The Game Future NRL Stadiums part II

[Jonno]

ACCOR is a conundrum - with Souths keen to head back to the SFS/Allianz, that means it could only have the Bulldogs as an NRL tenant by the time it's redeveloped.. which isn't ideal.

A redeveloped Accor doesn’t particularly need Souths ,although the more tenants the better.
Accor wants to continue to push for big ticket items such as concerts etc, hence the roof discussion.
Even the women's soccer team will get 150,000 over their 2 games in the Asian Cup averaging around 70,000.
If the venue is done right,then blockbuster NRL games can be shifted there to accommodate crowds exceeding 50,000.
Without Accor,there is limited major events and the government know that.

 

[flippikat]

A redeveloped Accor doesn’t particularly need Souths ,although the more tenants the better.
Accor wants to continue to push for big ticket items such as concerts etc, hence the roof discussion.
Even the women's soccer team will get 150,000 over their 2 games in the Asian Cup averaging around 70,000.
If the venue is done right,then blockbuster NRL games can be shifted there to accommodate crowds exceeding 50,000.
Without Accor,there is limited major events and the government know that.

Good points, and just having ONE NRL tenant, plus blockbuster games does leave more scope for other events in the winter months.

it does free the venue up a bit more if it doesn't have 2 full time NRL tenants... though if Souths move to SFS/Allianz fulltime, I'd be tempted to have the Tigers play some of their home games there - especially if it has a 30k "club mode".

dunno if that'd be split evenly between Accor, Campbelltown & LO.. or about 50/50 Accor & Campbelltown with 1 game per season at LO.

 

[horrie hastings]

Keep the trees it’s iconic as part of lo

Looks really good too

All it took was the old crumbling terrace to collapse on some rich union kids for it to be an issue

A few pics on line with the Northern stand with a roof an the trees still intact ( cant post a link at the moment ) If they are going to put a stand there it needs a roof or really what's the point, might squeeze another couple of thousand in in comfortable seating but still leaves them exposed to the elements.

 

[Wb1234]

A few pics on line with the Northern stand with a roof an the trees still intact ( cant post a link at the moment ) If they are going to put a stand there it needs a roof or really what's the point, might squeeze another couple of thousand in in comfortable seating but still leaves them exposed to the elements.

Like Penrith money for league stadiums is limited as the game doesn’t have the bargaining power with politicians like other codes

 

[Jonno]

A redeveloped Accor with club mode,retractable roof and easier access with the Metro will be a game changer.
Atmosphere will improve will a rectangle configuration and club mode.No excuse for rain with the roof and the opening of the metro in a few years and better freeway access from the North with the Western Harbour Tunnel Freeway.

I would reintroduce the Round one opening game with Parra vs St George at Accor.
Add an ANZAC Day game at 2pm with Souths vs West Tigers and then a mini magic round at Accor on the Easter Long weekend with games on Good Friday,Saturday night,Sunday and Easter Monday while taking advantage of the Easter show crowds and Sydney teams only.

Good Friday - Dogs vs Souths
Saturday night - Penrith vs Roosters
Sunday - St George vs Manly
Easter Monday - Eels vs Tigers

Keep the Dogs/Eels Kings Birthday game and we have some huge games that could exceed 70,000 regularly.

 

[newc18]

Like Penrith money for league stadiums is limited as the game doesn’t have the bargaining power with politicians like other codes

We do pretty well out of NSW and QLD when you think about it. The AFL have it easier because they are only trying to upgrade 1-3 venues in each state. The issue the sport has is we want so many different grounds upgraded, especially in NSW.

I would have preferred Accor get upgraded/rebuilt before everything else but it didn't happen. Hopefully it happens sooner rather than later.

 

[Wb1234]

We do pretty well out of NSW and QLD when you think about it. The AFL have it easier because they are only trying to upgrade 1-3 venues in each state. The issue the sport has is we want so many different grounds upgraded, especially in NSW.

I would have preferred Accor get upgraded/rebuilt before everything else but it didn't happen. Hopefully it happens sooner rather than later.

Commbank got done bc of the wanderers

Allianz bc of the scg trust

Penrith only got done bc our premier couldn’t find a way to get out of it

They’ve done ok on centres of excellence but in Victoria their govt allows the clubs to own them so their state govt has gifted their clubs hundreds of millions in assets

And they ensured they got the land for the docklands stadium cheap

 

[yakstorm]

Like Penrith money for league stadiums is limited as the game doesn’t have the bargaining power with politicians like other codes

Our bargaining power is limited simply because we don't do things as a bloc versus AFL who have the power to negotiate on behalf of the clubs and then go loop Cricket into their negotiations.

Accor would have got done if the NRL was able to guarantee 25+ events a year at the ground. We couldn't because each of the clubs wanted to negotiate their own deals and only Bulldogs & Souths were happy to lock in 19 at the time. If we partnered with the FFA/APL & Rugby Australia we could forward an even better offer.

