Suburban grounds

[The Blue Baggers]

read with interest overnight the canterbury bulldogs played @ belmore for the first time since 1998.

could it happen in the afl ?

princes park - MAYBE

capacity has reduced to approx. 20k with stands demolished. the blues still drew 30k v GC on the w/e despite both teams being bottom 3. (personally i would have preferred the blues play 4 games @ PP and the balance @ MCG)

victoria park - HIGHLY UNLIKELY

ground now hosting VFL games. No fencing an obvious first issue and the magpies drawing power make the move improbable.

western (whitten) oval - MAYBE

given their low supporter base and high cost of hosting games @ the docklands this one probably makes more sense. bulldogs though are more likely to move games to north ballarat in the future

punt rd - MAYBE

this would be the biggest return of all BUT the ground has been done up and is perfectly located. would be ideal for tiger games against giants and GC

moorabbin - POTENTIAL

obviously not in its current state but if the saints return and the surronds updated (like the whitten oval) this one also makes sense. right in the middle of the saints homeland.

arden st. - NO

ground not in condition to host games and north is already moving home games to hobart

windy hill - NO

essendon are too important to the docklands contract to move games away.

 

[FootyJunkie]

Waverley should have been downgraded to a 35k ground with Hawthorn and St.Kilda playing 8 homes games each down there.

 

[The Blue Baggers]

Waverley should have been downgraded to a 35k ground with Hawthorn and St.Kilda playing 8 homes games each down there.

agree was perfect for the hawks

for the saints moorabbin was better but waverley was a better option than the docklands

VFL Park - NO CHANCE

 

[d33my]

No way you could get an AFL crowd into Punt Road. The novelty factor alone would probably see 70k people turn up.

 

[FootyJunkie]

No way you could get an AFL crowd into Punt Road. The novelty factor alone would probably see 70k people turn up.

LOL at all the free loaders peeking through the fence during that NAB game against Essendon a year or so ago

 

[The Blue Baggers]

No way you could get an AFL crowd into Punt Road. The novelty factor alone would probably see 70k people turn up.

not so sure you would get 70k but agree the first one would have a novelty factor

after that the crowds would be abt 15k , perfect for GC & Giants

 

[MotleyLemon]

not so sure you would get 70k but agree the first one would have a novelty factor

after that the crowds would be abt 15k , perfect for GC & Giants

Hahahahaha.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

western (whitten) oval - MAYBE

given their low supporter base and high cost of hosting games @ the docklands this one probably makes more sense.

I went to their VFL opener this year. Unless their AFL supporters have a fondness for standing on banks or sitting on crappy old wooden benches and s**t facilities they would ******* hate it after the nostalgia wore off.

Suburban grounds are only suitable for pre-season matches at best.

 

[The Blue Baggers]

I went to their VFL opener this year. Unless their AFL supporters have a fondness for standing on banks or sitting on crappy old wooden benches and s**t facilities they would ******* hate it after the nostalgia wore off.

Suburban grounds are only suitable for pre-season matches at best.

plenty grew up standing in the outer and no one gave a fiddlers fart abt "modern facilities"

if you were a bulldog would you prefer to watch a game with 10k crowd @ WO or 15k @ the docklands

suspect the bulldogs will play 2-3 games a year in ballarat by the end of this decade

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

plenty grew up standing in the outer and no one gave a fiddlers fart abt "modern facilities"

if you were a bulldog would you prefer to watch a game with 10k crowd @ WO or 15k @ the docklands

suspect the bulldogs will play 2-3 games a year in ballarat by the end of this decade

When kids are used to going to a stadium with a roof, bench seats in the rain aren't going to cut it.

 

[The Blue Baggers]

When kids are used to going to a stadium with a roof, bench seats in the rain aren't going to cut it.

pity , a few of them could learn to toughen up

 

[The Blue Baggers]

When kids are used to going to a stadium with a roof, bench seats in the rain aren't going to cut it.

ps; or stand on steel cans !!

 

[JackFlash]

read with interest overnight the canterbury bulldogs played @ belmore for the first time since 1998.

could it happen in the afl ?

princes park - MAYBE

capacity has reduced to approx. 20k with stands demolished. the blues still drew 30k v GC on the w/e despite both teams being bottom 3. (personally i would have preferred the blues play 4 games @ PP and the balance @ MCG)

victoria park - HIGHLY UNLIKELY

ground now hosting VFL games. No fencing an obvious first issue and the magpies drawing power make the move improbable.

western (whitten) oval - MAYBE

given their low supporter base and high cost of hosting games @ the docklands this one probably makes more sense. bulldogs though are more likely to move games to north ballarat in the future

punt rd - MAYBE

this would be the biggest return of all BUT the ground has been done up and is perfectly located. would be ideal for tiger games against giants and GC

moorabbin - POTENTIAL

obviously not in its current state but if the saints return and the surronds updated (like the whitten oval) this one also makes sense. right in the middle of the saints homeland.

arden st. - NO

ground not in condition to host games and north is already moving home games to hobart

windy hill - NO

essendon are too important to the docklands contract to move games away.

