The Gabba

jackess

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Aug 10, 2005
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Probably have to do something. It's pretty quickly falling behind the other stadiums in Australia.
 
May 3, 2005
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Looks fantastic, in the report it was saying 15-20 years

On a positive note, the buns for the hot dogs that Michael O'Brien will still be dishing up then have already been made.
 
Last edited:
Oct 2, 2009
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Stadiums Queensland can make a massively positive change by replacing Michael O'Brien catering at the ground.

They've taken it to a new low this year. You can no longer buy Diet Coke in the stadium. DIET COKE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

Also, it seems to me that the bar staff are continually new and as if they've never poured a beer, taken money, nor used a cash register in their life. You have to constantly repeat orders while they fumble around on the register. This is every single week. Do they go through staff that quickly that each game has a new set of employees?

They're also so reactive, the order is given to the cashier who then turns to the beer pourer who spends five minutes trying to perfect a beer (and still fails miserably with the cup half head). You pay and then the exercise is repeated for the next customer.

Why they don't at the 25 minute mark of the quarter start pouring beers is beyond me. It's a winter sport, they're not going to go hot. Or better still, get the automatic machines like Suncorp and do away with the inept staff altogether!

Mixers for spirits are now down to either normal Coke or Sprite. No Soda water, no sugar free option.

I have tried complaining to the Lions about this but they've obviously directed me to Stadiums Queensland. The problem is, this is starting to affect the Lions' brand. The terrible, terrible service and lack of decent range could be what pushes people over the edge not to attend. Not to mention they're missing our on valuable revenue.

And.... I haven't even started on the food!
 

Skoob

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I have tried complaining to the Lions about this but they've obviously directed me to Stadiums Queensland. The problem is, this is starting to affect the Lions' brand. The terrible, terrible service and lack of decent range could be what pushes people over the edge not to attend. Not to mention they're missing our on valuable revenue.

And.... I haven't even started on the food!

Valid complaints/comments, although I'm not sure people would stop going because of poor bar service.
The bars are certainly a scene from amateur hour, but of my nearly 4 hours in the stadium, I would only spend a total on 15 minutes at the bar or food outlet.
Food is the bigger issue, both from a standards and supply point of view. The hot boxes are too often empty.

Aside from the catering, getting in the gate can also be a pain in the arse. We are GA members, and as such, try to be in the gate the minute it opens, so we get 'our' seats. This means lining up, up to 20 minutes before the gates open, trying to be close to the front of the queue.
At Gate 2, they will normally have 4 or 5 lines open. Then, when all lines are about 15 people deep, they'll say "sorry folks, this line's closed, you'll have to move to the next one". Those poor suckers then lose the front of the queue, to be 16th-26th in another. Then, to rub salt into the wound, they'll reopen one, which is then led by someone who has just turned up, getting in before people who arrived especially early.
Last week they started with 4 lanes, changed it to 3, then changed it to 2. So some people went from the first, to the second, then to the 3rd, ending up behind about 30 people. With fencing between each lane, when they changed back to 3 lanes, it was too late to go back.
This was for a high drawing game. Hawks attract a bigger crowd than many other games, and they were faced with trying to funnel people at the main gate through 2 lines. Hopeless.

Still, I don't think it scares anyone away, and they bloody know it.
 
Stadiums Queensland can make a massively positive change by replacing Michael O'Brien catering at the ground.

Also, it seems to me that the bar staff are continually new and as if they've never poured a beer, taken money, nor used a cash register in their life. You have to constantly repeat orders while they fumble around on the register. This is every single week. Do they go through staff that quickly that each game has a new set of employees?

Same thing happens at the races on big days. Contract staff who have no idea.
 
May 30, 2013
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Looks good. With the Gabba quickly falling down the ladder of stadiums, they will get this done quicker than we think.

I don’t think think this is going to cut it. It’s not going to lift the Gabba above the Adelaide Oval or Perth’s stadium. Brisbane is above those cities as a city and economic centre and that will be a bit of an advantage to some extent but those places have their advantages too. Perth has a good time zone for cricket and Adelaide has the day night test. Cricket is dying anyway and we’ll never match those states for footy.
Not really sure what the answer is but as much as I love footy and would love to see a really world class Oval stadium here in Brisbane I reckon the QLD govt would be better off in financial terms investing in improving Suncorp, developing the new Roma St venue and the links in between.
 

M Malice

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Not really sure what the answer is but as much as I love footy and would love to see a really world class Oval stadium here in Brisbane I reckon the QLD govt would be better off in financial terms investing in improving Suncorp, developing the new Roma St venue and the links in between.
?
 

M Malice

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Would a 'Gabba redevelopment happen during the footy season (so as not to interfere with the cricket) and require us to have a GCS no Metricon on the road type experience - maybe we could pull some Fitzroy type strings and play all of our games at the MCG in the first half of the season or something?
 

Crawb

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Would a 'Gabba redevelopment happen during the footy season (so as not to interfere with the cricket) and require us to have a GCS no Metricon on the road type experience - maybe we could pull some Fitzroy type strings and play all of our games at the MCG in the first half of the season or something?
They've redeveloped plenty of grounds during footy season before. It's a non-issue with planning. Especially since most these proposed changes for the Gabba look purely cosmetic rather than structural.
 
They've redeveloped plenty of grounds during footy season before. It's a non-issue with planning. Especially since most these proposed changes for the Gabba look purely cosmetic rather than structural.


Not really.

Those changes would point to the whole western side being redeveloped. That's a lot of tear down and rebuild. I'd be very surprised if the grandstand on that side of the ground was able to be left standing in order to make the changes down the bottom of the grandstand. It's pretty hard to open up the ground level of a grandstand like that given the structural components in place. The bottom of that grandstand is like a maze in between structural columns. Of course the detail could be different
 

CarterS

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Down at Metricon tonight for Suns game and while food might be a bit better the lines were crazy, probably 50 deep at half time. Very slow. Gabba much better in that regard.
 
May 3, 2005
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Down at Metricon tonight for Suns game and while food might be a bit better the lines were crazy, probably 50 deep at half time. Very slow. Gabba much better in that regard.

Nothing streamlines the queues quite like selling inedible food.
 

Carlos Danger

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Down at Metricon tonight for Suns game and while food might be a bit better the lines were crazy, probably 50 deep at half time. Very slow. Gabba much better in that regard.
In fairness, prob not too many people were in a hurry to get back n watch the game.
 

MacMum

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Down at Metricon tonight for Suns game and while food might be a bit better the lines were crazy, probably 50 deep at half time. Very slow. Gabba much better in that regard.

My son was at the game as well....rang down to say that the Cats fans far outnumbered the Suns. That is a really sad thing when you think about it.

Being a Cats man, he stayed right to the end, thoroughly enjoyed the game..
 

CarterS

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My son was at the game as well....rang down to say that the Cats fans far outnumbered the Suns. That is a really sad thing when you think about it.

Being a Cats man, he stayed right to the end, thoroughly enjoyed the game..

I went with a friend who paid for my ticket, didn't realise until I saw it that it cost $65, surely too much, no that is not the cheapest ticket available but for a half decent spot in the grand stand who but die-hards is going to go? Who sets ticket prices? What's an equivalent seat at the Gabba cost approx (top deck, 5 rows back or so, on 50m line)?
 

Nimble Numbat

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They really need to get that train line done. Obvious benefits for games, but also plenty of non-footy benefits as well for Woolloongabba and the surrounding areas / radial areas where the trains would run. How it hasn’t already been built is beyond me. I mean, I can understand the physical difficulty, but the benefits would outweigh all that by a considerable margin.
 
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