The Game Future NRL Stadiums part II

[unforgiven]

How about building where the biggest RL nursery in the world is - Penrith. Better justification than Narellan having a big population.

There is no justification for a new stadium in Penrith.

 

[TheRam]

We need stadiums in Canberra, Southern suburbs somewhere and over the bridge somewhere, way before further out west.

Did anyone see Brandy on the League Live Show last week talk about where the SFS should have been built? He said it is a missed opportunity not building it in the middle of Darling Harbour and that could you imagine how popular that would have been if we had done that instead of building it at the Showground?

He also mentioned that there is talk about building one in Canberra right in the city and that would be a fantastic outcome if it were to become a reality. But then he was interrupted and they never really drilled into it at any great length. So typical of these sometimes hopeless pundits of the game.

Even when they know what the best decisions and outcomes are for the game, they rarely make any great noise to help make it happen. I can see Canberra (when it is finally said and done) will be built outside of the city centre unless there is a concerted effort and media driven campaign to pressure that AFL loving polly to building it in the only right place for maximum success.

This to me is slowly going to be like missing out on Darling Harbour or Central Station in Sydney. Our footy pundits love to dissect and debate bad behaviour and controversy all day long, but when it comes to helping advance the game with game changing aspirational ideas and or infrastructure they make very short work of it and quickly move on to controversy or boofhead humour stuff.

They all say that we need to grow our crowds and cite a million different tried and failed methods to do it, then give up since nothing has stuck long term other then individual teams getting a peak when they have a winning team, which is a given. But as we have seen here and overseas, the one true crowd growth generator is the quality of the Stadium, including its shape and its location.

When that is spot on, then crowds are almost guaranteed. Stadiums need to be in city hubs and for our sport built for purpose(rectangular). Anything short of that is pissing in the wind. We need the media to make a hell of a lot of noise and keep it up to make sure Canberra gets its Stadium in the City Centre as it should be, otherwise league will never grow its crowds and AFL wins again.

 

[Perth Red]

Watched the Richard Hammond doco on the Tottenham new stadium last night. Now that is a stadium! That is what they should be saving up for to replace anz as the national stadium, not slap some lipstick on the pig that exists.

 

[forby]

So because rugby league is by far the dominant sport in the west they can’t have a stadium? Because they don’t support AFL or Super Rugby, and even though they wanted to buy WSW when they were going broke they are less deserving than the North Shore, Southern Sydney, or ACT?
Makes perfect sense!

 

[Perth Red]

So because rugby league is by far the dominant sport in the west they can’t have a stadium? Because they don’t support AFL or Super Rugby, and even though they wanted to buy WSW when they were going broke they are less deserving than the North Shore, Southern Sydney, or ACT?
Makes perfect sense!

govt isnt going to spend $300mill on a stadium for ten games a year. We keep hearing how rich the panthers group is, why aren’t they improving their own stadium?

 

[TheRam]

So because rugby league is by far the dominant sport in the west they can’t have a stadium? Because they don’t support AFL or Super Rugby, and even though they wanted to buy WSW when they were going broke they are less deserving than the North Shore, Southern Sydney, or ACT?
Makes perfect sense!

Build where it is needed the most. There is no stadium at all in the South or in the North. So they should get first dibs. Also since there is already talk and a feasibility study in progress as I type this, on where to put the Canberra stadium by Government, then that is, to me, where the focus should be at present. We need to put pressure on the decision makers(pro AFL guy) to build what we want and where we want it or it WILL be a bust.

 

[Canard]

Watched the Richard Hammond doco on the Tottenham new stadium last night. Now that is a stadium! That is what they should be saving up for to replace anz as the national stadium, not slap some lipstick on the pig that exists.

I don't think building a One Billion quid stadium (about ~$1.9B in AUD) would have a lot of political cut through at the moment.

In terms of new stadia in Australia, if you asked me what are the chances of the Western United stadium being built in Tarniet in January where, I would have said very low.

As of May 2020, I would say 50/50 (maybe 60/40).

 

[forby]

govt isnt going to spend $300mill on a stadium for ten games a year. We keep hearing how rich the panthers group is, why aren’t they improving their own stadium?

So because we love rugby league more than any other sport we aren’t equal with areas that don’t?
Panthers may be a rich company, but so are the Roosters, Parramatta, Sydney FC, etc but they deserve taxpayers money more than those in the west? Sounds fair!

 

[Frailty]

So because we love rugby league more than any other sport we aren’t equal with areas that don’t?
Panthers may be a rich company, but so are the Roosters, Parramatta, Sydney FC, etc but they deserve taxpayers money more than those in the west? Sounds fair!

It's called a return on investment. Why should a government invest money in a stadium with very little return?

It's got nothing to do with East vs West.

 

[Perth Red]

I don't think building a One Billion quid stadium (about ~$1.9B in AUD) would have a lot of political cut through at the moment.

In terms of new stadia in Australia, if you asked me what are the chances of the Western United stadium being built in Tarniet in January where, I would have said very low.

