An end to upgrade grants could force issue on stadiums stale

[Gary_Bakerloo]

**An end to upgrade grants could force issue on stadiums stalemate**

A STATE government report is expected to spell the end of financial upgrades to Sydney's battling suburban grounds and bring the NRL a step closer to the AFL's controversial two-stadium format.

NSW Sports Minister Graham Annesley said the state government could not force clubs to shift from their traditional home games. But he stressed that in the current economic climate clubs may not be assured of multi-million dollar grants for stadium upgrades.

The Daily Telegraph understands the report will recommend the government focus on three or four Sydney stadiums in strategic metropolitan and regional locations.

A source claims the strategy would lead to calls for Sydney clubs to shift up to four of their biggest games each season to Moore Park or Homebush.

St George Illawarra and Manly will be pressured to take their premier matches away from Kogarah and Brookvale. Shifting matches to the 30,000-seat Allianz Stadium could reap clubs between $400,000 and $500,000 a game.

State government sources claim there isn't enough money to build and maintain a string of 20,000- to 30,000-seat stadiums throughout Sydney. The state government will next month receive a KPMG Stadia Strategy document that will reveal the priorities for future investment.

"The purpose of the report is to provide government with a road map to guide future government investment, as and when it becomes available," Annesley said.

WIN Kogarah, Centrebet Stadium and Toyota Stadium have received government funding in recent years. Suburban grounds may still receive small grants to upgrade facilities.

But the government does not believe it can justify up to six or seven multi-million dollar stadiums around Sydney, especially when they are only used up to 12 times a year and require weekly up-keep. The AFL plays most of its games out of the MCG or Etihad Stadium. But Sydney fans want sides to keep playing at suburban grounds.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/an-end-to-upgrade-grants-could-force-issue-on-stadiums-stalemate/story-e6frexnr-1226345223068

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Convenient that article seemed to forget the millions of dollars that a certain Federal Liberal leader & State ALP Leader poured into OKI Jubilee? Wonder why that happened, don't think that the fact that both of them were Dragons fans had any basis on the decision did it? And Leichhardt is hard up getting funding just to upgrade toilet blocks…

Anyway, I agree that if teams are outgrowing the stadiums they must move away from the suburban grounds. There will come a day in the not too distant future where WT will regularly turn away fans from LO and CSS and will need to move to a bigger stadium, most likely that toilet in Homebush. Instead of providing funding for the boutique grounds, how about building a second 50,000 seater rectangle stadium to cater for the West.

St George, Manly, Cronulla, Easts & Souths can all use Moore Park, and Penriff, WT, Canterbury and Parramatta can use a second stadium.

 

[Kul]

There is a huge, fundamental difference between the AFL setup in Melbourne and Sydney and that is accessibility.

The MCG and Etihad stadium are located in the centre of the city and have extensive connections to public transport. Be it catching a tram or train from the burbs or walking from officer towers in CBD after work to a Friday night game, high quality public transport infrastructure helps justify the move to these big stadiums.

This is so far from reality in Sydney. Homebush is geographically well placed but very isolated, meaning lots of cars as people drive to games. Public transport there is horrible. Catch a train from anywhere in Sydney and you have to change a couple of times, then walk for a k or more. Moore Park is more accessible for PT and walking, yet access is still poor for those having to travel greater distances.

 

[Gary_Bakerloo]

There is a huge, fundamental difference between the AFL setup in Melbourne and Sydney and that is accessibility.

The MCG and Etihad stadium are located in the centre of the city and have extensive connections to public transport. Be it catching a tram or train from the burbs or walking from officer towers in CBD after work to a Friday night game, high quality public transport infrastructure helps justify the move to these big stadiums.

This is so far from reality in Sydney. Homebush is geographically well placed but very isolated, meaning lots of cars as people drive to games. Public transport there is horrible. Catch a train from anywhere in Sydney and you have to change a couple of times, then walk for a k or more. Moore Park is more accessible for PT and walking, yet access is still poor for those having to travel greater distances.

I think this is a cop out excuse for clubs whose fans won't enter the 21st century (eg: Manly). Whenever Melbourne and the AFL comes up, the excuse is always, "Melbourne is different." I think that is rubbish - if you have a strong following, your fans will watch you anywhere so long as the product provides value for money.

Look at the problem from this perspective:

As a parent of small children, I sure as hell would not take them to a packed Leichhardt Oval. Public transport is a nightmare which means I have to drive and park miles away. I then have to stand on a hill and my kids see nothing, not to add the risk of them being knocked around by other spectators (by accident of course). Much prefer the comforts of a modern stadium, no matter where it is located in Sydney.

How many other people feel the same? Are there parents who refuse to take their families to grounds that are clearly unsuitable for the game? The Premier League and the decisions they made in the late 80's show that if you build the facilities with comfort, more consumers will walk through the gate.

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Blacktown would be an ideal spot for a Western Sydney sports stadium. On direct lines to Penriff, Campbelltown and Parramatta/Inner West, they could run Bankstown lines direct to Blacktown.

There comes a time where the game has to choose between whether it wants to be considered a bona fide professional sport like the AFL or many other major sporting leagues across the planet, or does it to want to recede into a parochial, traditional mindset where it will inhibit the growth of the game, and spectators would rather spend the money on Foxtel and watch every game from the comfort of their own chair.

 

[Yossarian]

:roll :roll :roll :roll

Ah nice work - remember these guys and Annesley in particular were suppose to be good for RL in this state!!!!

