Can someone explain Leichhardt to me?

P

pHyR3

New member
So, I've been to Leichhardt tonnes of times; last time was vs the roosters. knew i shouldnt have gone… and I absolutely LOVE the atmosphere. Went to a game at SFS or ANZ i think, horrible 15k in a 40k stadium. However, the facilities left a lot to be desired at leich; toilets and food mostly. Also, the hill is hard to see from unless you've secured a spot very early.

The AFL seemed to have moved from these types of venues to stadiums in the last 5-10 years with positive results. I understand the reluctance to move in terms of heritage and the like but how does the atmosphere compared in a PACKED ANZ compared to Leichhardt? Never been since that only happens in the finals and SOO which are too expensive for me.

With the rise of soccer in Sydney it seems that NRL needs to expand to Perth and maybe one other team (Brisbane or NSydney/Central Coast) as well as move (slowly!) from these local venues to stadiums to encourage better crowds. Dont get me wrong, I love leichhardt and cambo but I feel like the NRL needs to keep up with comps like the AFL and even NFL in the states.

Just my opinion, I understand if I get a lotta hate from the true diehards who have been brought up at leichhardt. that's all fine; i love the tigs as much as you! :sign: just trying to discuss and see how we can improve the greatest game of all! :master:
 
i love leichhardt but feel exactly the same as you. It is not a good viewing ground for most of the crowd and getting a beer or going to the toilet is a pain in the ar5e.
A couple times a year, is good, if I go to all 4 it is prob the most I can cop, I love the atmosphere and the nostalgia but i feel the time of the suburban ground is coming to an end
I know right now Leichhardt is a bit of a media darling and trendy, but it wasn't that long ago it was considered a hole and a relic and Balmain even stopped playing there.
The atomsphere at a packed SFS is outstansing, but the problem is, rarely to you fill an SFS or ANZ. The crowd for both semies against St George had the best atomsphere of any game ive been too
 
in nrl most of the action happens around the ball / ruck. in afl there is a lot of movement all over the park. this means that to appreciate the game more you really need to be at the game. league is great for tv because you really can see when the opposistion has there hand on the ball for an example. ofcourse being at the game is great to but I must admit that I still find myself looking looking at the big screen a lot.

im not 100% sure but I imagine nrl has more viewers on tv. I think this is also ehy we could never sell out sfs on a regular basis. Add to that melbourians would also by tickets to see a fat kid eat a cupcake, which is why melb usually has good crowds despite not the overly strong supporter base.
 
Yeah, NRL does. I remember reading even per match it beat AFL, and no question when it comes to SOO.
 
maybe we should start selling out these smaller grounds on a continual basis before we start toying with the idea of moving to stadiums of 40-80 thousand people.

the fear of other codes taking over should not influence us. we should make sure every game is electric, not play infront of half assed crowds week in week out.
 
Admittedly, I haven't been to the last few games at LO. I was also brought up there but it is just not up to scratch anymore.
I wanted ticketed membership but that wasn't an option as there weren't enough reserved seats to go around.
I simply do not want to sit or stand on the hill for the whole match with my family so if I want a fair seat on the hill side then I need to get there 2 hours early and sit in the sun and fend off everyone else.
The facilities are shabby but nostalgic. Sadly IMO, the romance of the ground doesn't make up for its deficiencies.
Yes, it is a great atmosphere but I would rather have a small stadium (like Cambo or Parra).
The reality for me is that until LO is upgraded with adequate seating and facilities around the majority of the ground it is just too trying for a young family like mine to regularly get to games.
 
@bigsiro said:
Admittedly, I haven't been to the last few games at LO. I was also brought up there but it is just not up to scratch anymore.
I wanted ticketed membership but that wasn't an option as there weren't enough reserved seats to go around.
I simply do not want to sit or stand on the hill for the whole match with my family so if I want a fair seat on the hill side then I need to get there 2 hours early and sit in the sun and fend off everyone else.
The facilities are shabby but nostalgic. Sadly IMO, the romance of the ground doesn't make up for its deficiencies.
Yes, it is a great atmosphere but I would rather have a small stadium (like Cambo or Parra).
The reality for me is that until LO is upgraded with adequate seating and facilities around the majority of the ground it is just too trying for a young family like mine to regularly get to games.
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Well actually now the area where there used to be benches on the hill side of the stadium is now reserved seating. So you shouldn't have a problem reserving a seat. There were heaps left at the Parra game…
 
If you have a family it's great with good seats. The experience slides with the quality of the seats though… I'm glad my young family got to enjoy it with good seats that were available before being linked to memberships. As an out-of-towner securing such seats for a season is not an option.

Without a family if you don't mind standing it's still a great venue to have a beer and a cheer.
 
I went to the Heritage Round game yesterday, and to be fair it's not really a league venue, so I won't be too critical of the view I got of the match, or lack thereof. What I loathed was being govt school issue plastic chair between two fat blokes for the duration. It was like an economy class flight without the holiday at the end. I'll keep sitting on the hill for as long as I can.
 
It is interesting that the AFL is about to move back to 'boutique' grounds, contemplating renovating one or both of Princes Park, Carlton's old home ground, and Punt Road, the Tigers old home, or having a 20,000 stadium built elsewhere.

The AFL has realised the benefits in playing smaller drawing games at such venues and we should not be too quick to throw away what we currently have. 15,000 - 20,000 in the mcg or homebush just has no atmosphere at all.

The league should really have a good think about it and come up with a long term stadium strategy - whatever that may be, and push govt etc to help realise it. the afl is light years ahead of us in being able to lobby govt's to invest in facilities for them (think, Blacktown and redevloped showground at Homebush, for example).
 
WT get paid to play at SFS like souths and bulldogs get paid to play at ANZ homebush. $$$ vs Tradition.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_
 
I know it's weird but I don't go to the footy for the facilities, I go for the game….

And for watching footy there is NO place I would rather be.

Leichhardt Oval....long may she reign!
 
Leichhardt Oval has a limited life span left. State Gov will no longer fund ground upgrades. Although it could still physically hold a nrl game, nrl standards may force WT to leave LO and play SFS. Campbelltown is more modern compared to LO and the area has a chance of a new 'super stadium' in the future compared to Balmain area getting one.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_
 
@Lovemytigers said:
I know it's weird but I don't go to the footy for the facilities, I go for the game….

And for watching footy there is NO place I would rather be.

Leichhardt Oval....long may she reign!
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I don't think anyone does. "Let's go to the footy this weekend mate!" "yeahhh, can't wait to use those leichhardt toilets and dont even _try_ to stop me buying those $7 beers!" :roll

The facilities are a downside to an otherwise great atmosphere
 
@AmericanHistoryX said:
I'm a die hard Maggie- please dont stone me - but I wouldnt mind if every home match was at Leichhardt Oval.
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amen to that ahx …. every season there is always the same complaints about how many home venues the tigers have. its the closeness of the fans to the field that intimidates opposition teams ( and refs ) at leichardt. without doubt the tigers would make the eight every season playing home games at leichardt.
 
Wierd I'm a former balmain fan and Leichhardt just isn't up to scratch. You may not attend a game because of the facilities but plenty defiantly won't attend because of bad facilities especially night games. Hard to get too, poor toilets, uncomfortable seating , lack of a good big screen ( anyone at the SCG saw how good a great big screen is). I still attend at Leichhardt but the problem is my mrs ( and my mates) won't come because its unpleasant and we wouldn't drag the kids their due to transport and comfort. I think they need to move all rugby league games to bigger and better stadiums and work towards improving crowds over time with better facilities, better food, better drink prices, etc
 
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