As of May 2020, I would say 50/50 (maybe 60/40).

take out the incredible pitch mechanics and you’d save 1/4 of that. The acoustic design and massive roof is amazing and the facilities for fans and corporates top notch.
I do agree right now there is no appetite , but have a replacement plan for anz with a stadium befitting a national stadium, feds should carry half the cost. Might take 5-10 years but so be it.
The anz plan is a big waste of money and in a few years we’ll all be saying how sht it still is compared to other world large stadiums.

 

[Perth Red]

So because we love rugby league more than any other sport we aren’t equal with areas that don’t?
Panthers may be a rich company, but so are the Roosters, Parramatta, Sydney FC, etc but they deserve taxpayers money more than those in the west? Sounds fair!

you miss the point, no govt is going to build a stadium for ten games a year!
Given panthers rarely crack a 13k avg not sure that love is as deep as you like to think?

 

[forby]

By that argument Townsville wouldn’t have a new stadium. Sometimes you need to invest in areas that are one team sports towns. Then WSW might split games between Penrith and Parramatta, the Waratahs could play some as well. You can’t attract teams if you don’t have the stadium.

 

[Omott91]

By that argument Townsville wouldn’t have a new stadium. Sometimes you need to invest in areas that are one team sports towns. Then WSW might split games between Penrith and Parramatta, the Waratahs could play some as well. You can’t attract teams if you don’t have the stadium.

Penrith isn't a ''one team sports town,'' it's a suburb of a city that has 9 Nrl teams, that by supporter numbers and geographic location, doesn't warrant government funding.

I love new stadiums and would like to see the Panthers get one, but realistic it's not going to happen and unfortunately for Penrith, there are many reasons why.

The factors that justified Townsville's stadium do not apply to Penrith.

 

[Perth Red]

By that argument Townsville wouldn’t have a new stadium. Sometimes you need to invest in areas that are one team sports towns. Then WSW might split games between Penrith and Parramatta, the Waratahs could play some as well. You can’t attract teams if you don’t have the stadium.

cowboys dont have a $300mill brand new stadium 37kms away that they could use. If panthers want a new govt funded stadium they need to lock in some other users not expect the govt to just hope others might take some games there. Better hope would be for them to build a main stand like we built at a cost of around $75mill. Then work round replacing a stand at a time. At least it would add extra capacity and improve viewing and cover for around 14,000 fans.

 

[Russell Crowe's Band]

Scrap it and spend $600mill building two Bankwests for Dragons/Sharks & Tigers/Bulldogs to play in.They can use the spare $200mill for a sick childrens project or some other vote winner. Much better outcome for NRL.

f**k that would be good.

 

[Suitman]

So because rugby league is by far the dominant sport in the west they can’t have a stadium? Because they don’t support AFL or Super Rugby, and even though they wanted to buy WSW when they were going broke they are less deserving than the North Shore, Southern Sydney, or ACT?
Makes perfect sense!

The Wanderers weren't going broke.
They were started up and funded by the FFA, and it was time for the FFA to sell them off to the highest bidder who had the clubs best interests at heart. It was the natural progression to privatization of the club.
The Panthers were just one of the bidders for the purchase of the Wanderers. They were never a chance anyway after the Panthers CEO compared it to being like buying into an ice cream franchise - just another expansion of their investments. The FFA told them to get f**ked.
Thank god the Wanderers were bought by football people like Paul Lederer ( of Primo Smallgoods fame), not some tin pot leagues club who's only interest was to have 13 more days a year of game day fans pumping money into their pokies.
If you want to come here and talk stadiums, at least get the basic facts right.

PS. The Panthers will not get a Bankwest at Penrith.

 

[forby]

Penrith were the highest bidders, and with the third biggest soccer district in the state it would never have been taken for granted. Parramatta is part of a small Granville Association, much smaller than the Blacktown and Nepean Associations to the west.
So the world’s biggest Rl nursery, the states third biggest soccer nursery, and a rapidly growing population doesn’t count?
Perhaps you should get some facts straight!

 

[The Great Dane]

Penrith were the highest bidders, and with the third biggest soccer district in the state it would never have been taken for granted. Parramatta is part of a small Granville Association, much smaller than the Blacktown and Nepean Associations to the west.
So the world’s biggest Rl nursery, the states third biggest soccer nursery, and a rapidly growing population doesn’t count?
Perhaps you should get some facts straight!

Yep, all of that doesn't mean diddly dick if there's more money to be made elsewhere.

 

[Suitman]

Penrith were the highest bidders, and with the third biggest soccer district in the state it would never have been taken for granted. Parramatta is part of a small Granville Association, much smaller than the Blacktown and Nepean Associations to the west.
So the world’s biggest Rl nursery, the states third biggest soccer nursery, and a rapidly growing population doesn’t count?
Perhaps you should get some facts straight!

You said the Wanderers were going broke.
They weren't.

 

[forby]

The FFA couldn’t afford to keep funding them, they had no money of their own. Sounds like going broke!