News Simonds Stadium stage 3 redevelopment - Players Stand, big screen and new lights

[supahoops]

Grant Dodds - Barwon Club Hotel is my guess.

Is that greg's brother?

 

[samtheman1979]

Is that greg's brother?

Greg Dodds sorry. My mistake. Too many reds tonight....

 

[JUBJUB]

I think Cookie has had too many US beers. Where is the publican opposite on Mooroobool (sic) Street? Was he the guy standing on the corner serving beers out of brown paper bags?

The Barwon Club is what he was refering to,which is located on the other side of the Fyans St/Moorabool St intersection.It's still staggering distance from the footy.

 

[ZosoCat]

hoping Julia has an announcement to make on Saturday regarding stages 4 and 5.

 

[kickazz]

Get into the HOOPS BAR. Sounds good. All we need now is to get the food right - get down for a CatDog Hotdog , a Big Billy Burger , some Chappys Chips and Podsiadly Pie.

Duncan Donuts.

 

[darijoe]

Cookie said tonight he hoped the AFL didn't develop another boutique stadium (assume he was referring to Punt Road or Princes Park) now SS is up and running.

Yeah I would think if there were to be one in Melbourne (which I don't believe is needed), Punt Road wouldn't be a good option being only a stone's throw away from the MCG. Princes Park worked really well as somewhat of a boutique stadium in the early 2000s after Waverley had closed and Docklands had opened. I still really don't understand why the AFL pulled out of Optus Oval back in the day. Take this week's game between Carlton and GWS - at the traditional home of the Blues, it would be an incredible atmosphere there considering the crowd would only be around the 20-25,000 mark likely. Now that there has been a lot of reconstruction there for Carlton's training facilities, I see it as less practical to develop it back than to have the occasional game played at Kardinia Park. We have this incredible 30,000+ floodlit stadium in Geelong and it is only used for 7 matches per season. Hopefully we start off with perhaps the Bulldogs (and possibly North Melbourne) playing maybe 2 home games there per season against interstate teams and see how it goes.

 

[ZosoCat]

Yeah I would think if there were to be one in Melbourne (which I don't believe is needed), Punt Road wouldn't be a good option being only a stone's throw away from the MCG. Princes Park worked really well as somewhat of a boutique stadium in the early 2000s after Waverley had closed and Docklands had opened. I still really don't understand why the AFL pulled out of Optus Oval back in the day. Take this week's game between Carlton and GWS - at the traditional home of the Blues, it would be an incredible atmosphere there considering the crowd would only be around the 20-25,000 mark likely. Now that there has been a lot of reconstruction there for Carlton's training facilities, I see it as less practical to develop it back than to have the occasional game played at Kardinia Park. We have this incredible 30,000+ floodlit stadium in Geelong and it is only used for 7 matches per season. Hopefully we start off with perhaps the Bulldogs (and possibly North Melbourne) playing maybe 2 home games there per season against interstate teams and see how it goes.

8 matches in geelong from next year is the plan.. hoping for more once the other stages are done.
I agree with the Optus Oval point. I think Carlton really did themselves a disservice leaving in the first place to play matches with what 6 other clubs or something like that. They would make a good return at Princess Park against the interstate teams and even Bulldogs and North.

so glad we never left Geelong. We would have lost all out identity as a Geelong team and just become the Cats which would have been horrible.

 

[darijoe]

so glad we never left Geelong. We would have lost all out identity as a Geelong team and just become the Cats which would have been horrible.

Absolutely! Dare I say it, the Southwest Cats?

 

[supahoops]

8 matches in geelong from next year is the plan.. hoping for more once the other stages are done.
I agree with the Optus Oval point. I think Carlton really did themselves a disservice leaving in the first place to play matches with what 6 other clubs or something like that. They would make a good return at Princess Park against the interstate teams and even Bulldogs and North.

so glad we never left Geelong. We would have lost all out identity as a Geelong team and just become the Cats which would have been horrible.

11 home games down here would do me. And with so many clubs looking to play home games against the 'big' clubs maybe we should go the other way and ask for away games v pies dons hawks blues tigers. Win-win, 11 down here and the others big games at the mcg.

 

[ZosoCat]

11 home games down here would do me. And with so many clubs looking to play home games against the 'big' clubs maybe we should go the other way and ask for away games v pies dons hawks blues tigers. Win-win, 11 down here and the others big games at the mcg.

sell out's every week if we played against the bombers and pies. I would love this. Tickets would be hot every big match. Wonder if we would make more money playing a home match at simonds against the pies then a hone match at the MCG against the pies... Would leave many pies and cats fans without chances of going to see the footy though.

 

[supahoops]

sell out's every week if we played against the bombers and pies. I would love this. Tickets would be hot every big match. Wonder if we would make more money playing a home match at simonds against the pies then a hone match at the MCG against the pies... Would leave many pies and cats fans without chances of going to see the footy though.

That'll never happen. My point was lets play 11 home games in Geelong, 5 or 6 big games away in Melbourne vs pies dons etc and another 5 of 6 interstate. Alternatively the smaller clubs could opt to play their home games down here against us, would get a 40,000 crowd with plenty of seat sales and a $1.5 mil cheque they could walk away with.

 

[topic97]

sell out's every week if we played against the bombers and pies. I would love this. Tickets would be hot every big match. Wonder if we would make more money playing a home match at simonds against the pies then a hone match at the MCG against the pies... Would leave many pies and cats fans without chances of going to see the footy though.

Yep we sure do.
From memory the break even from an MCG game is a crowd of about 55-60,000 & etihad is a crowd of 34,000 - KP Games we get the profit from regardless of the crowd size.

