Eureka Stadium (Mars Stadium)

[Outback Footy]

Anybody who goes there wearing an Hawaiian shirt, shorts and thongs in Winter deserves what they get

Yep, hopefully they rode a large enough horse so they can comfortably sleep through winter

 

[Kwality]

Yep, hopefully they rode a large enough horse so they can comfortably sleep through winter

Sadly the horse is a Bulldog, & that dog is not related to the Mack truck !!

 

[Outback Footy]

Suggests only Vic based fans would welcome a game there, but we all know its about games v the lower drawing non Vic (aka interstate ) clubs.

Footy is a winter sport, dress right is all were saying. Ballarats cold, but so was the hill at the Western Oval when the wind and rain were blowing in.
Easy access from Melbourne, nice vibe in the town, whats not to like?

 

[Kwality]

Footy is a winter sport, dress right is all were saying. Ballarats cold, but so was the hill at the Western Oval when the wind and rain were blowing in.
Easy access from Melbourne, nice vibe in the town, whats not to like?

Hope the cold is not used as an excuse for poor crowds - location is fine for many Victorians, but I cant see anyone from interstate lapping up a couple of hours on VLine. The footy tourism aspect would be based on at least one night in Ballarat ?

 

[The Punter]

Is the vacant land to the North on the Midland Highway going to be a car park? Because one is really needed if AFL footy is coming to Ballarat.

 

[The Punter]

I live in Lal Lal and commute from Ballan.

 

[TyroneVickery29]

I live in Lal Lal and commute from Ballan.

Pogba

 

[Stevi_Tigers]

have a soft spot for the ground having lived there for a few years and played on it

 

[JD Tomahawk]

From the pics of the upgrade it looks like it will be a great sports complex. Potential for the Bulldogs to relocate!!! Western (western vic, including western suburbs) still makes sense. Plus the new zone they got covers western vic.

 

[bombersfan4000]

From the pics of the upgrade it looks like it will be a great sports complex. Potential for the Bulldogs to relocate!!! Western (western vic, including western suburbs) still makes sense. Plus the new zone they got covers western vic.

i hope not as the doggies are only team originally from the west. the have a good base out of the Whitten oval, its a pity if only they could find the funds to do the venue up a bit more, they could play those low drawing home games from there & the doggies would reap the financial benefits & would be more financially stable

 

[telsor]

i hope not as the doggies are only team originally from the west. the have a good base out of the Whitten oval, its a pity if only they could find the funds to do the venue up a bit more, they could play those low drawing home games from there & the doggies would reap the financial benefits & would be more financially stable

The AFL wouldn't allow that though, and even if they would, it just doesn't make sense. Why spend $50M+ in order to play 2-3 games a year for 10 years (whereupon the AFL takes ownership of docklands and will want every possible game played there).

Ballarat is only workable because the ALP saw it as a way of buying votes in those electorates so offered to throw money at it.

 

[thegreig]

Ballarat is only workable because the ALP saw it as a way of buying votes in those electorates so offered to throw money at it.

True, but I can definitely see a long term deal devaloping out of this similar to hawthorn/ launceston

 

[bombersfan4000]

North have a right to be even angrier.

I doubt there'll be games even played there - it's been two days and the pledge has already look uglier: less money, another year. Even if the games get up I doubt it'll be a long term commitment. People are going to be quickly indifferent to paying AFL prices for a VFL-level stadium (in fact, even Vic Park would be a nicer, more appropriate ground) in the freezing cold, while the rotation of Freo/Port/GWS/Eagles/Crows/Suns gets unappealing.

This ground'll be a total shithole. You can get away with it in Canberra because it's tokenistic and hours from Sydney or Melbs. While places like Cairns and NT are just happy to have games and the AFL'll lower their ground standards for a single game. But this thing? Ballarat people live, what, an hour from the city? They would much rather see their team play at a nice, plush stadium an hour away. That's not to mention the fact you could see, say, Hawks - Swans on a Friday and make a weekend of it. Or just a day.

But how many people will rally behind this?

And I say this as someone interested in stadiums and who wants to see plenty of grounds pop up. But this'll be ****in glum.

As well going to a dated ground that is very open in winter in cairns or NT is far more enjoyable than Canberra or Ballarat

 

[telsor]

True, but I can definitely see a long term deal devaloping out of this similar to hawthorn/ launceston

Maybe, but they'll struggle to get new fans out of it unless they stay for a VERY long time, because unlike Launceston, the people of Ballarat just need to get on a train for an hour to see whatever (Vic) club they want most weeks (and will have been doing so all their lives...While for Tas fans before Hawthorn turned up, it was pretty much just a TV thing, so the loyalty to existing clubs would have been less).

