While Waverley Park was a dump of a stadium towards the end, I do believe it was sold prematurely. With 10 games a round, you could allow 3 games within the Melbourne metro area on a Saturday or Sunday.
Third Stadium in Melbourne
- Thread starter EBERT THE KING
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Whilst irrelevant to whether or not Melbourne needs another stadium, without the sale of Waverley, we'd not have Docklands.
Surely after the drama in the lead up to the AFLW Grand Final, now is the time to look at a third stadium for Melbourne. Ikon Park just won’t cut it and nor should it being Carlton training base.
If the AFL looks to move AFLW earlier into the season and if I were in charge, I would be building a dedicated AFLW stadium in the eastern suburbs at around the 30k mark. Which could also allow another Melbourne AFL game once the comp moves to 20. Just a thought.
If the AFL looks to move AFLW earlier into the season and if I were in charge, I would be building a dedicated AFLW stadium in the eastern suburbs at around the 30k mark. Which could also allow another Melbourne AFL game once the comp moves to 20. Just a thought.
- Thread starter
- #54
Either upgrade Ikon park, Punt road or build a smaller stadium somewhere that is accessible via public transport.
Royal park behind the hospital could work.
Royal park behind the hospital could work.
- Mar 12, 2016
- 3,330
- 2,721
- AFL Club
- North Melbourne
A 60k seat into staduim with a proper roof not that BS at Marvel at Sandown Race track as it’s for sale.
Move Hawthorn + St.Kilda out there and for its 1st 5 years of existence offer Collingwood,Richmond and Carlton $1 million to sell 1 match to the ground so you get decent crowds.
Then once football is over from October to January put other events there.
All you need is state government to build a Mono rail/Tram to the ground and maybe up to Dandenong from Monash University and you have East Link 5 min up the road.
This crap putting $$$ into Linton St written oval princess park to use for 1 game per year is crap build a proper stadium with a roof is the future
- May 23, 2016
- 713
- 836
- AFL Club
- St Kilda
- Other Teams
- Port Melbourne; Kalkee; Horsham Demons
I'd think a North Melbourne supporter would understand more than anyone that you can't just "make" a team play wherever you want because reasons. Where do you propose the AFL find the money to buy the land, build the stadium, petition the government to build a train line/station (which will take years to build even if successful) and spend an extra $3 million on top of that.
As Western United is finding out, wanting a brand new stadium and all the amenities that go along with that is one thing, actually getting it built is entirely another.
Moorabbin, Princes Park and Whitten Oval are used for training and administration as well as AFLW, VFL and VFLW games. Princes Park hosts the VFL and AFLW Grand Finals as well, and I'm guessing suburban competitions will be keen to use the upgraded venues for their finals.
- Thread starter
- #57
Theres no way it should be at Sandown when the western suburbs are the fastest growing area of Melbourne.
It still needs to be central.
Ikon Park is the most logical choice regardless of whether it's Carlton's home ground or not.
Would need to be significant upgrades made, likely involving the demolition of the Heroes Stand & Gardiner Stand and significant enhancements to the Legends Stand, but in this economic climate, taking those stands down and getting capacity towards the 20,000+ mark (if possible) would be the only way you would secure funding.
If it's not central, regardless of public transport access, it will simply fail.
Would need to be significant upgrades made, likely involving the demolition of the Heroes Stand & Gardiner Stand and significant enhancements to the Legends Stand, but in this economic climate, taking those stands down and getting capacity towards the 20,000+ mark (if possible) would be the only way you would secure funding.
If it's not central, regardless of public transport access, it will simply fail.
Outdoor stadium of 30-35k would be perfect. Similar design to kardinia park with the main lower tier and the small upper tier. Make it the same ground dimensions as Marvel Stadium. Perfect location would be E-Gate (somewhere between District Docklands and North Melbourne station). Have a grassy hill at one end with an old fashioned scoreboard.
Make it the home ground of AFLW and VFL replacing ikon park. For AFL matches, move the small drawing games to give North/Saints/Bulldogs a chance of making some money.
