Sydney Showground or ANZ Stadium

[Copernicus]

Well, good luck to them building a white elephant out there in the west for the Sydney Rovers (??). If Sydney FC can barely get 15,000 to games, good luck having some new mob filling a 30,000 seat stadium! Good for a laugh, Roy Masters articles.

I've always felt that the Showgrounds was a good idea. It's much more central.

 

[walhawk]

Article in today's paper said they would decide by August if Blacktown or Showgrounds would be used.
I hope they can increase capacity at B/T to 15k, and play there
I reckon a good mix would be 6 at Blacktown, 4 at ANZ (+ 1 away) 1 at Canberra (+ 1 away).

 

[RUNVS]

Article in today's paper said they would decide by August if Blacktown or Showgrounds would be used.
I hope they can increase capacity at B/T to 15k, and play there
I reckon a good mix would be 6 at Blacktown, 4 at ANZ (+ 1 away) 1 at Canberra (+ 1 away).

Blacktown would be ideal as it is easy to get to and easy to get out of as well though in saying that i don't think it is possible to upgrade the stadium to fit 25,000 people and WS really need a stadium with a capacity of around 25,000).

 

[dlanod]

Blacktown would be ideal as it is easy to get to and easy to get out of as well though in saying that i don't think it is possible to upgrade the stadium to fit 25,000 people and WS really need a stadium with a capacity of around 25,000).

Blacktown Olympic Park is not easy to get to. You've got to have public transport accessibility otherwise you need to provide 20,000+ carparks and be prepared for massive traffic jams, and from what I can tell about Blacktown at the moment is that they have neither.

They could run shuttle buses from Mount Druitt or Rooty Hill Station or something, but that's an extra cost to factor in for every game out there. And whereas just about anyone from the west of Sydney can get to Lidcombe to catch the Olympic Park shuttle with one or zero train changes, those two stations can require more, and it's the train changes that blow out traveling time.

 

[stevebull]

Blacktown Olympic Park is not easy to get to. You've got to have public transport accessibility otherwise you need to provide 20,000+ carparks and be prepared for massive traffic jams, and from what I can tell about Blacktown at the moment is that they have neither.

They could run shuttle buses from Mount Druitt or Rooty Hill Station or something, but that's an extra cost to factor in for every game out there. And whereas just about anyone from the west of Sydney can get to Lidcombe to catch the Olympic Park shuttle with one or zero train changes, those two stations can require more, and it's the train changes that blow out traveling time.

It's a 5 or 10 min walk from rooty hill if they build an underpass under the m7 , busses from hills,liverpool & c'town use m7 & busway through fairfeild then m4

Wouldn't be to hard to modify stand & put 1 on eastern side to get it to 25, 20/20 cricket would get crowds out there in the summer.

play 4 at anz (really 5 when you count other game against swans, 4 at b'town & 4 in canberra, or 4,5,3 etc

 

[dr nick]

I don't get people saying the showgrounds isn't easy to get to.

Also packs quite a good atmosphere going by the easter show rodeo. Lighting needs to improve a bit before they think about night games though. Worse than subiaco.

 

[The Convert]

I think Blacktown is the go with a big new stand on the eastern side followed by an expansion of the existing stand. Down side is facing the setting sun but should be manageable as everyone else does it.

Homebush is well to the eastern side of western Sydney and quite some distance from the heartland of gws. I suspect some of the correspondents are from the traditional footy areasof east and north but that is not what this team is about.

Leaving the west would be a huge vote of no confidence at this point. Sink the money into the place that has started. If not enough money available yet then go to Homebush and put some money in the bank for the future. Rooty Hill is the right spot.

In saying that parking is abominable. Another few hundred there more than first TAC Cup game and it would be stuffed. I think they need to looka tsome of the area to the east. Not the valuable parkland but the cleared area right near the ground.

 

[jpdixon]

I don't get people saying the showgrounds isn't easy to get to.

Also packs quite a good atmosphere going by the easter show rodeo.

The rodeo? Has it been moved from the separate rodeo stadium next door.

Anyway, I don't think they'll be plyaing AFL games anywhere other than the Olympic Stadium unless some one outside the code is putting a lot of money into developing one fo the alternatives.

 

[dswan]

Closer to city more people will attend?? Olympic stadium always appears empty on tv :S

 

[SydneyGoose]

That's cause it sucks as a footy ground! Easy to get to and that's it's only redeeming feature. From memory it was Bigger ( as in had more playing area) during the games but part of the "let's make it a viable stadium" transformation made it smaller and so it now sucks!

Would love to see the Showground turned into An AR/Cricket stadium. Perfect size ground with realistic stand sizes and easy to get to. ONly concern is that it has (From memory) high concrete walls around most of the ground so extending the playing surface is not realistic.

 

[stevebull]

on the proposal to build a rectangle ground at b'town, drove past concord oval today, what a white elephant that is think any similar ground at b'town will end up the same way, footy & 20/20 cricket are the only real options for using the grounds out there.

A league & league will stick to parra, penrith & c'town mad not given the crowds they pull.

 

[Beaussie]

God I hope the following is true. Fingers crossed.

