Eureka Stadium (Mars Stadium)

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Love the pics Rooblu
 
The more i think about it, the more i'm curious as to how much consideration was put into the size of the oval. Interesting to read it was MCG size but has been changed to Etihad size. Considering we play bugger all games at the G, could have been an opportunity to keep it at that size to get an extra game or two on a ground of that size each year.
 

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I've put the high up shots of the Stadium on my Facebook Page Bulldogs Online RooBlu and I have credited you on the post, If you want me to use your actual name just DM and I'll sort it for you
 
RooBlu said:
I noted the piece in the Herald Sun today stating that the Bulldogs will be playing out of their natural element at the MCG this weekend by playing in the open and not under cover. At least Ballarat will afford them more opportunity to play in adverse weather conditions which might stand them in better stead for playing finals away from Etihad.
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Indeed, but also thought this would be a good chance to construct it to MCG dimensions. Means we could essentially play 4 games on MCG size ground. 2 @ the G and 2 here from 2018 onwards. Ah well.
 
I had the pleasure of attending a game at Eureka Stadium for the first time on Saturday night. One of the best things about it would be the surface, which was fantastic, if a bit slippery. It's a fairly basic facility, even by VFL standards, but there is so much space around the oval itself that I guess when the new stands go up that probably won't be a problem, though the facility in it's current state would really struggle with a crowd bigger than about 1500. It was very cold and windy, to the extent that 23 out of 29 goals were kicked at one end, which could be a factor. The other issue I think is parking and transport at/to the ground, the former of which is limited and the latter non existent. It could also be a problem for night games, I had to stay over because the last train back to Melbourne left at 9:30pm.

I still recommend it as a trip down right now if your VFL side plays there, it was certainly a unique experience.
 
RooBlu said:
The article posted above illustrates some of the concern that Bulldogs fans currently have. Although the document below provides a lot more insight as to why the ground is being built at an initial 11,000 capacity. It seems that there is indeed a lot of work to be done, not just in building the ground itself but the State Planning Minister has attached a lot of clauses and conditions for the Ballarat City Council (BCC) to comply with before the the ground will be signed off for use at its initial capacity. The document is only five pages long and not an arduous read, but it quite clearly states what the first stage must deliver. Including adequate entrances, provision for safe pedestrian movement, initial carparking capacity, landscaping provisions, traffic management strategies, public transport access and drop-off points. And the list goes on.

Gazzetted Planning Approval Document for Eureka Stadium

This is a lot to do in a short space of time, and only so much can be done within the initial budget and time-frames to deliver the first stage allocated by the State Government. One imagines that the State Government want to see that adequate infrastructure and game day organisation can be achieved on time and on budget. They need to see that the BCC have the capacity to manage and finalise the first stage of development and implementation before they (the Stae Govt) will commit extra funding in subsequent future budgets. Interesting times ahead, it will be interesting to not only see how the BCC manage all of the other stuff beyond the oval and grandstands leading up to 2017, but also in how well the first game is managed.
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They really need to get to 20-30k capacity ASAP. That might be too much for the ground but that size will be about perfect.
Am glad that the agreement really puts the onus on BCC. I do hope that it can be delivered. As a soon to be BCC resident, I hope everything goes smoothly and I can walk to the ground on gameday.
 
LittleG said:
They really need to get to 20-30k capacity ASAP. That might be too much for the ground but that size will be about perfect.
Am glad that the agreement really puts the onus on BCC. I do hope that it can be delivered. As a soon to be BCC resident, I hope everything goes smoothly and I can walk to the ground on gameday.
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20-30k? Jesus lol, 15-20 is more like it.
 
A thought I had; once Etihad is owned by the AFL and Ballarat is built, are we going to see the end of small Victorian teams taking games to Darwin, Cairns, Alice Springs to a lesser extent (don't think it really deserves a game in the first place) and potentially Tasmania down the track? The financial incentive will be smaller once the rent prices at Docklands aren't so extreme. Presumably the likes of Footscray and Melbourne would prefer 25-30k in Melbourne than 10k in Darwin or Cairns.

It would be a shame to lose the games in these regional areas because it's one thing the AFL does really well IMO.
 
I
Adelaide Docker said:
A thought I had; once Etihad is owned by the AFL and Ballarat is built, are we going to see the end of small Victorian teams taking games to Darwin, Cairns, Alice Springs to a lesser extent (don't think it really deserves a game in the first place) and potentially Tasmania down the track? The financial incentive will be smaller once the rent prices at Docklands aren't so extreme. Presumably the likes of Footscray and Melbourne would prefer 25-30k in Melbourne than 10k in Darwin or Cairns.

