Eureka Stadium (Mars Stadium)

Remove this Banner Ad

hitthepost said:
This from a poster whose team is averaging almost as many empty seats per home game as there were people at Mars Stadium yesterday...
Click to expand...
How mature. Up there with the 'well how many AFL games did you play?'

It's going to be hard to convince people to trip it to a freezing cold Ballarat in winter every season. It's not a destination. People don't have that much money either - do you want to waste your Saturday and get home at 7pm? People can't afford a $100 hotel for the night just to see a game of footy.

I don't know, okay idea but it's not that great.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
Silent Alarm said:
How mature. Up there with the 'Nwell how many AFL games did you play?'

It's going to be hard to convince people to trip it to a freezing cold Ballarat in winter every season. It's not a destination. People don't have that much money either - do you want to waste your Saturday and get home at 7pm? People can't afford a $100 hotel for the night just to see a game of footy.

I don't know, okay idea but it's not that great.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
Click to expand...
It's closer than GC fans having to travel to Cairns - oh wait they don't, the Cairnsians go to that game. Canberrans to games at Manuka and Taswegians to games at York Park and Bellerive.
What about the people of Ballarat and surrounds? They don't have to travel very far to get there.

Thanks for clarifying that your first post was meant to contribute to the discussion and wasn't just a dig at them "ONLY" getting to within 1,000 people of capacity.
 
Silent Alarm said:
How mature. Up there with the 'well how many AFL games did you play?'

It's going to be hard to convince people to trip it to a freezing cold Ballarat in winter every season. It's not a destination. People don't have that much money either - do you want to waste your Saturday and get home at 7pm? People can't afford a $100 hotel for the night just to see a game of footy.

I don't know, okay idea but it's not that great.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
Click to expand...
Ballarat has a booming tourism sector, I usually respect you as a poster, but pull your head in on this one. This was the busiest weekend at work I have seen in August. Was a big boon for business, and for many, many families in Melbourne a weekender away to Ballarat/Daylesford is a very enticing trip. We will have no issue getting crowds to two games a year.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Roogal said:
There was ample access to toilets and food trucks and canned full strength beer was allowed. You don't get that at the big stadiums.
Click to expand...
Not in cans, but Kardinia Park is now full strength for Night and Day games, and the prices are cheaper than going to the G or etihad.
 
Roogal said:
20901564_10154594086666441_1973937984635897926_o.jpg
Click to expand...

Was that a temporary big screen setup on a sea container in the top right hand Cnr of this pic for people who couldn't get into watch the game? You could see something in that area during the TV match coverage but couldn't make out what it was.
 
Roogal said:
Right Question and a Good Question. That was a "Live Site" that flopped. The Council have acknowledged that. I personally went and had a great day, but I reckon that the next one could be contained inside one of the Showground's Pavilions and be contained as an indoor bar, entertainment and kids play area for about 300 people. That would work.

That said, the Live Site was a great idea, but just the wrong game and wrong time of year. It would have worked a treat for BBL cricket at the same oval. No question.
Click to expand...
Sitting on dirt in the freezing cold... instead of at home, or, if you really cared that much, actually being at the match which apparently didn't even sell out.

I don't mind the idea and good on the council for trying really hard to get things going and getting the match to be as big as possible, but seriously.

Not trying to rag too much on the idea and initiative, as hey, it is a captive football market and a game a year there isn't bad. Plus a big country town gets a high grade stadium they can use for a few one-off events. It's a good spending of tax money and I'm sure it's done a lot of good for the town but there's so much of the AFL idea that seems faulty or poorly thought out.
 
Silent Alarm said:
Sitting on dirt in the freezing cold... instead of at home, or, if you really cared that much, actually being at the match which apparently didn't even sell out.
Click to expand...
Are you still on about this!? 10,100 people at an 11,000 stadium. 92% capacity. That's damn close to a full house, especially when there's only another 900 seats left. Not like it's 92% at the MCG which means there's still 8,000 seats left.

Also:
Roogal said:
You are right, they did sell just over 11,000 tickets and there were about 300 given away as prizes in competitions.
Click to expand...
So they sold all 11,000 tickets. That's a sell-out unless you're a cheap airline and going to cancel a few people's seats. Sorry sir we've cancelled your seat but you're welcome to come to our local league grand final instead.
 
What kind of $$$ do the Dogs make out of this as opposed to the game being at Etihad? The weekend would of attracted a lot of neutrals as it had 'new thing' factor but 2-3 years down the track these people typically stop showing up and its just the club supporters left. Being a member and having to shell out extra is not gonna work out year after year. I think they need to get the timing right, maybe a day on a long weekend would be a better option in the future and possbily early season when the weather is better.
 