Canberra Stadium is another good example. The Raiders & NRL have separate deals (not that the NRL is taking anything to Canberra at the moment) and then we are lobbying on our own. If the NRL, Raiders, Rugby Australia, Brumbies, A-League & APL joined together, then it would be harder for Barr to ignore, especially if Canberra was granted a Men's A-League licence and a few representative fixtures were promised.

Stadium investment is unpopular at the moment. Politicians are only going to entertain it if they can spin it to making them look good and the only way to do that is give them guarantees of more than what they currently get.

 

[Captain Apollo]

There won't be another Anzac Day game in Sydney kicking off at 2.00 pm or the like. The reason its at 4 .00 pm in Sydney, is so that it gives current and ex-service people plenty of time to commemorate, and socialise before the game starting at 4.00 pm. The NRL, the Dragons and the Roosters have did a lot of liaison work with the RSL when it was being launched in the early 2000s.

The NRL won't do anything to antagonise the RSL or related groups.

 

[yakstorm]

There won't be another Anzac Day game in Sydney kicking off at 2.00 pm or the like. The reason its at 4 .00 pm in Sydney, is so that it gives current and ex-service people plenty of time to commemorate, and socialise before the game starting at 4.00 pm. The NRL, the Dragons and the Roosters have did a lot of liaison work with the RSL when it was being launched in the early 2000s.

The NRL won't do anything to antagonise the RSL or related groups.

Further to that, the workplace rules around ANZAC Day also make it difficult to start much earlier as businesses can't start opening until 1pm (and it takes more than an hour to get a stadium ready to accommodate a large crowd)

If any tweaking to ANZAC Day was to happen, it would be that the game may return back to the 3pm kick off it had from 2003 - 2009.

 

[Jonno]

Start 3pm for Allianz and 5pm for Accor. ANZAC Day is celebrated right across Sydney and Australia and not just Sydney CBD and Moore Park.

 

[Captain Apollo]

Start 3pm for Allianz and 5pm for Accor. ANZAC Day is celebrated right across Sydney and Australia and not just Sydney CBD and Moore Park.

It won't happen. They already have Roosters v Dragons and Melbourne v Warriors on that day. You can't have 30% or more clubs playing a game on that day. It just cheapens it if you do.

Also, as non-Sydney based clubs and supporters would say, why does Sydney have to have a second game on Anzac Day? I mean the Roosters had a long tradition of playing games on Good Friday, going well back to the 1970s. It became embedded into the draw in latter years as being the Roosters v Broncos at the SFS on Good Friday. When Anzac Day came along, the NRL basically said they'd have to give up one of them, and the Roosters decided to forfeit Good Friday. That's where it then became a Rabbitohs v Bulldogs game being played on Good Friday started from in (iirc) 2003 or 2004.

You increase the number of games on Anzac day, it just cheapens it and makes each game less of an event.

Finally, have you looked at what transpires on the Anzac Day game at Allianz? Namely you have a curtain raiser between the armed forces sides. You want to cut that just to throw in yet another game out at Accor?! More doesn't equate with better.

 

[Jonno]

Does Melbourne vs Warriors cheapen ANZAC Day in Melbourne considering its played straight after the AFL with 100,000 in attendance? I don't remember the Victorian RSL complaining about it?
Different sport but the logic is the same with both games using the resources of the local RSL.
Sydney is well big enough to have 2 games on ANZAC Day.

As for Good Friday, from memory, this was a Roosters game due to the Easter Show next door at the old Showgrounds. It changed once the Easter show moved out to Homebush.

 

[jim_57]

Melbourne Vs Warriors doesn’t happen on ANZAC day anymore.

An Anzac eve game would be good, does mean there would be 4 games mid-week when it isn’t around a weekend but only 1 round a year.

 

[Steel Saints]

ACCOR is a conundrum - with Souths keen to head back to the SFS/Allianz, that means it could only have the Bulldogs as an NRL tenant by the time it's redeveloped.. which isn't ideal.

Wests Tigers could be a part time tenant. They could play five home games at Accor, and seven games at Campbelltown. After the upgrade, LO will be an ideal venue for NSW Cup and NRLW.

 

[Captain Apollo]

Does Melbourne vs Warriors cheapen ANZAC Day in Melbourne considering its played straight after the AFL with 100,000 in attendance? I don't remember the Victorian RSL complaining about it?
Different sport but the logic is the same with both games using the resources of the local RSL.
Sydney is well big enough to have 2 games on ANZAC Day.

As for Good Friday, from memory, this was a Roosters game due to the Easter Show next door at the old Showgrounds. It changed once the Easter show moved out to Homebush.

In relation to Good Friday games, the Roosters were still playing on Good Friday well after the Easter Show moved to Homebush. I've been to enough of them in person to know. The last time the Roosters had a time game played on Good Friday was in 2006 when they beat the Brisbane Broncos at the SFS 24-6. In 2005 the Roosters played the Broncos at the SFS on Good Friday and lost 40-22. In 2004, the Roosters played the Broncos on Good Friday at the SFS defeating them 26-14. I could list more but you get the drift.

