Simonds Stadium (Geelong) - Discussion

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One of the more amazing decisions by the City of Greater Geelong. Upgrade brings the capacity to 36000, up 2500 on the current 33500.
Crowds at this year's games so far :
Freo 23723, GC 20813, Nth 23452, Melb 28007, WB 25041, Bris 21914 & Syd 27910. Adel to go next Sat.

Do we, the residents of Geelong, really need this done? Especially when logic says that with us all acknowledging that "the era" is over and supporter dropoff is inevitable, that the chances of 33500 wanting to get into KP (let alone 36000) are absolutely negligible.

And no, I'm not a Cats fan, but this has nothing to do with my argument. I'm just a lifelong Geelong resident who wants to see my rates payments being spent on things that are needed......eg. grants to local sporting clubs who are crying out for money to be spent on upgrading facilities (just one among a myriad of other things that $6m could be spent on).
 

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Drawing more games, sports and people will see a boost in surrounding economy. To have a chance of getting sport into Geelong in the summer, the more upgrades the better. Besides, the upgrade includes all of the media facilities which are quite dated, as well as the club rooms. Also included are a number of community facilities. I think any positive construction that moves the city further into the future is worth the money, getting the place out of its "lets hang on to the 'glory days' of the mid 20th century" mentality and creating drawing points in its own right. Besides, CoGG have only paid 7-8% of the final cost of the construction? Maybe I'm not the first person who should be commenting on the matter, having been away for quite a while now, but the few positive moves (and change!) that have been made lately (library, Christmas tree, cattery) can only be beneficial for not only the community to enjoy but also for how the city is perceived.
 
Went to KP earlier this month to watch my Lions play

Ground is fine as is IMO, only major change I'd make is putting a roof over Gary Ablett Tce so it doesn't get too cold and windy at night. Capacity IMO is about right (also the big Melbourne clubs should play down there as well). Doing GA Tce and nearby bit to be like Players stand would make it like any other stadium and lose its' character
 
____ said:
Went to KP earlier this month to watch my Lions play

Ground is fine as is IMO, only major change I'd make is putting a roof over Gary Ablett Tce so it doesn't get too cold and windy at night. Capacity IMO is about right (also the big Melbourne clubs should play down there as well). Doing GA Tce and nearby bit to be like Players stand would make it like any other stadium and lose its' character
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A roof over the Ablett Terrace wouldn't make much difference. It would still be exposed to the prevailing southerlies that blow right in your face and thus make it so icy to begin with. Definitely agree about the standing room being retained though, one of the few remaining pieces of tradition in the modern game with its archaic toilets, freezing horizontal rain and cramped conditions.

What needs to happen is the Dogs playing 3-4 home games there per year rather than flogging them off interstate. We'll never play more than 8 home games there, and the closest thing we'll ever get to a "blockbuster" opponent is Richmond and perhaps Hawthorn once they drop off again. The stadium is hideously underutilised for a facility that has had so much money poured into it. Needs to become Victoria's third stadium IMO - revamping Princes Park or constructing a boutique ground from scratch just seems like a massive waste when the effort put into rebuilding KP is considered, not to mention the focus it would place on regional Victoria.
 
Meow said:
A roof over the Ablett Terrace wouldn't make much difference. It would still be exposed to the prevailing southerlies that blow right in your face and thus make it so icy to begin with. Definitely agree about the standing room being retained though, one of the few remaining pieces of tradition in the modern game with its archaic toilets, freezing horizontal rain and cramped conditions.

What needs to happen is the Dogs playing 3-4 home games there per year rather than flogging them off interstate. We'll never play more than 8 home games there, and the closest thing we'll ever get to a "blockbuster" opponent is Richmond and perhaps Hawthorn once they drop off again. The stadium is hideously underutilised for a facility that has had so much money poured into it. Needs to become Victoria's third stadium IMO - revamping Princes Park or constructing a boutique ground from scratch just seems like a massive waste when the effort put into rebuilding KP is considered, not to mention the focus it would place on regional Victoria.
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Agreed - the venue could host 12-15 games a year. NM and WB 3-4 games each against lower-drawing opponents.
A-League continued presence, and 1 or 2 BBL games wouldn't go astray either. Something to keep the turnstiles ticking over in summer.

