The Game Future NRL Stadiums part II

[Suitman]

Wasn’t me hahahaha. Not happy down here mate. All the polls taken show we didn’t want this stadium. I’d say there is a long way to go in this matter.

You keep saying that but the money keeps on coming to fund this.

 

[Pneuma]

You keep saying that but the money keeps on coming to fund this.

That’s not my point. There are a number of dynamics.
1. General opposition to the project leading to protest and hindrance of the project;
2. The inevitable blow out in costs and difficulty in getting materials as required;
3. The State Governments ineptitude in managing large scale projects;
4. As per 1 above, the disruption to the cbd when construction starts , impact on access to vital essential services e.g. the hospital and the reaction of the community to this;
5. Hobart city council is very similar to Sydney - ultra green. Any sign of environmental or indigenous issues and there will be problems;
6. Hobart is a very small city and there are all sorts of issues that could result from a development like this in a city this size; and
7. The premier is completely irrational about this project and has ignored the will of the people as demonstrated in every poll taken (70% against). He will make mistakes. Big ones.

 

[Steel Saints]

Still find it incredible the huge amount of money required to spend for a Hobart stadium. The funding is close to what Accor would've received until the NSW govt. dump it because of Covid.

It was just this time three years ago where all sport was shut down.

 

[Suitman]

That’s not my point. There are a number of dynamics.
1. General opposition to the project leading to protest and hindrance of the project;
2. The inevitable blow out in costs and difficulty in getting materials as required;
3. The State Governments ineptitude in managing large scale projects;
4. As per 1 above, the disruption to the cbd when construction starts , impact on access to vital essential services e.g. the hospital and the reaction of the community to this;
5. Hobart city council is very similar to Sydney - ultra green. Any sign of environmental or indigenous issues and there will be problems;
6. Hobart is a very small city and there are all sorts of issues that could result from a development like this in a city this size; and
7. The premier is completely irrational about this project and has ignored the will of the people as demonstrated in every poll taken (70% against). He will make mistakes. Big ones.

Fair enough.
I understand all those reasons, but unfortunately, where big business (the AFL) and politics come into play, these projects always seem to bulldoze their way through.
Allianz in Sydney was similar for those reasons. Stuart Ayres and that f-wit Victorian head of Venues NSW made sure this went ahead at the expense of the more important rebuild of Accor.

Can you point me towards that 70% poll that are against it please? And, not just a link to a paywalled media site. I can't help but think that it may be a noisy minority in Hobart similar to the campaign that Peter Fitzsimmons ran in the lead up to the 2019 NSW election. A stadium rebuild that his beloved Waratahs are now enjoying the benefits of.

BTW, I agree this shouldn't be built simply relying on its ultimate success using Federal Govt funds. It is AFL bullying in the extreme. And Albanese, a RL and Souffs fan falling for their propaganda. Simply trying to win a few more seats in marginal areas of Tasmania.

 

[Pneuma]

Fair enough.
I understand all those reasons, but unfortunately, where big business (the AFL) and politics come into play, these projects always seem to bulldoze their way through.
Allianz in Sydney was similar for those reasons. Stuart Ayres and that f-wit Victorian head of Venues NSW made sure this went ahead at the expense of the more important rebuild of Accor.

Can you point me towards that 70% poll that are against it please? And, not just a link to a paywalled media site. I can't help but think that it may be a noisy minority in Hobart similar to the campaign that Peter Fitzsimmons ran in the lead up to the 2019 NSW election. A stadium rebuild that his beloved Waratahs are now enjoying the benefits of.

BTW, I agree this shouldn't be built simply relying on its ultimate success using Federal Govt funds. It is AFL bullying in the extreme. And Albanese, a RL and Souffs fan falling for their propaganda. Simply trying to win a few more seats in marginal areas of Tasmania.

https://tasmaniantimes.com/2022/12/labor-poll-shows-tasmanians-opposed-to-macquarie-point-stadium/amp/

https://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/poll-shows-overwhelming-opposition-to-750m-stadium-plan/news-story/276dc7d91709d726a42ef948460d1286?amp&nk=91d6c1a8d28e9ed696e8cd740cb96b3e-1682755652

 

[Suitman]

https://tasmaniantimes.com/2022/12/labor-poll-shows-tasmanians-opposed-to-macquarie-point-stadium/amp/

https://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/poll-shows-overwhelming-opposition-to-750m-stadium-plan/news-story/276dc7d91709d726a42ef948460d1286?amp&nk=91d6c1a8d28e9ed696e8cd740cb96b3e-1682755652

Thanks.
First article is available and gives me an idea of the thoughts of Tasmanians.
The 2nd article is paywalled. Never mind, it's only News Limited.

