Adelaide Oval - Discussion

[Redline]

Hindmarsh Stadium has no room to increase its capacity. It been looked at numerous times over the last 20 years and every time a different engineering company says the same thing. If we want a 20,000 plus rectangular stadium then we will have to build a new one somewhere.

 

[le dominateur]

The official State Government forecast is a debt of $8.8 Billion by 2017, hard to see them forking out $300-400M for a new rectangle stadium anytime soon.

 

[The_Wookie]

Okay, I was at the match at Adelaide oval too and I have to say the views were substandard, extremely far from the pitch and you were either low and couldn't see much or high and too far away. And forget about watching the match behind the goals, you are nearly 40 metres away from the touchline. Football in Australia is a summer sport and will never have a good surface there with the cricket pitch in the middle, it's a huge safety issue for players. The AFL complain all the time about the pitch at the Gabba, why on earth would footballers want to volunteer to play on one?

You need to listen to people who watch football in Melbourne then, the Etihad is horrible unless the stands are in, and the MCG is without a doubt the worst stadium in the country to watch rectangular sports. Victory fans began boycotting the Etihad to the point where they finally agreed to bring the stands in to make it half acceptable. Adelaide Oval is better than the melbourne grounds in oval mode agreed but it is still pretty pathetic. To be honest anyone who goes to see football at Adelaide Oval may very well be put off by how difficult it is to watch from the stands at the ground.

Adelaide Oval is the best stadium in Australia, without a doubt, but only for cricket and AFL. For someone who has seen the Adelaide Oval expereince surely you could see that if United played out of a more comfortable stadium then attendances would increas as was the case when the AFL switched from Footy Park to the city. I know quite a few people who flat out refuse to go to Hindmarsh for day matches because there is no shade. Hindmarsh is in an okay location, it just needs an extra 6 000 seats and a shade cloth, the club and fans aren't asking for $300m for a new ground, just an upgrade so club games and possible small drawing nationa games dont need to be played at Adelaide Oval.

We hear about the distance issues all the time, but the fact is theres a lot of football played inside of athletics tracks in europe and elsewhere with audiences that would be just as far from the action and they manage just fine.

The fact is Governments dont have the money - especially in SA - to throw at special stadiums for special sports, and as a taxpayer, i expect the best value for money out of stadiums I help pay for. Adelaide Oval is perfectly located, and can fit all sports on it, and should do so.

 

[aCunningPlan]

We hear about the distance issues all the time, but the fact is theres a lot of football played inside of athletics tracks in europe and elsewhere with audiences that would be just as far from the action and they manage just fine.

The fact is Governments dont have the money - especially in SA - to throw at special stadiums for special sports, and as a taxpayer, i expect the best value for money out of stadiums I help pay for. Adelaide Oval is perfectly located, and can fit all sports on it, and should do so.

On the wing at Adelaide Oval where the best seats at the ground should be, you are a full 10 metres further from the pitch than Olympiastadion in Berlin, and even then the first row is a meter and a half off the ground so you can see over the advertising. Can't compare the two.

 

[hitthepost]

According to the ICC world cup cricket magazine the adelaide oval capacity is approx 47 500

For Cricket, it is. That's what they said at Strikers games etc with sight-screens and staging.

 

[hitthepost]

On the wing at Adelaide Oval where the best seats at the ground should be, you are a full 10 metres further from the pitch than Olympiastadion in Berlin, and even then the first row is a meter and a half off the ground so you can see over the advertising. Can't compare the two.

You just did

 

[LFC2010]

AO is now almost finished (since the finance review is almost complete) and we all know there is the option of developing the hill should in 10yrs extra seats be needed.

What the SA Government now need to do is get rid of the s**t 'stadium' in Hindmarsh, and build something new, that has similar design features to AO across the road (where the Uni grounds are) to keep SA Sports in the one area. A nice state of the art 30k boutique stadium for the Reds to play at, and to help attract NRL, Super 14, NFL, International matches to. Obviously the stadium would need to be designed so for a normal reds game capacity is reduced, but also built in a way to easily expand the stadium to 50k or so should Aus host a world cup of sorts. Lets build a sports precinct to rival the best in the country.