Personally, I think the AFL needs to move to a supply/demand model for scheduling games. If a game historically draws less than 35k, it would be played at the new 3rd stadium. Between 35k and 60k moved to Marvel and over 60k to MCG. At the same time, AFL needs to move away from reserved seat memberships. Sellouts that aren't 95% full are a disgrace and a fix is needed. If a game does genuinely sellout (95%+ capacity), then the next year the game gets moved to the next stadium up.
To fix the issue of MCG access for interstate clubs, remove the GF exclusivity. Even year GFs at the MCG, Odd year GFs rotate between GABBA/SCG/AO/OS (one every 8 years at each). So now if a team like GWS or Freo don't get an MCG game, it doesn't matter as much. Because WA has 1/8th the teams in the comp, and gets 1/8th the GFs in WA (and so on for every state). No team has any right to demand where their away games get played anymore based on "fairness".
Make it the home ground of AFLW and VFL replacing ikon park. For AFL matches, move the small drawing games to give North/Saints/Bulldogs a chance of making some money.
Personally, I think the AFL needs to move to a supply/demand model for scheduling games. If a game historically draws less than 35k, it would be played at the new 3rd stadium. Between 35k and 60k moved to Marvel and over 60k to MCG. At the same time, AFL needs to move away from reserved seat memberships. Sellouts that aren't 95% full are a disgrace and a fix is needed. If a game does genuinely sellout (95%+ capacity), then the next year the game gets moved to the next stadium up.
To fix the issue of MCG access for interstate clubs, remove the GF exclusivity. Even year GFs at the MCG, Odd year GFs rotate between GABBA/SCG/AO/OS (one every 8 years at each). So now if a team like GWS or Freo don't get an MCG game, it doesn't matter as much. Because WA has 1/8th the teams in the comp, and gets 1/8th the GFs in WA (and so on for every state). No team has any right to demand where their away games get played anymore based on "fairness".
Tandy
Norm Smith Medallist
Sounds good to me. If only it were that easy.
Yea exactly. The system as it stands is so broken. Someone needs to bite the bullet and get it done
BulldogMuscle
Honk For The Dogs
Anyone suggesting Ikon park hasn't been there since the upgrades. Since the upgrades half the ground is unusable, zero chance it would ever be used as a 3rd stadium.
Need a stadium in the SE Corridor again.
Need a stadium in the SE Corridor again.
Why don't you rattle some tins to come up with the half a billion dollars needed for a stadium that it's possible no club will want to play in?
Can guarantee you that North, Dogs and Saints would all love to play at a stadium where the breakeven crowd is not higher than their average attendance. The costs to run marvel are astronomical due to the way they have structured it.
AFL/Vic Gov can easily justify it by marketing it as a stadium for women's footy. Funding is the least of its issues (finding the parcel of land near the city more than issue).
Haha you think a cheap stadium will get punters through the gates? Victorians are the most fickle supporters in the country, you give them a cheap 2nd rate stadium and they won't go. It doesn't matter how cheap a stadium is to operate if your income is shithouse.
They complain about Docklands already FFS.
AFL should stay the * out of it, and the Vic government is broke.
- Nov 16, 2014
- 5,790
- 10,166
- AFL Club
- Collingwood
Rather than designs on a 3rd city stadium that won’t happen because govts are broke… or requiring the AFL doing an about face and fixing princes park
The answer is what the dogs already do… find a regional ground to play those low drawing games at. Regional city councils are only to happy to host these events
North can easily do this with Bendigo or even Shepparton if they want to develop a second identity and supporter base as a north Victorian team
St Kilda can likewise can find a base in Gippsland
The rest of the Melbourne based teams are viable enough and with big enough crowd numbers to play at marvel or the G
The answer is what the dogs already do… find a regional ground to play those low drawing games at. Regional city councils are only to happy to host these events
North can easily do this with Bendigo or even Shepparton if they want to develop a second identity and supporter base as a north Victorian team
St Kilda can likewise can find a base in Gippsland
The rest of the Melbourne based teams are viable enough and with big enough crowd numbers to play at marvel or the G
PenrithGWS
Senior List
- Dec 23, 2023
- 179
- 224
- AFL Club
- GWS
yay, then we can get a ticket to the grand final.