Govt set for GWS backflip
By Josh Massoud and James Phelps
From: The Daily Telegraph
May 06, 2010 12:00AM

THE State Government is about to pull a backflip of Olympic proportions on its promise not to redevelop Sydney Showground to house the AFL's new Greater Western Sydney (GWS) franchise.

After yesterday revealing that Blacktown is now favoured to be the proposed site of the FFA's 12th and final stadium for our 2018-2022 World Cup bid, Sport Confidential was contacted by an extremely well-placed source with ears inside both Macquarie St and Homebush Bay.

He was adamant that State Development Minister Ian Macdonald has been in discussions with the AFL about the $100 million-plus project, which would upgrade the Showground into a 25,000-capacity boutique venue perfectly attuned to GWS's needs.

It's widely expected the Government will declare the news within the next month.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/afl/govt-set-for-gws-backflip/story-e6frexx0-1225862818856

 

[dr nick]

The showgrounds is a no-brainer. Only our government could stuff this one up.

 

[dlanod]

The showgrounds is a no-brainer. Only our government could stuff this one up.

And I'm sure they'd find a way....

 

[Riggy1]

And I'm sure they'd find a way....

putting tolls on the gates to the stadium?

 

[Mister Handball]

Don't see the problem with a smaller ground build our own tradition there and oneday if we are lucky secure funds to upgrade and keep the tacky white elephant stadiums away/

 

[Mitchell Madness]

ANZ is too big for GWS, NRL clubs fail to get a 1/4 of it filled, GWS wont do any better.

Upgraded Showgrounds would be a good option, but would need government backing.


Rooty Hill RSL own the oval at Blacktown Olympic Park (where the preseason game this yr, and where GWS will be based). The AFL investing in that, along with the Rooty Hill RSL (which own just about everything over there).

It really could be converted into a nice 25k seater at minimal cost, a very open ground, only problem would be carparking, I know rooty hill RSL has plenty, but it is a little far, is there enough parking around the Blacktown ground?

 

[jpdixon]

ANZ is too big for GWS, NRL clubs fail to get a 1/4 of it filled, GWS wont do any better.

But at least one NRL club keeps going halfway across Sydney to play their home games there. Maybe getting 1/4 of it filled isn't the main issue?

 

[dlanod]

But at least one NRL club keeps going halfway across Sydney to play their home games there. Maybe getting 1/4 of it filled isn't the main issue?

From my understanding, ANZ Stadium offers very generous stadium deals compared to SFS for those teams who don't have their own home stadium any more (and even for some that do). The impression I get is that, unlike the minimum crowds needed for the Etihad/MCG deals, they get a significant guaranteed payment per game regardless of crowd numbers.

 

[jpdixon]

From my understanding, ANZ Stadium offers very generous stadium deals compared to SFS for those teams who don't have their own home stadium any more (and even for some that do). The impression I get is that, unlike the minimum crowds needed for the Etihad/MCG deals, they get a significant guaranteed payment per game regardless of crowd numbers.

Exactly. It's not at all clear that there are enough benefits in boasting that you filled a stadium to justify spending on a little one next door rather than just accepting a good deal like that.

 

[dlanod]

Exactly. It's not at all clear that there are enough benefits in boasting that you filled a stadium to justify spending on a little one next door rather than just accepting a good deal like that.

The big problem with ANZ Stadium is that you're so far away from the action. That and the atmosphere is non-existant if there's less than about 35,000. I think the Showgrounds is a good idea because of those reasons... if someone not all that familiar with the game shows up and just sees the ball getting chipped around, they'll probably not be coming back. If they turn up and feel like they're part of the crowd, cheering along, they'll be a lot more likely to come back.

Regardless I'm pretty sure both the AFL and GWS will both be doing the sums with regards to expected crowds, member numbers and facilities, and stadium deals.

 

[pekay-norwest]

ANZ is too big for GWS, NRL clubs fail to get a 1/4 of it filled, GWS wont do any better.

Upgraded Showgrounds would be a good option, but would need government backing.


Rooty Hill RSL own the oval at Blacktown Olympic Park (where the preseason game this yr, and where GWS will be based). The AFL investing in that, along with the Rooty Hill RSL (which own just about everything over there).

It really could be converted into a nice 25k seater at minimal cost, a very open ground, only problem would be carparking, I know rooty hill RSL has plenty, but it is a little far, is there enough parking around the Blacktown ground?

Source?

 

[dlanod]

Just a snippet about the rumour that we're committing to upgrading the Showgrounds:

the new stadium at Blacktown looms as football's biggest legacy. It's understood the Greater Western Sydney AFL side is resigned to spending $30m to upgrade Sydney Showground at Homebush Bay as its home ground.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/footbal...dreams-will-help-all-codes-20100514-v4f4.html

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Source?

tickets for matches at Blacktown are sold through Rooty Hill RSL, not to mention "Rooty Hill RSL" logo at the gates of the stadium and the whole precinct.

If you have been to Rooty Hill and surrounding suburbs, just about everything in that area is owned by the RSL

 

[Magpie03]

tickets for matches at Blacktown are sold through Rooty Hill RSL, not to mention "Rooty Hill RSL" logo at the gates of the stadium and the whole precinct.

If you have been to Rooty Hill and surrounding suburbs, just about everything in that area is owned by the RSL

So Pekay do you know anything about the area?

Personnally Id be very very surprised if Rooty Hill RSL own the ground.