The Gabba

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Jul 20, 2000
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Brisbane Lions
Posting a thread to cover all things that is the GABBA.

A few thoughts after this afternoons game.

Ground looked in good condition with no dead grass patches for a change!

The Camperdown marketing department should be happy. Thought the screens around the ground and the big one downstairs is a good addition for marketing revenue reasons.

The one thing that bugged me today though: to me it seemed that the lights were not tuned for the footy. The pitch area was well lit, but around the ground I thought it was much darker than usual. Looked good for cricket, but not footy. Hope it doesn't stay like it was tonight.
 

Bell End

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Sep 13, 2014
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Posting a thread to cover all things that is the GABBA.

A few thoughts after this afternoons game.

Ground looked in good condition with no dead grass patches for a change!

The Camperdown marketing department should be happy. Thought the screens around the ground and the big one downstairs is a good addition for marketing revenue reasons.

The one thing that bugged me today though: to me it seemed that the lights were not tuned for the footy. The pitch area was well lit, but around the ground I thought it was much darker than usual. Looked good for cricket, but not footy. Hope it doesn't stay like it was tonight.
Yep, I thought it was darker than usual around the boundary as well. Surface looked in top nick too.
 

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Last of the Roys

Premiership Player
Sep 5, 2007
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I was going to ask about the lights as well. I have never seen it like that. On TV it looked like the tower lights were on, but quite a number of the lights under the sails on the top level seemed as though they were off.

It left the stadium looking dark and it even impacted sections of the ground in the last quarter - particularly the forward pocket to the left of screen on TV.

Really bizarre. Perhaps we are struggling to even pay our electricity bills!!!
 
May 30, 2013
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The whole place looks a bit tired to me in comparison with some other stadia like the MCG. Time for some renovations I think. Food and drink outlets are poor as is the general surrounds to the stadium. Transport continues to be an issue.
 

Skoob

Brownlow Medallist
Jul 6, 2010
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The whole place looks a bit tired to me in comparison with some other stadia like the MCG. Time for some renovations I think. Food and drink outlets are poor as is the general surrounds to the stadium. Transport continues to be an issue.
Don't get started on the catering. Drinks up another 20c this year. Then the 'Quik Drink' or whatever they're called, that I go to, ran out of heavy beer before the third quarter started. How the hell do you run out of beer with an 18000 crowd?
 

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I liked watching the animated Camperdown cows run around the ground on the electronic signage.

Cute.

I do enjoy the influx of cows around the game. Way more fun of a sponsor then National storage.

I usually buy something at the chalk hotel before the game but apparently that's shut down? Don't know how I didn't hear that, very sad news.
 

Grizzly86

Club Legend
Sep 6, 2013
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Don't get started on the catering. Drinks up another 20c this year. Then the 'Quik Drink' or whatever they're called, that I go to, ran out of heavy beer before the third quarter started. How the hell do you run out of beer with an 18000 crowd?

$10 mids by 2020 is on the cards.

Michael O'Brien Catering can GAGF!
 
Jun 17, 2006
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$10.00 for a Chicken Wrap!!!!! ........geez, give me a break..........could've bought 3 Layers, a Rooster and 15 mts of chicken wire for that, in my younger days ......


.....but there could be an upside ......... same price for a couple of "dogs eyes" .......so ....... SWMBO can kiss the "healthy eating" goodbye going forward .......


.....loves me "dogs eye" at the footy.........welcome back.......
 
Don't get started on the catering. Drinks up another 20c this year. Then the 'Quik Drink' or whatever they're called, that I go to, ran out of heavy beer before the third quarter started. How the hell do you run out of beer with an 18000 crowd?

Well those kegs go off between home games if they don't get used obviously
 
Don't get started on the catering. Drinks up another 20c this year. Then the 'Quik Drink' or whatever they're called, that I go to, ran out of heavy beer before the third quarter started. How the hell do you run out of beer with an 18000 crowd?
How the hell does a smoothie bar run out of milk before half time???
 
The lights certainly were lower than usual, got really dark towards the end of the game. Luckily I didn't have to buy food, don't get me started on obrien catering, worst in the business
 
Good, I'm glad I wasn't the only one re: lights. :)

Also shocked about the food. Wife and I bought a hotdog and sauce (for bread lubrication) and a coke - $23 thankyouverymuch. What... the... *. And it's the same old story of half the shops closed around the ground.

Also blown away that some muppet decided that the score layout should buck the traditional western trend of reading left to right.
Maybe we SHOULD SAME do the. Thoughts?

I was cringing like all hell at the t-shirt canon too. Sound entirely mistimed to the firing of said canon, aiming at the same old patch of general admission down the same old end of the ground. Hits the first 3 rows. Ok guys, give us a few minutes to reload.... how the hell can they take something that was supposed to make the crowd feel excited and fired up and manage to make it put us to sleep? The AFL9's demonstration was far more entertaining. And being in the top tier I had the same chance of winning a free shirt from that as I did the canon.

I actually just bundled all these thoughts up in an email, though a little more constructively written than this post. I certainly hope someone at the Lions pays attention, because the Gabba experience felt entirely sub-par yesterday, and that's not even discussing the game.
 

M Malice

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Aug 31, 2015
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Good, I'm glad I wasn't the only one re: lights. :)

Also shocked about the food. Wife and I bought a hotdog and sauce (for bread lubrication) and a coke - $23 thankyouverymuch. What... the... glory be. And it's the same old story of half the shops closed around the ground.
agree- the lights.
food- i know a lot of people like to make the food and drink at the game part of the total game day experience but we always make a bit of a day of it. yesterday all 7 (4 adults 3 kids) of us went to nandos pre game, a lot better feed and value.
lots of other options around the gabba eg. the norman, subway, the morrison, the pineapple, chineese etc....
we take bottled water in + a few lollies for the kids and were sweet, after all it's only about 2 and a half hours you need to go without food while at the gabba.
v. the suns, going to the norman can't wait to go to the worst vegetarian restaurant in brisbane:)
 
Jan 9, 2009
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Did anyone else notice when the players came up on the screen after kicking a goal they were in the paddepop guernseys? I was waiting to see which photos they had for our recruits from the past couple of years who have only ever worn the jumper with the traditional Lion but none of our recruits(Bundy, Schache, Bell, Bastinac and Walker) kicked goal. It just looks really amateurish why the hell do they have the players photos from 2014?
 

lioninthesand

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Feb 22, 2016
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Im from melbourrne and i LOVE watching my footy on the TV at the Gabba. Especially twilight games.

I once went to a game againts GWS, the game big sauce lost his marbles and booted 9 - and the one thing that shocked me was the MC encouraging applause (welcome to the gabba the GWS GIANTS!) as the opposition team runs out.. and lions supporters actually clapped!? It was the most horrifying thing ive ever seen, we still dont do that do we?
 

leaper

Team Captain
Mar 5, 2000
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What really infuriates me is how security make you tip out your water bottle. What the hell can you do with your water bottle? Does this happen at any other ground?
 

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