Nuggs Bunny
Moderator
Essendon Player Sponsor 2024 - Archie Perkins and Nic Martin
Essendon Player Sponsor 2023 - Archie Perkins and Nic Martin
Essendon Player Sponsor 2022 - Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Archie Perkins
Essendon Player Sponsor 2021 - Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Archie Perkins
Essendon Player Sponsor 2020 - Orazio Fantasia, Anthony McDonald Tipungwuti, Shaun McKernan
- Oct 12, 2015
- 7,783
- 12,905
- AFL Club
- Essendon
- Other Teams
- Dallas Cowboys
- Moderator
- #68
IMO any of the obvious candidates like Punt Rd, Whitten Oval or Ikon Park all have enough flaws to fix that you'd be unlikely to recoup any money in the long run from building a purpose built 30,000 seat stadium if you didn't need to. Inclined to agree with the suggestion to start sending smaller teams with lower drawing crowds regional instead. Unfortunately the only regional location (excluding Geelong with it's AFL stadium) that has a decent set up is Ballarat with Mars Oval and you're unlikely to see a solid business case for redeveloping your old, shitty football ground just to host 2-3 games per year.
I'm not doubting I'm being incredibly nieve here but the AFL own docklands - how much would it realistically cost to cover opening the place?
Let's take North as an example- 50k members, let's say 35 have game day access memberships. Regardless of if they turn up or not have they not got that money ? Then thrown in walk ups/opposition fans?
Ikon is impossible to access so it's a hard no for me. We did that in early 2000's.
Let's take North as an example- 50k members, let's say 35 have game day access memberships. Regardless of if they turn up or not have they not got that money ? Then thrown in walk ups/opposition fans?
Ikon is impossible to access so it's a hard no for me. We did that in early 2000's.
- Nov 16, 2014
- 5,790
- 10,166
- AFL Club
- Collingwood
Dawson oval in Central Shepparton is where I’d be playing 3 games a year post TAS if I were the kangas
Central location right near the central Vline station.. and in its current form it has in the past hosted AFL games with crowds of 7-10k… which is all that a regional NM vs Suns, Freo, etc game is going to generate anyway
Might need 10 million spent on upgrading changerooms and facilities… but it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than building a new stadium, and will actually turn a profit for NM on those game days unlike marvel.
Even with only 6-7k turning up on a cruddy wet Ballarat day… dogs only seem to make money out of the Ballarat games
And for long term viability the kangas could do with tapping into another market. Shepparton and surrounding towns and adjacent regions in northern Victoria like the Murray… have a decent growing population that are starved of other elite level sports to watch
Last edited:
- Jun 23, 2013
- 10,747
- 12,869
- AFL Club
- Melbourne
- Other Teams
- Los Angeles Clippers
Why the * are posters suggesting upgrading punt road oval?? There is no room and it is right beside the 100k capacity MCG, absolutely pointless..
Whilst I like the idea of sandown - it would finally only take me 20mins to get there, there's no chance any MCG Tennant is going there without insane amounts from the AFL.
Stkilda moving their training base was enough to destroy the club, so doubt they'd want to move games
Teen Wolf
Norm Smith Medallist
- Jul 5, 2011
- 8,117
- 8,925
- AFL Club
- North Melbourne
- Other Teams
- Afghanistan women's cricket team
Suggestions of upgrading PRO to a 25k capacity venue is consistent with the premise of the thread, which is ridiculous and detached from reality.
Teen Wolf
Norm Smith Medallist
- Jul 5, 2011
- 8,117
- 8,925
- AFL Club
- North Melbourne
- Other Teams
- Afghanistan women's cricket team
And following on from that, see below for the ultimate before-and-after solution. Drop a Carrara Stadium onto Gosch's Paddock, then build three elevated soccer/rugby pitches OVER Swan St and the train lines to maintain the green space.
Anyone who thinks that the AFL is ever going to support a stadium hat is going to take games away from Marvel does not know the AFL very well.