The biggest mistake Carlton ever made was giving up Princes Park, it was an insane decision to make and has cost them plenty. I have no doubt for Carlton to prosper they must entertain a return to Princes park for a minimum of 5 matches per season against Interstate teams. The ground could easily be brought up to standard and seat 25,000.

 

[The Blue Baggers]

The biggest mistake Carlton ever made was giving ip Princes Park, it was an insane decision to make and has cost them plenty. I have no doubt for Carlton to prosper they must entertain a return to Princes park for a minimum of 5 matches per season against Interstate teams. The ground could easily be brought up to standard and seat 25,000.

we had one president put us in debt to build the stands

then we had his replacement have us leave the ground without repaying back the debt !!

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

The biggest mistake Carlton ever made was giving ip Princes Park, it was an insane decision to make and has cost them plenty. I have no doubt for Carlton to prosper they must entertain a return to Princes park for a minimum of 5 matches per season against Interstate teams. The ground could easily be brought up to standard and seat 25,000.

When's the last time you were at Princes Park?

 

[dragonsblues]

I saw with interest the bulldogs in the nrl returning to their old suburban home ground. Looked amazing.

The biggest problem with Princes Park outside of the capital needed to bring it up to scratch, is the local councils and local residents who were real pains in the backside.

But I agree that a return to Princes Park, even for a couple of NAB cup games to start with is needed. Our club lost some of its soul when we left!

 

[JackFlash]

When's the last time you were at Princes Park?

2004, we got flogged, but i always enjoyed going there. The Blues must return there in some capacity.

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

2004, we got flogged, but i always enjoyed going there. The Blues must return there in some capacity.

The place is a dump, apart from the new stand.

 

[telsor]

not so sure you would get 70k but agree the first one would have a novelty factor

after that the crowds would be abt 15k , perfect for GC & Giants

Capacity is *maybe* 10K (and the MCC is predicting 35K this Saturday against the Giants, which I'd suggest is on the low side).

It's a good size for curtain raisers, but really that's it. (indeed, I wouldn't be shocked if other clubs tried to rent it for curtain raisers in the future).

 

[eth-dog]

I'd like to see one pre-season game at certain grounds a year.

 

[JackFlash]

The place is a dump, apart from the new stand.

I never thought of it as a dump and the Cats rarely ever won there. I still prefer suburban grounds to the soulless Etihad any day. Princes Park could easily be turned into an all seated venue and the Blues would make a fortune! Games against GWS, Suns, Port, Crows, Lions, Eagles, Dockers could be rostered bi yearly. I'll leave the Swans out of the picture as they have a good Melbourne fan base. It would be a far better look if Carlton played in front of 20- 25,000 fans than a soulless half empty stadium that will lose them money more often than not.

 

[The Blue Baggers]

Capacity is *maybe* 10K (and the MCC is predicting 35K this Saturday against the Giants, which I'd suggest is on the low side).

It's a good size for curtain raisers, but really that's it. (indeed, I wouldn't be shocked if other clubs tried to rent it for curtain raisers in the future).

great location !!

would you rather a game @ a full 10k - 15k stadium or a 1/3 full MCG (@ best) ??

 

[The Blue Baggers]

I'd like to see one pre-season game at certain grounds a year.

interesting idea

round 1 of the nab cup could be played @ the suburban grounds all starting @ the same time on a saturday afternoon !!

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

I never thought of it as a dump and the Cats rarely ever won there. I still prefer suburban grounds to the soulless Etihad any day. Princes Park could easily be turned into an all seated venue and the Blues would make a fortune! Games against GWS, Suns, Port, Crows, Lions, Eagles, Dockers could be rostered bi yearly. I'll leave the Swans out of the picture as they have a good Melbourne fan base. It would be a far better look if Carlton played in front of 20- 25,000 fans than a soulless half empty stadium that will lose them money more often than not.

I go to Princes Park quite often for VFL games. It could not be 'quite easily' turned into anything. Most of the seats are rotting, the facilities like the concession stands and the toilets would need to be completely demolished and started again, it would only be able to be used for day games because of the residents in the area, the parking facilities are woeful, etc.

It's romantic to think of AFL games being played there again but it won't happen.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

plenty grew up standing in the outer and no one gave a fiddlers fart abt "modern facilities"

The good old days had much lower crowds than now.

if you were a bulldog would you prefer to watch a game with 10k crowd @ WO or 15k @ the docklands

There won't be 10,000 at Whitten Oval when the novelty's worn off and autumn ends.