Stadium Australia - the latest mail

[Bloodstained Angel]

Check out this little article from Sydney's Daily Telegraph on Saturday
http://www.afl.com.au/news/story_201729.htm

Stadium Australia will not host any AFL or Rugby next year. The Swans COULD be playing there at in 2002 at the earliest but don't hold your breath.

For sale : One White Elephant, slightly used, formerly the best ever - offers ?

 

[Max Power]

They should just cut their losses and bulldoze the joint.

The only time they will get more than 45,000 (capacity of the SCG & SFS) is for State Of Origin thugby once or twice a year, and an All Black/Springbok union test (once a year) and maybe a NRL Grand Final (that being said this years NRL GF filled the joint up 75% only).

Maybe we can swap them the Victorian Baseball & Softball Centre for it (in joke only Baseball people will know about)

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

Not so Max Power

the Rugby League Grand Final attracted 94,700 spectators which is about 95% capacity.

Very surprising that one - most Sydneysiders expected about 60,000 for tyhe game but on the day there were heaps of walk-ups and crowd ended up being absolutely huge. Dunno why because Sydney Roosters (Eastern Suburbs) don't attract a large following at all and Brisbane Broncos are from interstate.

Maybe alot of people went to soak up some Olympic-style atomsphere at the big stadium before the games proper started.

Anyway - The NRL Grand Final was almost a full house.

 

[Max Power]

I stand corrected on that point.

On the TV it looked 3/4 full - maybe they use the same counting methods as Colonial

 

[AlfAndrews]

They can't bulldoze the joint. They'll need it for the AFL Grand Final in about 2005. Because they'll be rebuilding the Northern Stand at the MCG for the Commonwealth Games. They surely won't move the Grand Final to Colonoscopy Stadium. It's much too small. Can you imagine how hard it would be to get a ticket to a Grand Final there?

Personally I think they should sod the Commonwealth Games and leave the Northern Stand as it is. But that obviously won't happen. So the 2005 Grand Final has got to be played somewhere, and I think it should be played at Homebush.

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**floreat pica**

 

[Visro]

Well they're not going to bulldoze it down if, and this a big if, there is a possibility that sydney gets the next games.

 

[eagleskickass]

Just wondering, which is a better ground to play and watch at, SCG or homebush.

 

[James2]

The SCG by a long way!!

Stadium Australia is a dreadful place to watch football. You are miles from the action and require a telescope to see anything!!

Not too mention its location in the west of Sydney...

I agree with BSA, the entire complex, apart form the tennis centre, is a white elephant.

 

[Tim]

Once again, I think you are being too hard on the Olympic Stadium. The only football played there so far has been of the rectangular field variety. Ask anyone who has been to a soccer or rugby union or league game at the MCG how close the action is. For the AFL the crowd will be pretty close to the action unless you're up the back, but the last few rows of the GSS at the MCG aren't actually ringside seats either.

BTW, there was a bit more detail in today's SMH about re-configuration of the stadium including a "picture" of what it will look like.

The claim it will be a white elephant is also a bit off the mark. Claiming this because the stadium will only be filled 3 or 4 times a year doesn't make sense. How many times is the MCG filled each year? To the best of my memory there were only two 90,000 plus crowds this year so does that mean the MCG is a white elephant?

 

[James2]

The question asked whether it was better to watch football at Stadium Australia or the SCG. Not the MCG or any other stadium, the SCG.

The SCG is infinately better. No amount of reconfiguration at SA, will change this.

I stand by my comment about Staium Australia being a white elephant. The ground had a novelty value, that has worn of by now. Yes, people will go their for the big events like, NRL Grand Final and State of Origin, Rugby Union tests and the Olympics, but on every other weekend, the ground is 1/10 full (or is that 9/10 empty???)no atmosphere at all, no viability.

Your comparison with the MCG is erroneous. Ticketing arrangements etc are totally different. What's more, cricket is also played at the MCG. This means that it can be used all year.

As it stands, Stadium Australia will be used sparingly for the next two years at least. You don't spend a squillion dollars on a stadium, which is only used 5 times a year!!

 

[GoEagles]

So it looks like the only event in Stadium Australia in 2001 is construction workers.

Can someone explain to me what part of the stands they will be removing/modifying. I haven't seen pictures of the final developments but if they took out the northern stand, It would leave a huge gap in the stadium?

 

[colley31]

They could always play cricket there, now that the Sydney public have become sport loving fans, the ACB should move the one dayers there.