 

[Pneuma]

Fair enough.
I understand all those reasons, but unfortunately, where big business (the AFL) and politics come into play, these projects always seem to bulldoze their way through.
Allianz in Sydney was similar for those reasons. Stuart Ayres and that f-wit Victorian head of Venues NSW made sure this went ahead at the expense of the more important rebuild of Accor.

Can you point me towards that 70% poll that are against it please? And, not just a link to a paywalled media site. I can't help but think that it may be a noisy minority in Hobart similar to the campaign that Peter Fitzsimmons ran in the lead up to the 2019 NSW election. A stadium rebuild that his beloved Waratahs are now enjoying the benefits of.

BTW, I agree this shouldn't be built simply relying on its ultimate success using Federal Govt funds. It is AFL bullying in the extreme. And Albanese, a RL and Souffs fan falling for their propaganda. Simply trying to win a few more seats in marginal areas of Tasmania.

This isn’t a fitzsimons wank off. This is a state with real population spread. Why would anybody north of Oatlands support a stadium in Hobart? Answer is they don’t. Add to that the people living in Hobart itself are very green and non football people then 70% is unsurprising

 

[Suitman]

This isn’t a fitzsimons wank off. This is a state with real population spread. Why would anybody north of Oatlands support a stadium in Hobart? Answer is they don’t. Add to that the people living in Hobart itself are very green and non football people then 70% is unsurprising

But I've always thought that TAS is a predominantly passionate AFL state?
I'm seriously surprised that there is so much opposition to this?
They've been begging for a team for decades and this will get it over the line, surely?

 

[Pneuma]

But I've always thought that TAS is a predominantly passionate AFL state?

True but ridiculously irrationally parochial. The north hates the south. A lot. And the north west hates everyone. The afl might want to hold off on a 20th team as it is possible there are rocky times ahead with this stadium.

 

[Suitman]

True but ridiculously irrationally parochial. The north hates the south. A lot. And the north west hates everyone. The afl might want to hold off on a 20th team as it is possible there are rocky times ahead with this stadium.

Fair enough. And, thanks for your local insights. I seriously hope there is rocky times ahead. I'm just not convinced there will be, due to the all powerful AFL and the pork barreling current Federal govt.
For a 25000 seat stadium, the cost is obscene.

 

[Pneuma]

Fair enough. And, thanks for your local insights. I seriously hope there is rocky times ahead. I'm just not convinced there will be, due to the all powerful AFL and the pork barreling current Federal govt.
For a 25000 seat stadium, the cost is obscene.

23000. It’s worse! Good discussion too so thanks

 

[Suitman]

Good discussion too so thanks

You and I have had a few disagreements lately but all good. Thanks.
You'll find I'm a pretty reasonable fella.

 

[Pneuma]

You and I have had a few disagreements lately but all good. Thanks.
You'll find I'm a pretty reasonable fella.

No worries. All part of the fun

 

[greenBV4]

Still find it incredible the huge amount of money required to spend for a Hobart stadium. The funding is close to what Accor would've received until the NSW govt. dump it because of Covid.

It was just this time three years ago where all sport was shut down.

Worth keeping in mind construction and material costs have gone up drastically just this year alone, and especially since pre covid

 

[Jamberoo]

That’s not my point. There are a number of dynamics.
1. General opposition to the project leading to protest and hindrance of the project;
2. The inevitable blow out in costs and difficulty in getting materials as required;
3. The State Governments ineptitude in managing large scale projects;
4. As per 1 above, the disruption to the cbd when construction starts , impact on access to vital essential services e.g. the hospital and the reaction of the community to this;
5. Hobart city council is very similar to Sydney - ultra green. Any sign of environmental or indigenous issues and there will be problems;
6. Hobart is a very small city and there are all sorts of issues that could result from a development like this in a city this size; and
7. The premier is completely irrational about this project and has ignored the will of the people as demonstrated in every poll taken (70% against). He will make mistakes. Big ones.

