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The 'Gabba is now a full multi-tier grandstand covered 42k stadium thanks to the Lions/AFL. Before the Lions arrived it was just small ground with a dogtrack around it.
Yes , some good points there .
The SCG has gone ahead since the Swans have arrived .
The Gabba has really gone ahead since the Lions arrived .
Homebush is helped a lot by the AFL and with the introduction of GWS there is an even greater chance that Homebush will get out of the doldrums .
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Absolute rubbish. International Cricket had been played since 1961 and nothing changed until the Lions moved there in the early 90s. The dogtrack was removed to make size of the ground suitable for AFL and the grandstands were added to accommodate the increasing numbers to Lions' games in their glory years 2001-4.
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Absolute rubbish. International Cricket had been played since 1961 and nothing changed until the Lions moved there in the early 90s. The dogtrack was removed to make size of the ground suitable for AFL and the grandstands were added to accommodate the increasing numbers to Lions' games in their glory years 2001-4.
If you want to talk about falling crowds in Brisbane the Roar's is nosediving bigtime. Average has halved to just 8,000 in the past 2 years. Yeah sure soccer is going to be the No. 1 sport
So the new stands were added prior to 1993 were they?
Average Crowd figures in 1993 (Lions first full year at the 'Gabba) plus this past decade
.......Lions Broncos Roar
1993 11149 43200
2000 27406 21239
2001 27638 19710
2002 26895 20131
2003 31717 24326
2004 33619 28667
2005 33267 30331 14,785
2006 28630 31208 16,465
2007 28848 32868 16,951
2008 28128 33426 12,995
2009 29172 34587 8,819
Pick the sport that's struggling in Brisbane
So the new stands were added prior to 1993 were they?
http://www.msfa.qld.gov.au/content/venue.asp?name=Gabba_History
The Redevelopment
From November 1974 until early 1993, there were very few improvements at the Gabba. The 1993 Master Plan set out a 15 year plan to completely redevelop the Gabba.
Stage 1 saw the removal of the greyhound track and reconfiguration of the playing field to the same dimensions as the MCG.
Stage 2 (construction of the temporary Western Stand, installation of terrace seating and provision of corporate suites and boxes) was completed by Easter 1993, when the Brisbane Bears played their first match at the Gabba as permanent tenants.
Stage 3 (Northern Stand, lights for night sport and new scoreboards) was completed by the end of 1995.
Stage 4 consists of Eastern Stand and 5 bays of the Western Stand. The Eastern Stand opened on 27 March 1999 bringing capacity to 23,000 and the 5 bay Western Stand opened on 1 May 1999, bringing capacity to over 26,000.
Stage 5 (the 15 bay Southern Stand) was completed in December 1999, bringing ground capacity to 37,600.
The playing field was totally replaced with a USGA sand profile stabilised turf field in a 12 week period after the One Day International cricket matches in January 2000.
Stage 6 has seen the replacement of the Brisbane Lions Social Club with a new $40 million fully seated grandstand increasing The Gabba's capacity to 42,000. Stage 6 'the final link' was opened by Premier Peter Beattie on 25 September 2005.
The dimensions of the playing field are 170.6 metres (east-west) by 149.9 metres (north-south) when measured fence-to-fence. The Gabba is slightly larger than the MCG, which is 172.9m by 147.3m.
LOL talk about clutching at straws!
LOL talk about clutching at straws!
Lions/Bears = semantics in this argument.
So crowds went from 11k in 1993 to 27k in 2000. Geez Einstein I wonder what happened to Brisbane crowds in the 7 years in between
....... Bears ... happy now!
1993 11149
1994 12434
1995 10305
1996 18088
.......Lions
1997 19550
1998 16675
1999 21890
2000 27406
The trend was heading up well before their flag years.
dudette, the point is this: there is not one stadium in australia that meets fifa's arseholian demands that is maintained for soccer. stadiums that have 40k plus capacity, year in, year out, are for other sports. if fifa/ ffa want the stoopido world cup here then pay the band leader. otherwise piss off. if fifa interupt my cats for even a second, then i want them to write a cheque. fair?
Prior to this current season the Roar finished 3rd twice in a row and are currently in the top 6 yet their crowd figures have halved. So much for your argument that success and playing finals automatically boosts average crowds eh!
What a ridiculous comparison. The Aussie Rules state, metro and country leagues have to compete with the AFL for crowds from the same local fanbase with games on at the same time. The A-league like every national soccer competition worldwide doesn't compete with each other for crowds from the same local fanbase. Whatever code you love you go and watch your club in your country's top league. If Soccer was the most popular sport in Australia then it would've been No.1 long ago. However in terms of crowds, members, sponsors, media rights, tv ratings, radio talkback, etc it is the poorer cousin to AFL and always will be.
Prior to this current season the Roar finished 3rd twice in a row and are currently in the top 6 yet their crowd figures have halved. So much for your argument that success and playing finals automatically boosts average crowds eh!
If there's one thing the Bears were infamous for is that they received no help whatsoever from the then VFL and then AFL. It was a club of discards thrown to the wolves on the Gold Coast which had a far smaller in population than now and they had no facilities.
Btw it's laughable to make out Soccer has just rocked up in the past 5 years like the Bears did in 87. It's not as if there's only been a Brisbane soccer team in the national soccer comp. for the past 5 years. There was the Strikers for 11 years before the Roar and before that the Roar themselves use to be in the old NSL as the Brisbane Lions from 1977-86, 88. All flopped after an initial interest spike. The Roar is showing the same worrying trend. The Bears as bad as they were never had season crowd figures halving. Once they moved to their proper home in Brisbane in 1993 their crowds virtually doubled within 5 years even before the merger with Fitzroy.
The AFL has also always played in winter in direct competition with the NRL season yet crowds went up. Soccer playing in summer doesn't having that major competition to deal with yet crowds are still falling dramatically and not just in Brisbane.
If I was a Soccer administrator I'd be more concerned with the sharp decline in crowd figures across the country than deluding myself with thoughts of becoming Australia's No.1 sport in 30 years time and cheering on bitter morons like Craig Foster rubbishing every other football code and their supporters (stupidly forgetting there are those who love both AFL and Soccer). I remember being told when I was a little kid playing Soccer it would become the No.1 sport in Australia by the time I was in my late-30s. Well I'm 36 now and nothing has changed. Aussie Rules is more popular and wealthier than ever while deluded Soccer-only nuffers who hate AFL are still telling me that in 30 years time Soccer will be the No.1 sport in Australia lol. Soccer officialdom is the sport's own worst enemy. They will eventually kill off the A-league the way they are going just as they did with the NSL. A different name but same Sydney-centric anti-AFL chip on the shoulder.
