Universal Love Princes Park Update

[Jimmae]

I'm guessing you've never been to Domain Stadium over in Perth.

Perth is probably where I'd go if I had passmark's sense of nostalgia.

 

[Jeremias]

Perth is probably where I'd go if I had passmark's sense of nostalgia.

They have benches in (at least) one of the stands over there, and it seems to work just fine.

Individual seats are more comfortable IMO but there is no reason why benches can't be used.

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

They have benches in (at least) one of the stands over there, and it seems to work just fine.

Individual seats are more comfortable IMO but there is no reason why benches can't be used.

They've all got row and seat numbers on them anyway.

 

[Jimmae]

They have benches in (at least) one of the stands over there, and it seems to work just fine.

Individual seats are more comfortable IMO but there is no reason why benches can't be used.

Either way half the seating would need to be replaced, so might as well make people less aggressive about seating space by giving them allocated bits of material for their butts.

 

[IschenkoUBeauty]

At that time, we would be hoping that the rich benefactors who use our club as a plaything would dig deep into their pockets to help with finding the 20 million.

They may as well use their fat wallets and clout for good for a change, instead of using it to send Carlton backwards through shithouse decisions....

 

[IschenkoUBeauty]

Needs to be a TAB and pokies on site again too.

 

[thylacine60]

The way to keep the cost down is not to go for a state of the art.

By all means upgrade the wheelchair access, toilets, catering but don't get hung up on benches versus individual seating etc and certainly don't think the whole ground needs to be demolished.

The whole beauty (and success) of yesterday was the return to a bygone era of suburban grounds with all their idiosyncracies and even their faults.

People will put up with it at certain venues (isn't Kooyong all benches etc and hosting the Davis cup?) for certain events.

People love nostalgia.

Also, two major factors in a crowded market (like Melbournes AFL market) is competitive advantage and differentiation.

Get a venue like PP up and running again and you have both covered and makes you a much more attractive membership option.

great post

 

[thylacine60]

Is the Gardiner stand heritage listed or am I imagining that?

No. That's me.

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

Needs to be a TAB and pokies on site again too.

No there doesn't.

 

[IschenkoUBeauty]

No there doesn't.

It was grouse. You could even smoke in there too.

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

It was grouse. You could even smoke in there too.

Sounds disgusting.

 

[Doss]

Needs to be a TAB and pokies on site again too.

Probably not...given current trends. Then again maybe you're being sarcastic.

As I said in the other thread, it's basically the only suburban ground standing that has a big enough capacity to be viable for this. It's close to the city, too.

For me it ticks all the boxes. Sure, you won't be able to have night games there because of the NIMBY factor, but that's not insurmountable.

As much as I agree with the sentiment that there's a perverse charm in some of the idiosyncrasies and quirks about suburban grounds, like tiny stairwells and hard seats and steep stairs, the modern reality seems to be that they're simply not tolerated. So that stuff would need to be fixed.

But I think yesterday showed that, for games where a crowd of about 20k is the maximum of what you'd expect, it'd be great. IMO, capacity wouldn't need to be boosted to anything more than about 26k. Maybe 30k at most.

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

great post

We are only looking at this from a Carlton supporters view point with a very rosy picture of days gone by. There is no way any opposition supporters nowadays would be happy sitting in a derelict, old fashioned stadium to watch their team play. Cannot see the logic in upgrading a stadium for just Carlton to play 4 games per year?

 

[Doss]

We are only looking at this from a Carlton supporters view point with a very rosy picture of days gone by. There is no way any opposition supporters nowadays would be happy sitting in a derelict, old fashioned stadium to watch their team play. Cannot see the logic in upgrading a stadium for just Carlton to play 4 games per year?

I think it'd need to cater for games like Footscray v Gold Coast and the like, too.

Might not necessarily see a game every single weekend, although then again it might too. But if you had, say, 18 games there a year, an upgrade of some stripe without going to town on it could be worth it.

 

[passmark]

No one was saying spare no expenses, but there are practical and beneficial opportunities through modernisation.

Hell, they can put in some solar panels, water recycling, some structures which will promote plant growth and a whole host of other initiatives and they'll actually save costs in the short and long term.

As for seating, how are you supposed to sell tickets to a row in a boutique stadium if you can't guarantee seating arrangements? Benches need to go for that reason alone.

Find other ways to generate nostalgia and quaintness.

Subiaco oval has benches with numbers. Last time I looked it's still an AFL venue.

 

[thylacine60]

We are only looking at this from a Carlton supporters view point with a very rosy picture of days gone by. There is no way any opposition supporters nowadays would be happy sitting in a derelict, old fashioned stadium to watch their team play. Cannot see the logic in upgrading a stadium for just Carlton to play 4 games per year?

who said anything about needing opposition supporters?

 

[IschenkoUBeauty]

Sounds disgusting.

If my memory serves me correctly they even had a smokes vending machine on site too. Was bloody convenient!!

 

[passmark]

Either way half the seating would need to be replaced, so might as well make people less aggressive about seating space by giving them allocated bits of material for their butts.

Yes, keep looking for worst possible scenarios.

Lets build cubicles or bubble wrap people.

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

I think it'd need to cater for games like Footscray v Gold Coast and the like, too.

Might not necessarily see a game every single weekend, although then again it might too. But if you had, say, 18 games there a year, an upgrade of some stripe without going to town on it could be worth it.

This is my point though Doss. It is fine as nostalgic Carlton supporters who grew up going to the place and still love it to say we could do a half baked makeover and everything would be fine but the Footscray supporters would not see it that way. How we watch footy and the venues we watch it at and the facilities have come a long way in the last 10 years and there are many now who do not want to go back.

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

who said anything about needing opposition supporters?

Could get thin on the ground after say round 10 in a Carlton season! Oh well at least we will have the social club......

 

[ferrisb]

We are only looking at this from a Carlton supporters view point with a very rosy picture of days gone by. There is no way any opposition supporters nowadays would be happy sitting in a derelict, old fashioned stadium to watch their team play. Cannot see the logic in upgrading a stadium for just Carlton to play 4 games per year?

Plus nostalgia wears thin.

Yesterday was fun. Even inadequate stuff like terrible signage, queues to the food stalls /toilets that made it almost impossible to squeeze past to the next Bay were 'quaint and funny'.

You go to a few games like that and it loses its charm, then you start thinking 'ffs, I can see why we moved to Etihad'...

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

I don't get how so many people had problems going to the bathroom yesterday. There were gazillions available (at least in the ladies') under the Heroes Stand.

 

[passmark]

Etihad is a graveyard.

 

[thylacine60]

That was an old phone box, MEB.

 

[Stig O'Hara]

This is my point though Doss. It is fine as nostalgic Carlton supporters who grew up going to the place and still love it to say we could do a half baked makeover and everything would be fine but the Footscray supporters would not see it that way. How we watch footy and the venues we watch it at and the facilities have come a long way in the last 10 years and there are many now who do not want to go back.

Can vaguely remember in the late 90's we had both Footscray & Fitzroy playing there in front of 5k crowds.

Essendon had a few home games there as well (pretty sure they played the Crows & Richmond), think it had something to do with too many clubs playing at the MCG.