Get rid of Bonython Park and build a new multi purpose Basketball/Netball stadium and have a 30-35k Football stadium next too it IMO.

Seriously what attracts people to that place apart from when musical festivals are on or the circus?

the festivals and circus' can always be moved to other area's of the parklands.

 

[The_Wookie]

Get rid of Bonython Park and build a new multi purpose Basketball/Netball stadium and have a 30-35k Football stadium next too it IMO.

Seriously what attracts people to that place apart from when musical festivals are on or the circus?

the festivals and circus' can always be moved to other area's of the parklands.

They should have done this at Memorial Drive as part of the Stadium precinct build. Rod Laver Arena (The tennis centre in melbourne) has hosted basketball in the past, would have given it all year round use. Then they could have sold off ETSA Park or whatever its called too.

 

[hitthepost]

They should have done this at Memorial Drive as part of the Stadium precinct build. Rod Laver Arena (The tennis centre in melbourne) has hosted basketball in the past, would have given it all year round use. Then they could have sold off ETSA Park or whatever its called too.

The two facilities (AO and MD) are on a very small footprint. Any upgrade to MD would not have room to increase the footprint of the facility to turn it into a building similar to RLA. Plus then imagine the mess of having an event at both venues at once, or having to constantly negotiate which venue gets to be operating on which day. Enough fun when two of the MCG/AAMI Park/RLA get used at the same time!

 

[The_Wookie]

The two facilities (AO and MD) are on a very small footprint. Any upgrade to MD would not have room to increase the footprint of the facility to turn it into a building similar to RLA. Plus then imagine the mess of having an event at both venues at once, or having to constantly negotiate which venue gets to be operating on which day. Enough fun when two of the MCG/AAMI Park/RLA get used at the same time!

Conflicts wouldnt be anywhere near as bad aas they are at the MCG/RLA/Aami Park/other venues in the area.

Scheduling problems would be almost non existent and certainly not insumountable.

Aami Park is home to a a NRL club, 2 Aleague clubs and a SuperRugby club. Adelaide has a single Aleague club. We have at most one AFL game a weekend, where the MCG hosts two.

Memorial drive is pathetically underutilised for what should be a premier sporting facility, and essentially an eyesore in the oval precinct since the redevelopment.

 

[Rob]

Where's the push coming from to expand Hindmarsh? Looking from the outside, it seems to be a pretty appropriate size given it's got just the 1 tenant and they rarely fill it.

 

[Dirty Bird]

The two facilities (AO and MD) are on a very small footprint. Any upgrade to MD would not have room to increase the footprint of the facility to turn it into a building similar to RLA. Plus then imagine the mess of having an event at both venues at once, or having to constantly negotiate which venue gets to be operating on which day. Enough fun when two of the MCG/AAMI Park/RLA get used at the same time!

Would this really be a big issue?
When I was in Atlanta for Labor Day, The Georgia Dome had 35k for a football game, while Phillips arena 300 meters away had 15k for an Aerosmith concert.
Maybe not at the scale we'd get if Adelaide Oval sold out, but still close proximity and the like.

 

[Hank93]

They should have done this at Memorial Drive as part of the Stadium precinct build. Rod Laver Arena (The tennis centre in melbourne) has hosted basketball in the past, would have given it all year round use. Then they could have sold off ETSA Park or whatever its called too.

Conflicts wouldnt be anywhere near as bad aas they are at the MCG/RLA/Aami Park/other venues in the area.

Scheduling problems would be almost non existent and certainly not insumountable.

Aami Park is home to a a NRL club, 2 Aleague clubs and a SuperRugby club. Adelaide has a single Aleague club. We have at most one AFL game a weekend, where the MCG hosts two.

Memorial drive is pathetically underutilised for what should be a premier sporting facility, and essentially an eyesore in the oval precinct since the redevelopment.