Orange Agent said:
What kind of $$$ do the Dogs make out of this as opposed to the game being at Etihad? The weekend would of attracted a lot of neutrals as it had 'new thing' factor but 2-3 years down the track these people typically stop showing up and its just the club supporters left. Being a member and having to shell out extra is not gonna work out year after year. I think they need to get the timing right, maybe a day on a long weekend would be a better option in the future and possbily early season when the weather is better.
Click to expand...
Ballarat is freezing cold, takes out a whole day from your weekend, it isn't a very glamorous location, the Bulldogs don't have that many supporters (relatively), and there is also really good public transport that could take local supporters from Ballarat to Southern Cross almost directly.
 
Silent Alarm said:
Ballarat is freezing cold, takes out a whole day from your weekend, it isn't a very glamorous location, the Bulldogs don't have that many supporters (relatively), and there is also really good public transport that could take local supporters from Ballarat to Southern Cross almost directly.
Click to expand...
You mean the same public transport that could take supporters from Southern Cross to Ballarat? Wearing their winter woolies (jeez this is a winter sport after all!)
 
There will be enough locals to fill the stadium within a decade anyway, without relying on people coming up from Melbourne or whoever the Dogs play.

Ballarat's population is growing faster than Geelong or Bendigo. There is a massive development out Wendouree way that will house tens of thousands of people. The crowd they got was very good, all things considered. The way people (well, one person) is acting is actually quite embarrassing.
 
The crowd they got was very good becuase it's 91% of the oval and within 1,000 of capacity. What would have been better? People packed in like sardines?
 
Silent Alarm said:
Ballarat is freezing cold, takes out a whole day from your weekend, it isn't a very glamorous location, the Bulldogs don't have that many supporters (relatively), and there is also really good public transport that could take local supporters from Ballarat to Southern Cross almost directly.
Click to expand...
I think all the people from Melbourne having a bit of a joke around about how it was going to snow since it was in Ballarat put a few people off. I went, it was a perfect, sunny winter's day and a good game of footy, and I'll probably get a membership even though I'm not a doggies supporter since it's so convenient. Since people from Melbourne think 10 degrees is cold they would've sooked about the temperature, no doubt. You just have to learn to layer up. Beanie, scarf, base layers under jeans etc. and you're fine. You don't feel it.

There's great potential for AFL in Ballarat once there's enough investment in public transport and the stadium itself. Like Roogal said, the stadium's right beside the freeway on an underdeveloped, and long overdue to be upgraded, major highway. Plus right next to a railway line that could easily have a station built there for events. So what if a couple of games a year Melbournians have to make it a day out to go to the footy? Now you know what people from Ballarat have to do every weekend to go. And for a small AFL club like the Bulldogs it's a great opportunity to grow and actually make money from games. No doubt they're looking at the Geelong model and seeing how much they're making, because Etihad is too big of a stadium for their supporter base.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Silent Alarm said:
Ballarat is freezing cold, takes out a whole day from your weekend, it isn't a very glamorous location, the Bulldogs don't have that many supporters (relatively), and there is also really good public transport that could take local supporters from Ballarat to Southern Cross almost directly.
Click to expand...
Please don't ever come to Ballarat then.
 
thegreig said:
If the capacity is to increase will it be like the western stand all the way around? or is the plan to continue the smaller north/east stand
Click to expand...
That is yet to be decided. The original plans envisage extending the main stand around most of the arena and eventually extending the smaller Eastern Stand rearward (Capacity 17,000 seated, with an estimated cost of $30 million). The Bulldogs vision is more expensive and would involve expanding and rebuilding the existing smaller stands and expanding the standing terrace (capacity 15,000 seated and 10,000 standing, estimated to cost $60 million).

I imagine that how eve it evolves that it will look vastly different to these:

Mars Stadium Concept 2009.PNG
Original 2009 concept

Eureka Medium.jpg
2015 concept

r0_120_5388_3149_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
 
Last edited:
It's such a brilliant stadium, love the hill area's nothing better than seeing the old school cluster of people watching a good game of footy. Perfect capacity would be around 15-18k, doubt it will ever get to 25k as Peter Gordon stated. As much as the game and all sport it commercialized and we play in big stadiums its great to go back to roots and country just to show the respect and importance country footy is to the game.
 
aCunningPlan said:
Sovereign Hill has half a dozen open fires lit nearly all year long, it isn't that big of a deal. Most country footy clubs have them too.
Click to expand...
Soverign Hill doesn't have 10+ thousand people packed in, with alcohol and team rivalries adding to the mix.

Some bars serve flaming cocktails but that doesn't make it a good idea for a bar at the footy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

The Victorian
New 15,000 seat Newcastle Stadium proposal
2
Replies
26
Views
4K
RedV3x
RedV3x
E
Third Stadium in Melbourne
2 3 4 5 6
Replies
133
Views
12K
catters05
C
BanquoUtd
Stadium proposals for Darwin team
Replies
1
Views
1K
Johnny Bananas
Johnny Bananas
M
Hobart Stadium: $750 million cost
13 14 15 16 17
Replies
409
Views
27K
Mitchell Madness
Mitchell Madness

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top