The Sydney Easter show moved to Homebush in 1998.

Fact is the Souths v Bulldogs game didn't actually start becoming regular occurrence until 2012.

 

[flippikat]

Wests Tigers could be a part time tenant. They could play five home games at Accor, and seven games at Campbelltown. After the upgrade, LO will be an ideal venue for NSW Cup and NRLW.

LO would make a decent trial venue too.

Perfect for a mid/late summer evening, I'd say

 

[Ashburn]

Venues NSW boss reveals secret business case backs Las Vegas-style stadium roof​

Government bean-counters have given a Las Vegas-style roof for Accor Stadium the tick of approval, with a feasibility study finding the benefits outweigh the $300m-plus cost.

Plans to put a Las Vegas-style roof over Accor Stadium are a step closer to reality after state government bean-counters gave it the tick of approval.
A government feasibility study has found the benefits of putting a roof on the Olympic-era venue would outweigh the project’s costs, heaping pressure on the Minns government to commit to the plans.

Sports Minister Steve Kamper first flagged enclosing Accor Stadium with a roof in 2024 after watching NRL’s inaugural extravaganza in Sin City.

Sporting and business leaders have long argued for Sydney to have an enclosed stadium, to end the embarrassment of having major events rained out or cancelled due to weather.

Venues NSW boss Kerrie Mather revealed in a budget estimates hearing on Thursday the project had been ticked off with a “positive” business case and sent to the state government for funding “consideration”.

She said the benefit-cost ratio (BCR) was “between one and 1.5”, meaning the benefits outweighed the costs.

Ms Mather made the extraordinary admission by mistake, later insisting details of the project were “cabinet in confidence”.

Mr Kamper refused to commit to building the roof, despite the positive BCR.

“We are continuing to assess the business case for an operable roof at Accor Stadium,” a spokesman said.

Ms Mather said the cost was estimated to be well over $300m.

She said an enclosed stadium could add sporting and entertainment events to Sydney’s calendar and make the Harbour City “really competitive” with Melbourne.

It would make it “less risky for promoters to actually commit to a much longer stay when they’ve actually got more protection”, she said.

“With a roof, it actually makes the prospect of a cricket world cup a really attractive proposition, and it makes us really competitive with the MCG,” Ms Mather said.


Accor Stadium is Sydney’s largest venue, and the stage for the city’s biggest sporting events, including the NRL grand final and State of Origin matches.

It also recently hosted global music acts Oasis and Ed Sheeran.

Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou said a stadium that was “only just good enough for the 20th century needs to be brought up to date for the 21st century in line with Sydney’s status as a global city”.

“It would strengthen Sydney’s ability to compete with modern international venues and attract blockbuster events that drive tourism, investment and economic activity,” he said.

“As Australia’s global city, Sydney needs world-class stadium infrastructure, and a retractable roof would future-proof Accor Stadium as the premier destination for major events.”


Rabbitohs chief executive Blake Solly said the “talk of a roof is good news” but a lot more needed to be done to bring the stadium – South Sydney’s home ground – up to scratch.

“We welcome any discussion about improving the experience at Accor Stadium. We, along with a number of others, have been advocating the stadium needs a significant refurbishment for 15 years,” Mr Solly said.

Liberal sport spokeswoman Natalie Ward supported the roof, and called for the government to release its business case.

“The public at least deserve to see the cost and benefits of putting a roof on Accor Stadium,” she said.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=DTWEB_MRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fnews%2Fnsw%2Fvenues-nsw-boss-reveals-secret-business-case-backs-las-vegasstyle-stadium-roof%2Fnews-story%2F3db72e797b0b8376dd47dc517b4a5d08&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=GROUPA-Segment-2-NOSCORE&nk=c440c8a62be9b4290a985620a6031005-1772741976

If this happens, Watch the Swans try to get in on it.

 

[mongoose]

Does Melbourne vs Warriors cheapen ANZAC Day in Melbourne considering its played straight after the AFL with 100,000 in attendance? I don't remember the Victorian RSL complaining about it?
Different sport but the logic is the same with both games using the resources of the local RSL.
Sydney is well big enough to have 2 games on ANZAC Day.

As for Good Friday, from memory, this was a Roosters game due to the Easter Show next door at the old Showgrounds. It changed once the Easter show moved out to Homebush.

well one sport has New Zealanders representing it, the other doesn't

 

[Captain Apollo]

Melbourne Vs Warriors doesn’t happen on ANZAC day anymore.

An Anzac eve game would be good, does mean there would be 4 games mid-week when it isn’t around a weekend but only 1 round a year.

Which the broadcasters wouldn't necessarily be happy with (Fox Sports especially).

Also, imagine the outcry when we have the old "there are no games in Sydney on (insert day of the weekend)" by News Ltd stories are run again.