Expansion Canberra

[big_e]

Canberra seriously under-rated as a place to go for a weekend, tbh.

And I only spent a few months working there - name-drop: with the bloke who is now the Chief Minister - but even in my mid-20s it wasn't a bad place to live.

Not everyone wants the bright lights and big city.

 

[Walshawk]

Well I know plenty of people who have gone to Hobart for a weekend/trip away.

Don't know a single person who has gone away for the same thing to Canberra.

Canberra is a great place for a family holiday. Parliament, War Museum, Mint. Heaps to do. Plus you can drive from Melbourne or Sydney.

 

[Walshawk]

We're pretty much NSW. Interestingly, the Canberra Raiders played most of their first decade from NSW (in Queanbeyan, about 15 mins away).

I don't think Newcastle would be ready for a team yet, but I agree there should be more focus there. GWS will have a few spare games once they retreat from Canberra, they should play one or two in Newcastle.

If GWS exit Canberra, they should play a game in each of Newcastle and Wollongong around Easter when Homebush is not available.

 

[Canberra Pear]

If GWS exit Canberra, they should play a game in each of Newcastle and Wollongong around Easter when Homebush is not available.

They'd also open up a preseason match that's normally tied to Canberra. I'd like to see that go to the Central West, somewhere like Bathurst or Orange.

 

[Canberra Pear]

Canberra seriously under-rated as a place to go for a weekend, tbh.

And I only spent a few months working there - name-drop: with the bloke who is now the Chief Minister - but even in my mid-20s it wasn't a bad place to live.

Not everyone wants the bright lights and big city.

It gets a bad rap, but it's definitely surpassed my expectations. The initial sell to bring players in might be hard, but once they get here the city shouldn't affect player retention.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Canberra is a great place for a family holiday. Parliament, War Museum, Mint. Heaps to do. Plus you can drive from Melbourne or Sydney.

Those poor kids.

 

[Colonial]

They'd also open up a preseason match that's normally tied to Canberra. I'd like to see that go to the Central West, somewhere like Bathurst or Orange.

Yes please

 

[Canberra Pear]

If I had the opportunity to travel twice a year to watch footy and make a 4-5 day trip of it, Canberra is not in the conversation.

Perth, Adelaide, Brisnane/GC, Sydney and even Tassie all get footy followers contemplating a small footy get away.

I still maintain that I don't think tourism is that important for crowds, but I've found some positive numbers for Canberra.

Canberra had 2.9m domestic travellers spend at least one night in 2019, while Tasmania had 1.3m total visitors. Tasmania made more money from tourism, but it's much easier to get to Canberra for a quick trip. That would also include a lot of work trips.

There were a further 2.3m daytrips to Canberra, which is much trickier to do for Tasmania.

 

[Tasmanian saint]

It gets a bad rap, but it's definitely surpassed my expectations. The initial sell to bring players in might be hard, but once they get here the city shouldn't affect player retention.

They managed to get players to live in western Sydney so Canberra should be a walk in the park mate

 

[Colonial]

They managed to get players to live in western Sydney so Canberra should be a walk in the park mate

They don’t live in Western Sydney.

 

[boncer34]

Canberra is a great place for a family holiday. Parliament, War Museum, Mint. Heaps to do. Plus you can drive from Melbourne or Sydney.

Here kids, get in the car for 7 hours and at the other end we'll go to Parliament, the Mint and Museum's.

 

[Tasmanian saint]

They don’t live in Western Sydney.

They must like traffic then

 

[Colonial]

They must like traffic then

Why?
I don’t think you realise the setup of Sydney and our location.

We are on the eastern fringes of what is classed as Western Sydney, the inner west if you will, and there is a lot of quality areas to live in and around the harbours there.
Besides which not every part of Western Sydney is MtDruitt.

 

[Canberra Pear]

They managed to get players to live in western Sydney so Canberra should be a walk in the park mate

I think Canberra would have a similar appeal to Hobart. A good city for the outdoors. Very relaxed and easy to get around. A lot of our players would come from rural NSW so Canberra would be an easier transition and closer to family for those players.

Most of those players are currently headed for GWS, but their grassroots growth in Western Sydney should start paying dividends by the time Canberra comes in.

 

[Canberra Pear]

Here kids, get in the car for 7 hours and at the other end we'll go to Parliament, the Mint and Museum's.

Once again, I don't think tourism factors in too much for crowds, but Canberra's got a lot for kids. It's pretty much a right of passage for school trips.

The Questacon is awesome for kids, the AIS tour is really interactive, we've got a great zoo, we're 40 minutes from the snow. If your kids are bored in Canberra, you're not trying.

 

[almuz]

Implying that AFL players are high fashion super models that must live in a metropolis at all times.

The inner North and inner South of Canberra are plenty nice/hip for a cashed up sports person. There’s good restaurants, cafes and things to do.

 

[Canberra Pear]

Implying that AFL players are high fashion super models that must live in a metropolis at all times.