 

[cktiger]

Blacktown would be an ideal spot for a Western Sydney sports stadium. On direct lines to Penriff, Campbelltown and Parramatta/Inner West, they could run Bankstown lines direct to Blacktown.

There comes a time where the game has to choose between whether it wants to be considered a bona fide professional sport like the AFL or many other major sporting leagues across the planet, or does it to want to recede into a parochial, traditional mindset where it will inhibit the growth of the game, and spectators would rather spend the money on Foxtel and watch every game from the comfort of their own chair.

Think you'll find the government will say Homebush is close enough for Wests , Parra , Penrith and Canterbury and won't want to spend any more loot on a new stadium , CB
Although everybody hates it there's nothing to stop them doing something to improve it.
They located the thing centrally but forgot to account for simple ways to get there (unless it's something like the Easter Show and there's buses to and from anywhere to supplement the long train trips).
They also forgot there's not going to be 90,000 people there every game and to find a way to utilise the seating better.
I read not long ago they were thinking of building a retractable roof over it - if this was done they would have to look at other ways to improve it's usefullness.

 

[Gary_Bakerloo]

Blacktown would be an ideal spot for a Western Sydney sports stadium. On direct lines to Penriff, Campbelltown and Parramatta/Inner West, they could run Bankstown lines direct to Blacktown.

There comes a time where the game has to choose between whether it wants to be considered a bona fide professional sport like the AFL or many other major sporting leagues across the planet, or does it to want to recede into a parochial, traditional mindset where it will inhibit the growth of the game, and spectators would rather spend the money on Foxtel and watch every game from the comfort of their own chair.

Is there already a stadium at Blacktown?

Only reason I am asking is because if they want 4 grounds that hold 40,000+, I can't see a government building one from scratch. Expand an existing stadium: Parramatta would be a certainty and then it would be a choice of Penrith, Campbelltown, Kogarah or Cronulla.

Not forgetting that in 10-20 years time, we could move to 6 grounds and expand Wollongong and Gosford.

 

[underdog]

There is a huge, fundamental difference between the AFL setup in Melbourne and Sydney and that is accessibility.

The MCG and Etihad stadium are located in the centre of the city and have extensive connections to public transport. Be it catching a tram or train from the burbs or walking from officer towers in CBD after work to a Friday night game, high quality public transport infrastructure helps justify the move to these big stadiums.

This is so far from reality in Sydney. Homebush is geographically well placed but very isolated, meaning lots of cars as people drive to games. Public transport there is horrible. Catch a train from anywhere in Sydney and you have to change a couple of times, then walk for a k or more. Moore Park is more accessible for PT and walking, yet access is still poor for those having to travel greater distances.

I think this is a cop out excuse for clubs whose fans won't enter the 21st century (eg: Manly). Whenever Melbourne and the AFL comes up, the excuse is always, "Melbourne is different." I think that is rubbish - if you have a strong following, your fans will watch you anywhere so long as the product provides value for money.

Look at the problem from this perspective:

**As a parent of small children, I sure as hell would not take them to a packed Leichhardt Oval. Public transport is a nightmare which means I have to drive and park miles away. I then have to stand on a hill and my kids see nothing, not to add the risk of them being knocked around by other spectators (by accident of course). Much prefer the comforts of a modern stadium, no matter where it is located in Sydney.**

How many other people feel the same? Are there parents who refuse to take their families to grounds that are clearly unsuitable for the game? The Premier League and the decisions they made in the late 80's show that if you build the facilities with comfort, more consumers will walk through the gate.

It's the only reason I won't drag the tribe to a game at Leichhardt. A 5 year old and a 2.5 year old girl fidget and get bored at a good stadium with clean amenities, comfy seats and plenty of parking, let alone the more "casual" atomsphere of Leichhardt.

 

[Knuckles]

For me, I believe the traditional grounds must be retained. When my father used to take me to Lidcombe Oval when the Magpies were going well, it was pretty rough and tough there as well. He used to be up the back and Iwas either on the bike track or down the front fence where you could see through the barbed wire. Great days and great memories.

I don't really care for local ground upgrades. I'm happy with the way they are. Has there been a game yet this season where fans have been turned away ? We're Rugby League people … We're used to roughing it, we like roughing , we feel comfortable roughing it .... Well, at least this ex-magpie does anyway !

 

[Jazza]

There will come a time where clubs will have to make a decision on whether to move or not. Especially now with so much on focus on memberships, before we know it clubs will have over 20 000 members and it will be difficult to fit fans into the traditional grounds.

It took a while for the AFL to adjust as well, sure the the Melbourne teams lose home ground advantage when they play each other, but it even itself out when the return fixture is played. It is now just a normal part of playing AFL now.

I think the growth of the game could be inhibited. I was watching on fox sports a game from 1991 between Penrith and Newcastle (It must be remembered, an out of town team) at Penrith and the crowd was huge. Same when they showed a match between Manly and Canberra at Brookvale, there was 21 000 people there. Yet here we are just over 20 years later and we still struggle at times to better those crowds. If some of those clubs had of taken the steps back then, then they might be getting 30 000 people per game now.

 

[900large]

I believe that when stadium Australia was being funded and built (it is privately owned) the conditions surrounding its 600 million+ construction cost was that no stadium within 200 km would be allowed to be built or upgraded to have capacities greater than 30,000\. This removed the option of relocating the 2 10000 seat northern and southern grandstands to other venues. Originally one was meant to go to parra and the other to brookie till Stadium Aust stepped inane canned the idea.
\
\
_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_