 

[Allan Shorty]

That block is currently private property formerly occupied by Eureka Valves. According to the "Ballarat Major Events Precinct Master Plan Final Report" (released in June 2015) a section (about20%) of that land is earmarked for an eventual 650-space car park. There is a lot of land around the existing sports fields and the soon-to-be-built Ballarat Basketball and Indoor Events Centre that will add an additional 600 spaces. The report proposes encircling the existing ovals with new sealed roadways and allowing for up to 120 car parking bays around each those ovals (that include the C.E Brown Reserve, The CE Brown Reserve No2, and the Eureka 2 ovals. These will be linked to Eureka Stadium by a series of landscaped pedestrian pathways. Of course this won't all happen right away. These upgrades will occur over time as the Ballarat City Council will be largely funding these infrastructure works and are likely to budget in progressive works over a number of years.

Page 23 of the Master Plan document details exactly where car parks are to be built and identifies a large pocket of land to the north of Selkirks Brickworks on the corner of Norman Street and Creswick Road currently owned by Selkirks which has potential to accommodate an addition 900-1000 spaces. In total, there will be between 2400-2900 permanent car parking spaces developed in the precinct over time.

The report presents a number of options for developing adjacent land over time (subject to the eventual sale of the existing Ballarat Showgrounds and the possible relocation of Selkirk Brickworks) and details eventual construction of a crescent roadway entering from Howitt Street and exiting onto Creswick Road which would accommodate a busway, stops and bus parking bays.

The long term plan for the zone allows for significant upgrading of public transport access via bus initially and eventually for an events day train station. Ballarat PTV bus companies have more than an ample fleet of modern (non-graffitied) busses to cope with scheduled game day services around the city and to assist with ferrying people from Ballarat Railway Station to the ground (an approximate ten minute trip). All done using your Myki Card (yes they use them in the country as well). 'Tap on' at Southern Cross - 'Tap off' at Eureka.

Is a rail link likely ? Or will it be like Waverley rail link. I don't trust buses.

Are there any pubs near the ground ? Not that it really matters just curious about where this is located.

Enjoying the updates rooblue.

 

[Allan Shorty]

i hope not as the doggies are only team originally from the west. the have a good base out of the Whitten oval, its a pity if only they could find the funds to do the venue up a bit more, they could play those low drawing home games from there & the doggies would reap the financial benefits & would be more financially stable

We will see this one day. Love going to the whitten oval.

 

[The Punter]

GWS play in Canberra.

It will be great to see AFL footy in Ballarat, but as far as a location in Ballarat (considering everything is reasonably close to everything else), Eureka Stadium is not great. I'd be happier if they were also buying the old brickworks site and turning it into a car park, because any significant event in the area (like the Ballarat Show) always creates parking problems.

From memory the North Ballarat Sports Club (at the stadium) is the only pub that's close. Eureka Stadium would be in the worst place in Ballarat for access to pubs, in a town that is literally full of them (and I haven't really come across a bad Ballarat pub yet).

 

[telsor]

Why should AFL games be exclusive to Melbourne and Geelong. 35% of the competition's players are from the bush and playing a few competition point games in regional heartland areas of the state bolsters support among 25% of its population. Personally I would love to see other major grounds in regional cities developed the same way. Albury has just announced a multi-million dollar upgrade of it's Lavington Oval, and Bendigo has spent millions upgrading it's QEII Oval and only needs a decent high capacity grandstand. It is quite feasible for smaller teams to adopt these grounds. In particular consolidation of AFL in the NSW Southern Riverina would be a massive smack in the face of the NRL.

Consider that the Swans are playing in Canberra and if a team could adopt Albury/ Wodonga. Then you are placing AFL games within 2 hours drive at major centres between Sydney and Melbourne.

So forget playing games where people can actually see them (you know, where the people are, and where the stadia can take a crowd of over 10-15K), you think the games should be played away from the major population centers for feel good reasons...

People from regional areas can go to Melbourne and watch a game, the reverse isn't true (because they wouldn't get into the ground).

 

[Chicken Parma]

Consider that the Swans are playing in Canberra and if a team could adopt Albury/ Wodonga. Then you are placing AFL games within 2 hours drive at major centres between Sydney and Melbourne.