Dude, there we literally eight people protesting. Not even a storm in a teacup.

 

[Billythekid]

Fair enough. And, thanks for your local insights. I seriously hope there is rocky times ahead. I'm just not convinced there will be, due to the all powerful AFL and the pork barreling current Federal govt.
For a 25000 seat stadium, the cost is obscene.

Pretty angry at labor tbh. This is a disgraceful waste of taxpayer money at a time when people are really struggling. It just can't be justified.

 

[Suitman]

Dude, there we literally eight people protesting. Not even a storm in a teacup.

That was my point tbh.
I can't see Tasmanians knocking back this federal funding to finally get their own team that they have been begging for for decades.
In fact, I think this will be a more popular decision than not. A vocal minority won't stop it, and I truly don't believe the 70% poll against this that has been claimed in the media. Sadly.

 

[taipan]

FitzSimons will applaud the Fed Govt decision to help finance the project.It is after all his 2nd fave code and he wants to get to the AFL G/F breakfast so as to help promote his book on the Rise and Fall of the 13 man game.
How the stadium can be justified with rents skyrocketing due to demand, people living out of cars and caravans and worse to come, is beyond any sort of rational thought.

 

[The Great Dane]

You know they have stadium management companies right ?

Whoever collects the rent will be liable for maintenance

for a new stadium this will be minimal

anyway with all the land in Canberra it doesn’t have to be on Bruce it can be anywhere that has decent public transport and roads.

heck build it over lake Burleigh Griffith that would be iconic lol

I'm not having a go at you as it's obscure local politics that I wouldn't expect you to be versed in, but you haven't got the sightless clue what you're talking about.

The way things have worked in Canberra more or less since self governance in 89 is the ACT government pays the AIS (Australian Sports Commission owned, i.e. federal body) to lease their facilities, namely Bruce Stadium and the AIS Arena among others.

That worked out alright for a while until priorities changed at the national level and federal governments starting cutting the Sports Commission's funding and support for the AIS after the 2000 Olympics. After that point maintaining and upgrading the AIS wasn't considered to be in the national interest, so the facilities have effectively been left to rot by the Commonwealth.

So what has happened for the last roughly 15 years is the Sports Commission has, for the most part, refused to pay for maintenance or upgrades of the facilities, saying that it wasn't a priority and that the ACT could pay for it themselves if they insisted the maintenance and upgrades happen, whilst also refusing to sell the facilities to the ACT.

That has effectively left the ACT in the position of being forced to pay for the maintenance and necessary upgrades of facilities that they are leasing from the AIS, whilst also making it incredibly difficult to build our own facilities elsewhere because we've been forced to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into facilities we don't own over the course of 30 years, which we can't now recoup some of the losses from through selling them because we don't own them.

That brings us to today, where the Albanese government has shown an interest in reinvesting into the AIS, and the arena and stadium by extension, but is looking for local support for the project. The local support is there for the upgrades to the facilities, because we desperately need them, but the ACT government doesn't want to be locked into the same catch 22 as before where we're expected to fund the maintenance of culturally significant facilities that we don't own simply because there's a change of priorities at the federal level.

That's what's happening, the ACT's concerns are totally reasonable, and they'd be mugs to financially support upgrades to Bruce unless it's placed into their ownership or a timeline to the ACT taking over ownership in the future is created.

 

[Suitman]

So, maybe V'Landys needs to get on the front foot, announce an 18th team in Perth for the NRL, and demand $240 million in funding to upgrade their stadium to 30 000. Rebuild that shitty shed end that is only still there for old Pommy football fans that get pissed and sing really shite old Pommy chants for Perth Glory, and also the western corporate side with further public seating as well.
God forbid, the WA govt could even throw in $100 million as well.
Put a roof on the recently added uncovered south stand while they are at it.