It would be a shame to lose the games in these regional areas because it's one thing the AFL does really well IMO.
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It will be all about money, as long as those places offer better financial returns games will still be played there, someone will probably replace the Dogs in Cairns
 
RooBlu said:
Another aerial from higher perspective shown earlier in the evening. It shows the North Ballarat No 2 oval as well as the Wendouree Oval off to the distance.

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This looks awesome. Something this simple would be really great for a few old, disintegrating WAFL crowds. Or for smaller towns in places like northern New Sydney Wales, Queensland, WA, the Territory. Unfortunately I just look at this and think of a grey, 11 degree, freezing day and those hills basically being mud for the footy season. It's a shame it's such a freezing cold place because this'd be a nice boutique ground as it is in a warmer place.
 
Silent Alarm said:
This looks awesome. Something this simple would be really great for a few old, disintegrating WAFL crowds. Or for smaller towns in places like northern New Sydney Wales, Queensland, WA, the Territory. Unfortunately I just look at this and think of a grey, 11 degree, freezing day and those hills basically being mud for the footy season. It's a shame it's such a freezing cold place because this'd be a nice boutique ground as it is in a warmer place.
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It's seriously only three degrees colder than Melbourne, get your hand off it.
 

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carls12 said:
It's seriously only three degrees colder than Melbourne, get your hand off it.
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Exactly as mentioned above, the only grounds in Melbourne that have grass banks are generally suburban ones. It doesn't mean if they're raised, or just grass behind the goals, or even the gardens at a park – wet weather and foot traffic generally tends to rip apart grass. You simply don't get that many grassed outdoor areas in Melbourne because of how easily it turns to mud, and how expensive and impossible it is to regrow once it's warm enough to tough out foot traffic.

It's not just the grass either. Grandstands try and block out wind and rain. It is going to be absolutely freezing on those hills. You might say Geelong isn't much colder than Melbourne, but go to the average game at Simonds Stadium on a Saturday night and the place is freezing. I remember a Foxtel Cup granny there mid week, and it was just about 1 degree for the whole thing.

As I said – great looking ground. It looks really tidy. But it's not suited in its current format to Ballarat at all.

I was just saying, do this up in Cairns or even Newcastle or something, and it'd be a pretty good ground. It would be an awesome centre for the local towns surrounding, and a more than acceptable little joint for 1-2 AFL matches a year.

I have some mild reservations about the general scope and purpose of the stadium but there's millions worse things being spent on. A regional centre this great is a good thing. Not enough big country towns have things like this. But when the Bulldogs are bottom four and playing a bog average Brisbane Lions down there, how many people are going to seriously watch that on a Sunday afternoon? I know that's only half the point of this new arena but you know...
 
Adelaide Docker said:
It's only be ever used for VFL games with two men and a dog in attendance. Silent Alarm was concerned about the condition of the hill at the 'Rat with the crowd standing 20 deep on a wet 8 degree afternoon.
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The last two games at Whitten oval I went to this year, at least 2K. Will excuse your ignorance.
Doubt the game will be mid season, it will need to be shortly after Easter weekend. It is a great time of year for Ballarat.
Your points appear to be centered around wet cold weather which is this time of year. How about considering an early season game?
 
RooBlu said:
In truth Ballarat is really no colder or windier than Geelong is in Winter. For years that cold and blustery Southerly that hammers Geelong mercilously over Winter has been Geelong's trump card and made Simonds Stadium a most 'unhappy' of hunting grounds for any visiting AFL teams.
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I have never lived in Geelong but I do find Ballarat a few degrees colder than Melbourne. In saying that, I will be back living in North Ballarat again in August and hope I remember the weather incorrectly.
 
LittleG said:
The last two games at Whitten oval I went to this year, at least 2K. Will excuse your ignorance.
Doubt the game will be mid season, it will need to be shortly after Easter weekend. It is a great time of year for Ballarat.
Your points appear to be centered around wet cold weather which is this time of year. How about considering an early season game?
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it has been used for preseason games & they had a sell out from memory earlier this season
 
RooBlu said:
Global warming? Gee I reckon that Ballarat people would be pretty happy for some of that s**t in Winter. Eureka Stadium July 2015 :eek:

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At least if you get bored at the game, you can have snow fights or snow man building competitions.

The same view 11 months on in June 2016 with the oval reconfigured, new lights and of course a bit less snow.

Eurekastadium.jpg
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Holy s**t please let there be snow at an AFL game lol
 
Just have the game in the early rounds. Then it is less cold and less excuse.
 
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