people off . So I’m offering a solution that offers a more inspiring future .

 

[Tom Shines]

The problem is the growth isn’t actually in Campbelltown . It’s out narrellan way towards Douglas park , to the south east , and towards the new airport to the north west . That’s a 20 min drive to get to lumeah . And there’s no train network connecting there directly . Even if you live Edmonson Park , you have to catch the train back to Liverpool then change to go C town . Thats hardly conducive to idea they’re the same area .

These stats indicate significant growth in Campbelltown City over the past 20 years ..with plenty more to come

Estimated Resident Population (ERP) | Campbelltown City Council | Community profile

profile.id.com.au

 

[Lestronge]

These stats indicate significant growth in Campbelltown City over the past 20 years ..with plenty more to come

Estimated Resident Population (ERP) | Campbelltown City Council | Community profile

profile.id.com.au

Where’s that though ? Down toward Appin ? In that Figtree Rise or Heights . I know basically between Rose-meadow and Appin , which used to be farms , will be pretty much estates the whole way .
Thats the big one . Is Narrellan Ctown Council ?

 

[Tom Shines]

Sister...despite this funding, it won't make a lick of difference to who will or won't play for us. No kid ever said my dream is to run out onto Campbelltown so I want to play for Wests Tigers. There comes a point where opportunity to play NRL is all that matters.

Grandma … how many kids have you asked ? .

 

[weststigers]

The problem is the growth isn’t actually in Campbelltown . It’s out narrellan way towards Douglas park , to the south east , and towards the new airport to the north west . That’s a 20 min drive to get to lumeah . And there’s no train network connecting there directly . Even if you live Edmonson Park , you have to catch the train back to Liverpool then change to go C town . Thats hardly conducive to idea they’re the same area .

Why are we the only club that cares about the economic indicators of a state government? Everywhere in Sydney is about an hour drive. Maybe 1.5 hours max. No other club goes on about it like we do and after 25 years it's returned nothing.

I don't think success and population growth in one pocket of Sydney matters that much. An academy out there would matter far more than where the stadium is.

 

[weststigers]

Grandma … how many kids have you asked ? .

None. But I hear many kids say Leichhardt is the 8th wonder. Don't hear the same about Campbelltown...ever. Even you say it's shit.

 

[Tom Shines]

Where’s that though ? Down toward Appin ? In that Figtree Rise or Heights . I know basically between Rose-meadow and Appin , which used to be farms , will be pretty much estates the whole way .
Thats the big one . Is Narrellan Ctown Council ?

you say the growth isn’t in Campbelltown …I show you it is and you still ignore it … how about you google something to prove your point ?