The argument against using it as Melbourne's 3rd AFL venue is the fact that it's not actually in Melbourne - even the closer Melbourne clubs wouldn't be keen to play Melbourne home games there for that reason; the wouldn't be able to get top-up games for their members when it's only an hour down the road like they do playing further afield, and I doubt they'd get as much money as they do for selling their games interstate either.
 
If the Upgrade occurs and capacity is 36,000 - Then We should get 11 home games every year - If opposition supporters can't get in then big deal Geelong make $750,000 for every home game that is played at KP
 
Son_Of_God29 said:
If the Upgrade occurs and capacity is 36,000 - Then We should get 11 home games every year - If opposition supporters can't get in then big deal Geelong make $750,000 for every home game that is played at KP
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You guys should get your 11 home games because it's sporting integrity...
 
two blue tiger said:
One of the more amazing decisions by the City of Greater Geelong. Upgrade brings the capacity to 36000, up 2500 on the current 33500.
Crowds at this year's games so far :
Freo 23723, GC 20813, Nth 23452, Melb 28007, WB 25041, Bris 21914 & Syd 27910. Adel to go next Sat.

Do we, the residents of Geelong, really need this done? Especially when logic says that with us all acknowledging that "the era" is over and supporter dropoff is inevitable, that the chances of 33500 wanting to get into KP (let alone 36000) are absolutely negligible.

And no, I'm not a Cats fan, but this has nothing to do with my argument. I'm just a lifelong Geelong resident who wants to see my rates payments being spent on things that are needed......eg. grants to local sporting clubs who are crying out for money to be spent on upgrading facilities (just one among a myriad of other things that $6m could be spent on).
Click to expand...
It could easily be filled if games were scheduled to accommodate more and tickets were priced appropriately.
 
two blue tiger said:
One of the more amazing decisions by the City of Greater Geelong. Upgrade brings the capacity to 36000, up 2500 on the current 33500.
Crowds at this year's games so far :
Freo 23723, GC 20813, Nth 23452, Melb 28007, WB 25041, Bris 21914 & Syd 27910. Adel to go next Sat.

Do we, the residents of Geelong, really need this done? Especially when logic says that with us all acknowledging that "the era" is over and supporter dropoff is inevitable, that the chances of 33500 wanting to get into KP (let alone 36000) are absolutely negligible.

And no, I'm not a Cats fan, but this has nothing to do with my argument. I'm just a lifelong Geelong resident who wants to see my rates payments being spent on things that are needed......eg. grants to local sporting clubs who are crying out for money to be spent on upgrading facilities (just one among a myriad of other things that $6m could be spent on).
Click to expand...
So like the Geelong Football Club who want money to be spent on upgrading their facilities?
 

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SJ said:
It could easily be filled if games were scheduled to accommodate more and tickets were priced appropriately.
Click to expand...
i think it also may come down to the Cats Season ticket holders, similar to the WCE at Domain stadium & Essendon at Etihad, a sell out (all tickets avaliable) is never near the capacity of the actual
 
I never knew the attendances were slipping that much, or they weren't even pushing 30,000 this year, but then again I'm not entirely surprised. I've been to three or four Freo games down there and the one this season was very glum. It was a bit like watching the Cats and Dockers at a depleted G or quarter filled Etihad. It's supposed to be this feral, parochial crowd (and it very well was for the three other games) whereas it was just boring this season.

Geelong have about four years of 'pain.' Doubt they'll be doing much in the finals and I guess that's the grand plan, and it won't be surprising to see them sit at about 17-22,000 for most games there until then.

Certainly upgrade the media facilities and the club rooms, but the Ablett Terrace is almost so s**t it's awesome. As someone who really only caught the odd end of the suburban era, it's always something to look forward to: the V-Line down, the absolutely freezing weather, the terrace, the genuine outsider mentality oppo fans have, those trough toilets... it hasn't changed since the 70s or 80s and it really is the last remaining nod to those days. As said above, you'd lose the ground's personality and the AFL in Victoria would lose some romance if you tore that end down. It's not needed, and personally, it's not wanted.
 
