I have watched Australia vs Manchester United at the stadium from the members lower level first tier and this was a pretty decent view. But this is a members exclusive area and not open to the general public.
I have watched a Grand Final in 2000 vs Broncos from a corner behind the goal and the view was crap. Still the party atmosphere and the fact it was a Grand Final made up for it.
I saw the 2002 Grand Final from the lower stands around the 20 or 30 metre line about 10 rows back and the view was alright, but I did watch the big screen a bit and the result coloured my memory of the view.
I saw the 2003 Grand Final from the upper tier behind the goal and that view was alright because of the elevation. Once again the atmosphere made the occasion.
I saw a State of Origin from the same spot I watched the 2002 Grand Final and it was a great atmosphere and I was drunk and NSW won, so I loved it.
I watched Bledisloe from behind the goal and eventually fell asleep as NZ ran in about 8,000 points past the Wobblies. Good atmosphere cos we were near loads of Kiwis that were ripping sh*t out of the Aussies and I just laughed at the Wobbly fans crying. View was average at best.
I watched a Swans game there, a finals match which they lost in front of 55,000 from memory. Good atmosphere in a close game, the view was fine as elevation gave a reasonable view and most of the game was played on my side of the ground. Had I been on the other side of the ground, I might have a different view.
Most of these events were made enjoyable by the atmosphere. The venue itself is badly designed, but I have excellent eyesight and can watch the big screens if I cant see the action. BUT I loved the atmosphere for each of those events and for those sorts of games ANZ is a fairly decent venue.
However, I have also seen a few regular season NRL games there (from private boxes in the stands) and the vacant nature of the stadium means that the place looks and feels empty even with 20,000 people in there.
The low swept stands which place you a long way from the action means that noise just disapates as the venue is just far too big.
Has anyone ever been to the SFS with a few hundred or a thousand or so people in it? Say during a Flegg game of NRL on a day when a tiny crowd will be there for the main game? This is what ANZ is like with 15,000 people in it. It's a shambles.
How the NRL can allow the stadium to be used for regular season games is beyond me. The venue itself isnt entirely terrible (just mostly terrible), but more than that it's completely unsuitable for anything other than big ticket events.
For anything with less than 30,000 people there, the place just lacks in any atmosphere. The fact the stands slope away in such a shallow manner just exacerbates an already bad problem.
I was always amazed that a 35,000 all seater rectangle stadium wasnt build when the Olympics was on. Hell, it was the perfect excuse to build such a stadium and then just add the bill to the Olympics and get something that we could use for years to come. I said at the time that a 80,000 all seater was too big for Sydney.
Fingers crossed we get the World Cup and someone with the brains has the insight to build a 40,000 all seater close to transport links in Sydney that we can use. But I'm not holding my breath.