The Giants would like a word with you.

 

[telsor]

Good points, but if you all haven't noticed, the high drawing games are not played in Launceston, Canberra, Cairns or Darwin. The same will be said of Ballarat.

Therefore I wouldn't despair that if you are a Collingwood fan that you won't get a seat at Eureka. Collingwood probably won't play there. If barely 13,000 can make an effort to go to a points scoring game at Etihad during a regular AFL season, yet 12,000 will turn up for an NAB game in Bendigo and 14,000 at Wangaratta, then what's that telling you? ... Perhaps many more in the bush will go to watch a points scoring game. The nay-sayers can rest well assured that if it didn't make business sense then the AFL wouldn't be backing it. Perhaps our biggest concern is that 13,000-15,000 seats at Eureka Stadium won't be big enough. The talk in Ballarat is not about building a VFL standard ground as has been suggested by some posters. Ballarat's planners seem focussed on getting this development right and on building something unique over time and more substantial. The Premier 'Daniel Andrews' is talking of Eureka Stadium and the Ballarat Major Event's precinct being 'International Class'.

That said, the venue as Stage 1 is completed in 2017 will be a combination of first class and a traditional footy ground. There will be approx. 6000 seats and open areas for another 5-6000 people. As Stages 2 and 3 are developed over the next several years then the ground will become an all-seater with fixed facilities for all patrons. One would assume, although I can't verify this that patrons who go into the non-seated areas would not be paying $25-$30 for the privilege of standing on an uncovered terrace.

I would urge nay-sayers to consider that Ballarat is not 'Hicksville' - without it and Bendigo there would be no Melbourne as we know it, Melbourne would probably still be called 'Barebrass' and about as big as Adelaide is today! Consider that being built in the country doesn't mean that it will be second-rate. No visiting harness racing fans ever complain that Ballarat has a second-rate harness racing complex, or race-goers that it has a second-rate race course, or visitors ever complaining that it has a second-rate anything. Ballarat has even just spent millions of dollars building a soccer complex that would rival anything (short of AMII Park in Melbourne). Often what impresses (even surprises) people from the metropolitan area is the affordability of things and the quality of life without sacrificing big-city expectations. Ballarat has more than ample pubs, night clubs, bars, eateries, restaurants, good coffee, affordable accommodation, great theatres, and open spaces to accommodate any visitor's wants.

What is even more impressive is that Ballarat is not alone, Victoria and Southern NSW have some great cities and towns that are worth more than a look. I dare to say, that the inhabitants of Melbourne and Sydney would not be any the worse for embracing a 'Tree-Change'.

I'm not saying they're not nice places, I'm pointing out that they're 1/50th the size of Melbourne and the facilities are roughly in proportion to that.

I'm also not talking about Collingwood games...There are very, very few games in Melbourne that have crowds low enough to fit into any country stadium, and even those are near impossible to predict before the season starts.

 

[aCunningPlan]

I'm not saying they're not nice places, I'm pointing out that they're 1/50th the size of Melbourne and the facilities are roughly in proportion to that.

I'm also not talking about Collingwood games...There are very, very few games in Melbourne that have crowds low enough to fit into any country stadium, and even those are near impossible to predict before the season starts.

The Bulldogs are making money out of it. Calm down. This will be the only chance people from Ballarat can see any footy now that V/Line is stuffed and the Gold Buses are driven by mad men.

 

[bombersfan4000]

True, but I can definitely see a long term deal devaloping out of this similar to hawthorn/ launceston

lol depends on the clubs political connections and how much the town wants to pay for the team like in the hawks case

 

[telsor]

And Ballarat is getting 1/75th of the Games that Melbourne hosts. Sounds pretty fair to me. ;-)

Pretty sure you made that number up....

 

[aCunningPlan]

Pretty sure you made that number up....

Ballarat's population is one 47th of Melbourne's population, and it will host one 45th of the games played in Melbourne. It's pretty well bang on proportional.

 

[telsor]

Ballarat's population is one 47th of Melbourne's population, and it will host one 45th of the games played in Melbourne. It's pretty well bang on proportional.

So, not 1/75th then.

Proportional doesn't make it right though....Richmond V Hawthorn NAB game yesterday was in the shire of Cardinia, pop ~75K which is probably further from the MCG/Docklands than Ballarat is...Should the government puts tens of millions into doing up the ground there so they get their own games?