Silent Alarm said:
... but the Ablett Terrace is almost so s**t it's awesome. As someone who really only caught the odd end of the suburban era, it's always something to look forward to: the V-Line down, the absolutely freezing weather, the terrace, the genuine outsider mentality oppo fans have, those trough toilets... it hasn't changed since the 70s or 80s and it really is the last remaining nod to those days. As said above, you'd lose the ground's personality and the AFL in Victoria would lose some romance if you tore that end down. It's not needed, and personally, it's not wanted.
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Yep it's fantastic. All the basic amenity and of course safety is there. No need to make it fancy and destroy all character.
 
hitthepost said:
Agreed - the venue could host 12-15 games a year. NM and WB 3-4 games each against lower-drawing opponents.
A-League continued presence, and 1 or 2 BBL games wouldn't go astray either. Something to keep the turnstiles ticking over in summer.

The argument against using it as Melbourne's 3rd AFL venue is the fact that it's not actually in Melbourne - even the closer Melbourne clubs wouldn't be keen to play Melbourne home games there for that reason; the wouldn't be able to get top-up games for their members when it's only an hour down the road like they do playing further afield, and I doubt they'd get as much money as they do for selling their games interstate either.
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KP would be closer for the majority of WB and North supporters than Waverley ever was, and it didn't stop the AFL from scheduling a couple of home games per year there for both teams.

I'm not sure the novelty would last long for either team though. Much like Fitzroy playing at Vic Park, logically the stadium might be perfect but when it's pretty much a shine to another team like Vic Park and KP are then it's very hard to get your fans enthused about playing there. They'd both probably be better off playing in Ballarat tbh.
 
Silent Alarm said:
I never knew the attendances were slipping that much, or they weren't even pushing 30,000 this year, but then again I'm not entirely surprised. I've been to three or four Freo games down there and the one this season was very glum. It was a bit like watching the Cats and Dockers at a depleted G or quarter filled Etihad. It's supposed to be this feral, parochial crowd (and it very well was for the three other games) whereas it was just boring this season.

Geelong have about four years of 'pain.' Doubt they'll be doing much in the finals and I guess that's the grand plan, and it won't be surprising to see them sit at about 17-22,000 for most games there until then.

Certainly upgrade the media facilities and the club rooms, but the Ablett Terrace is almost so s**t it's awesome. As someone who really only caught the odd end of the suburban era, it's always something to look forward to: the V-Line down, the absolutely freezing weather, the terrace, the genuine outsider mentality oppo fans have, those trough toilets... it hasn't changed since the 70s or 80s and it really is the last remaining nod to those days. As said above, you'd lose the ground's personality and the AFL in Victoria would lose some romance if you tore that end down. It's not needed, and personally, it's not wanted.
Click to expand...
Attendances aren't really slipping, they just really haven't risen that much to meet the expanded capacities.

But I put this down to form dropping away (of course), but also very much down to the new age of football where television viewers are explicitly prioritized over football attendees.

Combine games now all over the place at all sorts of times, with more people having access to better TV screens and live coverage, and you're literally asking for more meagre attendances.
 
SJ said:
Attendances aren't really slipping, they just really haven't risen that much to meet the expanded capacities.

But I put this down to form dropping away (of course), but also very much down to the new age of football where television viewers are explicitly prioritized over football attendees.

Combine games now all over the place at all sorts of times, with more people having access to better TV screens and live coverage, and you're literally asking for more meagre attendances.
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When I went there last month the first thing that came to mind is that it is shocking that they actually play 7.20/7.40pm night games there in the middle of winter...
 
hitthepost said:
But really, it's a winter sport...
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I'm from Queensland so I'm not used to that level of coldness. KP IMO should predominately be used for afternoon and twilight games.
 
____ said:
I'm from Queensland so I'm not used to that level of coldness. KP IMO should predominately be used for afternoon and twilight games.
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KP should be used for Geelong games. Everybody plays a number of home games at night, why shouldn't some of these be played at KP? Check the weather forecast before you go and pack your thermals. AAMI was freezing at night to. I found Etihad freezing as balls during the day even.
 
____ said:
I'm from Queensland so I'm not used to that level of coldness. KP IMO should predominately be used for afternoon and twilight games.
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Even more reason to play night games there if the other team isn't acclimated to it :)

But tbh certain sections of the G (generally top level near the gaps between the stands on either end of the Great Southern Stand) can be absolutely bone chilling too. I was sitting in such a spot at last fridays match and it was colder then any non-raining KP match I can remember, which admittedly wasn't helped by the 8 or so beers I had at the match in an effort to help erase it from my memory :oops:
 
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