The inner North and inner South of Canberra are plenty nice/hip for a cashed up sports person. There’s good restaurants, cafes and things to do.

Canberra hits above its weight compared to other cities this size. All the big wigs means we get a lot of bigger attractions and restaurants, and all the uni students and grads mean we have a higher proportion of people in their 20s.

A lot of very trendy areas in walking distance to Manuka Oval, too!

 

[Bjo187]

Canberra hits above its weight compared to other cities this size. All the big wigs means we get a lot of bigger attractions and restaurants, and all the uni students and grads mean we have a higher proportion of people in their 20s.

A lot of very trendy areas in walking distance to Manuka Oval, too!

What more could a footy player ask for.

 

[Walshawk]

Here kids, get in the car for 7 hours and at the other end we'll go to Parliament, the Mint and Museum's.

Don't forget Questacon. Some of us value culture, history and education. What do you think families do when they visit Melbourne?

 

[Cubs2Lions]

Maybe the ACT Government should get their paycheck out and allow either Hawthorn or North Melbourne now to play their 3 games they usually have in Tasmania, for Canberra now as well as the 3 matches GWS have given the likelhood of no AFL in Tasmania in 2022 due to what the premier said regarding wanting a clear pathway for the state having a team in the competition otherwise those Tassie deals would be finished with the Hawks & Kangaroos.

Might be awesome now for Canberra to host an extra 3 games on top of the three GWS have and improve the foothold and exposure of AFL in Canberra/ACT I say.

 

[Canberra Pear]

Maybe the ACT Government should get either Hawthorn or North Melbourne now to play their 3 games they usually have in Tasmania, for Canberra now as well as the 3 matches GWS have given the likelhood of no AFL in Tasmania in 2022 due to what the premier said regarding wanting a clear pathway for the state having a team in the competition otherwise those Tassie deals would be finished with the Hawks & Kangaroos.

Might be awesome now for Canberra to host an extra 3 games on top of the three GWS have and improve the foothold and exposure of AFL in Canberra/ACT I say.

I like your thinking. I'd like to see Hawthorn and the 'Roos play home games against the Giants here (like teams did in Cairns against the Gold Coast) on top of the three GWS home games. That way we'd get five GWS games and we'd be getting close to a home team. Maybe St Kilda too as they seemed keen to jump on the Tassie bandwagon.

A lot of the image perception with GWS is their part-time status, but if we could get six "home" games in Canberra, they'd only be two short of the Brumbies.

 

[Cubs2Lions]

I like your thinking. I'd like to see Hawthorn and the 'Roos play home games against the Giants here (like teams did in Cairns against the Gold Coast) on top of the three GWS home games. That way we'd get five GWS games and we'd be getting close to a home team. Maybe St Kilda too as they seemed keen to jump on the Tassie bandwagon.

A lot of the image perception with GWS is their part-time status, but if we could get six "home" games in Canberra, they'd only be two short of the Brumbies.

And as a result, that would also help grow the sport dramatically over in Canberra to a higher level then it is now, not just in viewership and crowd attendances throughout the matches but also in participation rates from players at the local clubs around the Canberra/ACT region wanting to play the sport for their clubs in the future.

Hopefully this happens and Canberra gets 6 matches in the future (3 GWS & 3 Other) cause that would be awesome for the community over there in regards to the sport

 

[Walshawk]

I like your thinking. I'd like to see Hawthorn and the 'Roos play home games against the Giants here (like teams did in Cairns against the Gold Coast) on top of the three GWS home games. That way we'd get five GWS games and we'd be getting close to a home team. Maybe St Kilda too as they seemed keen to jump on the Tassie bandwagon.

A lot of the image perception with GWS is their part-time status, but if we could get six "home" games in Canberra, they'd only be two short of the Brumbies.

Hawthorn is never going to play a single home game at a stadium that the opposition plays six games.
If No more games in Tassie, then Canberra should push for two Hawks & Saints games. GWS should reduce their commitment to two game and focus on Western Sydney.
North at the redeveloped Lavington ground in Albury would be a great fitz

 

[Colonial]

GWS should reduce their commitment to two game and focus on Western Sydney.

Yes this.

Trying to grow the game in 2 regions instead of just concentrating on WS was a misstep in my opinion. As well as it is going.

 

[Canberra Pear]

Yes this.

Trying to grow the game in 2 regions instead of just concentrating on WS was a misstep in my opinion. As well as it is going.

I agree long-term. Canberra has been sort of a lifeboat for GWS, and showing they're capable of floating on their own will be good for their WS base. And a strong GWS is Canberra's best shot for their own team, too. I'd personally like to see ANZ take a game during the Easter Show against a big Vic side.

But in the short-term, it looks like GWS looks keen to stay. It could be a good transition plan if GWS drops to two games, and we get two Vic teams in to play "home" games, too. But I'd like GWS to remain the "away" team for those Vic games. Canberra has gone back and forth between "home" teams, but after a decade with GWS, there's actual loyalty behind the Giants support now. Canberrans like AFL, but they want a team to barrack for, not just "yay AFL".