So we would be much better off, but I cant see the AFL letting it happen and loosing their lions share of the takings from blockbuster games.

Would be awesome to introduce hawks and pies fans to our cauldron!!

 

[topic97]

That'll never happen. My point was lets play 11 home games in Geelong, 5 or 6 big games away in Melbourne vs pies dons etc and another 5 of 6 interstate. Alternatively the smaller clubs could opt to play their home games down here against us, would get a 40,000 crowd with plenty of seat sales and a $1.5 mil cheque they could walk away with.

How would we fit a 40,000 crowd in a stadium with a 33,000 capacity?!
Its not like the old days where they just crammed them in and it didnt matter, the clubs insurance agency would rip up the contract the minute they went even 1 person over capacity.
Or were you meaning after stage 4 & 5?

Personally I think that all our home games bar probably Pies & Hawks should be at KP next year - with a 33,000 capacity & lights I dont see any reason to play home games at Etihad, seems pointless & wasteful.

 

[vealesy]

Maybe more than 33k people want to go to the footy?

I am biased because i live in eastern melbourne though.

 

[topic97]

Wonder if we would make more money playing a home match at simonds against the pies then a hone match at the MCG against the pies

More to that, an excerpt from a herald sun article from Brian Cook:

"We make about double for a full crowd here compared with the same crowd at Etihad. At the Essendon game when got a crowd of 50,000 we should bring home around $450,000," said Cook.

"On Saturday night we should make somewhere around $850,000 for a crowd just over 30,000. So when you talk about bringing clubs to Geelong even if they make half as much as we do they will still take home something like $400,000."

 

[supahoops]

How would we fit a 40,000 crowd in a stadium with a 33,000 capacity?!
Its not like the old days where they just crammed them in and it didnt matter, the clubs insurance agency would rip up the contract the minute they went even 1 person over capacity.
Or were you meaning after stage 4 & 5?

Personally I think that all our home games bar probably Pies & Hawks should be at KP next year - with a 33,000 capacity & lights I dont see any reason to play home games at Etihad, seems pointless & wasteful.

Yeah post stage 4&5 topic.

Clubs like dogs roos saints dees, if they played a home game against us every other year, with both clubs incorporating it into their membership packages, I think that'd work.

An extra couple of games down here each year for us and a healthier bottom line for them. Wouldn't affect the etihad deal too much.

 

[topic97]

Yeah post stage 4&5 topic.

Clubs like dogs roos saints dees, if they played a home game against us every other year, with both clubs incorporating it into their membership packages, I think that'd work.

An extra couple of games down here each year for us and a healthier bottom line for them. Wouldn't affect the etihad deal too much.

Yeah I thought you must have meant 4 & 5.

The shame about the whole situation you mentioned above is the fact that the afl will do everything in their power to make sure that doesn't happen - even though if they did allow them to it would really help them out of the poo & make their clubs a hell of a lot healthier!

I just can't see what the issue is?
I'd get it if the AFL owned etihad outright, but these already struggling clubs are making a pittance off those games, if not paying.

Cook said that they would make $400k ish from similar crowds down here.
Just seems insane that its not allowed!!

 

[Generalissimo]

Unless they're really desperate for money, I doubt if anyone would want to play one of their home games against us at KP. That would be like us saying we'll play one of our home games against the Weagles in WA.

What are the prospects for getting international cricket in Geelong? Tests are probably out of the question, but what about ODIs or that hit-and-giggle 20/20 crap?

 

[topic97]

I think the original offer was for teams to play their home games against other opposition, not necessarily us
I know there was a proposal for the dogs a few years ago to shift a few of their home games to KP.

I rekon the only way we would get an international cricket match away from the mcg would be if they bought back the tri series & it was like NZ v Srilanka.
Can't see the Aussies playing down there unfortunately - would be good though!!

 

[SJ]

Yeah I thought you must have meant 4 & 5.

The shame about the whole situation you mentioned above is the fact that the afl will do everything in their power to make sure that doesn't happen - even though if they did allow them to it would really help them out of the poo & make their clubs a hell of a lot healthier!

I just can't see what the issue is?
I'd get it if the AFL owned etihad outright, but these already struggling clubs are making a pittance off those games, if not paying.

Cook said that they would make $400k ish from similar crowds down here.
Just seems insane that its not allowed!!

Which games would they move? Etihad and MCG contracts are locked in.

 

[topic97]

Which games would they move? Etihad and MCG contracts are locked in.

Nah I meant more move saints & dogs home games to KP.
Why bother making them play in Darwin or Canberra etc when they can make good coin by playing an hour down the road?!

They will never shift our big games from the mcg unfortunately.

 

[SJ]

Nah I meant more move saints & dogs home games to KP.
Why bother making them play in Darwin or Canberra etc when they can make good coin by playing an hour down the road?!

They will never shift our big games from the mcg unfortunately.

Make them? No one makes any club play in Darwin or Canberra. The AFL wants to promote football interstate and offers money to clubs to play games there. Those clubs choose to play there.

Also Geelong requests to play two games at the MCG.

 

[Commando]

Make them? No one makes any club play in Darwin or Canberra. The AFL wants to promote football interstate and offers money to clubs to play games there. Those clubs choose to play there.

Also Geelong requests to play two games at the MCG.

Spot on, Melbourne based fans and members too...

 

[CatFan73]

I have this awful feeling we're gonna lose on Saturday night. Neil Balme says Julia Gillard will do the ceremonial 'switching on' of the lights. Everything she touches goes pear shaped. Personally I reckon G Ablett Senior should have switched on the lights. It's only right that God lets there be light, afterall.

 

[vealesy]

Crucifying Gods son will have to do.