What are the prospects of Next Generation selling their business or being bought out of that precinct?

Cause none of the current plans seem viable to me with next gen still currently residing there.

 

[Kwality]

The two facilities (AO and MD) are on a very small footprint. Any upgrade to MD would not have room to increase the footprint of the facility to turn it into a building similar to RLA. Plus then imagine the mess of having an event at both venues at once, or having to constantly negotiate which venue gets to be operating on which day. Enough fun when two of the MCG/AAMI Park/RLA get used at the same time!

As a regular at the NRL on Anzac Day, I can tell you its not a problem, lots of people, park at a friends (Storm fan) & a group of us tram it.

 

[Justinpa1]

All you need to do is get rid of Memorial Drive and Next generation Gym and you will have enough room to build a multi purpose indoor stadium next to Adelaide Oval's Southern plaza.

The most important thing is to NOT MAKE IT TOO BIG! Adelaide does not need an Indoor stadium bigger than 12000 seats. The tenants that would play there will not get crowds bigger than this.

We do not need an 18000 seat stadium that will not be filled. Look at Sydney they never fill Acer Arena.

The key tenants will be -
Adelaide 36ers - avg about 5000 per game, up to 7000 (capacity of Adelaide Arena). If tickets are priced cheaply for families they could get crowds like Perth Wildcats - who went from 4000 to 13000 Perth Arena, & sell out every game.

Adelaide Thunderbirds (Netball) - get close to 3000 per game at own facility built by govt on govt land. Could get 6000 - 8000 per game if marketed properly, like Vixens do, & have sold out Entertainment Centre for Grand Finals (9500).

Tennis - Try and get a decent tournament similar to what Brisbane stole off them 6-7 years ago. Would only need to use facility 2 weeks each year.

If this facility gets up it would be great for SA & the precinct. People would do what they did during footy and cricket season, leave car at home and use public transport.

State Govt could easily sell off Netball Stadium to fund part of the new stadium.

 

[LFC2010]

All you need to do is get rid of Memorial Drive and Next generation Gym and you will have enough room to build a multi purpose indoor stadium next to Adelaide Oval's Southern plaza.

The most important thing is to NOT MAKE IT TOO BIG! Adelaide does not need an Indoor stadium bigger than 12000 seats. The tenants that would play there will not get crowds bigger than this.

We do not need an 18000 seat stadium that will not be filled. Look at Sydney they never fill Acer Arena.

The key tenants will be -
Adelaide 36ers - avg about 5000 per game, up to 7000 (capacity of Adelaide Arena). If tickets are priced cheaply for families they could get crowds like Perth Wildcats - who went from 4000 to 13000 Perth Arena, & sell out every game.

Adelaide Thunderbirds (Netball) - get close to 3000 per game at own facility built by govt on govt land. Could get 6000 - 8000 per game if marketed properly, like Vixens do, & have sold out Entertainment Centre for Grand Finals (9500).

Tennis - Try and get a decent tournament similar to what Brisbane stole off them 6-7 years ago. Would only need to use facility 2 weeks each year.

If this facility gets up it would be great for SA & the precinct. People would do what they did during footy and cricket season, leave car at home and use public transport.

State Govt could easily sell off Netball Stadium to fund part of the new stadium.

Yep, would love to attend the basketball more, but the current location makes it near impossible without transport. A City based stadium would be an absolute winner. Maybe in 5-10 years this could happen.

 

[Justinpa1]

Yep, would love to attend the basketball more, but the current location makes it near impossible without transport. A City based stadium would be an absolute winner. Maybe in 5-10 years this could happen.

Me Too.

Would definitely go to see the 36ers if it was easier and more Central.

I reckon the whole indoor stadium would be fast tracked if we win the Commonwealth Games bid for 2026 or 2030.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

As a regular at the NRL on Anzac Day, I can tell you its not a problem, lots of people, park at a friends (Storm fan) & a group of us tram it.

Generally, the nrl and afl will schedule the games so they don't clash

The odd time they do, it's an absolute nightmare, worse than normal

 

[JD Tomahawk]

no use saying if a new stadium were built it wouldn't be filled. If one was built it would be filled. look at AO. Look at the poor conditions at hindmarsh, no wonder some people don't go to matches, its not safe for young familys when theres no shade.Make it family friendly for one! that's 5000 extra per game on a good day alone Its a bit of an eye saw too. People embrace state of the art stadiums, ANZ stadium aside of course.

 

[Dirty Bird]

A guy at work bought a few tickets for the quarterfinals, and one of his friends had to cancel, so I've taken that 1 seat and buying it off him.
All I know atm is 'category B'
So all I know is Im somewhere in the orange seats

Thing is, I've never done a cricket game before. So I don't know what the best seats are?
I hear some say square of the wicket (heard this in regards to players loving Adelaide oval and they can judge the speed of the bowler before getting out there)
Then I hear some say behind the bowlers arm.

Just wondering what some say.
Don't know if I should be hoping for members, eastern or riverbank stands.

 

[hitthepost]

A guy at work bought a few tickets for the quarterfinals, and one of his friends had to cancel, so I've taken that 1 seat and buying it off him.
All I know atm is 'category B'
So all I know is Im somewhere in the orange seats

Thing is, I've never done a cricket game before. So I don't know what the best seats are?
I hear some say square of the wicket (heard this in regards to players loving Adelaide oval and they can judge the speed of the bowler before getting out there)
Then I hear some say behind the bowlers arm.

Just wondering what some say.
Don't know if I should be hoping for members, eastern or riverbank stands.

Hope for not Eastern. If it's remotely warm you'll bake. Wandered around there in the innings break of the India-Australia warmup game, in front of the Audi Club seats, and the sun plus the concrete was hot as hell.

You get a different view depending on where you sit. Dead square you can see how quick the bowling really is, you're closer to the pitch (in Adelaide, but not say the MCG) and you'll be able to call a run-out or a stumping correctly while the umpire is busy making TV shapes to get someone to do the hard work for him. Dead straight you can see the LBWs, the swing or drift, the turn, but you're a bit further away due to the length of the ground, and the scoreboard is miles away - if you're used to watching cricket on TV it's not a bad spot to be because you get a similar view.
Pre the development of the Western stands when there weren't as many seats square of the wicket, I'd sit in the bay of the western stand closest to the hill (think squarish third man/fine leg). Good middle-ground, you can see a bit of everything. Nowadays I will generally sit square of the wicket.

That said, there's not really a s**t seat in the house. Especially not in Cat A or B.

 

[Dirty Bird]

What was the hottest football day last year?
My football tickets are exposed to the sun on the Eastern side and it was fine, but I cant recall if it ever got hot.

The thing I was worried about with behind the wicket. I do watch on tv, but the cameras are always zoomed in, was just thinking, if behind the wicket, following the ball with just your own eye site might be difficult.

 

[Dirty Bird]

But yeah, I haven't don't it, so im ignorant to the facts and might be completely wrong. So don't know, hence asking.

 

[hitthepost]

What was the hottest football day last year?
My football tickets are exposed to the sun on the Eastern side and it was fine, but I cant recall if it ever got hot.

The thing I was worried about with behind the wicket. I do watch on tv, but the cameras are always zoomed in, was just thinking, if behind the wicket, following the ball with just your own eye site might be difficult.

It was only 27 for Aus-Ind warmup.
There's a gazillion people a year watching cricket behind the arm, and at least half of them say that's the prime spot, so it's not gonna be an issue watching the ball from there.

 

[Justinpa1]

It was only 27 for Aus-Ind warmup.
There's a gazillion people a year watching cricket behind the arm, and at least half of them say that's the prime spot, so it's not gonna be an issue watching the ball from there.

I remember the first game against Sydney was about 28 degrees and people were complaining how hot it was on Level 1 and the red seats in both the Eastern and Riverbank stands. It was about the same for the First Showdown too.