The Game Future NRL Stadiums part II

[Perth Red]

https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2018/03/16/cronulla-sharks-join-forces-league-expansion-bid

Mate have a read of this. Its about an A-League Southern expansion bid which will play out of Kogarah, Cronulla and Wollongong. That is until they build a 30,000 seat stadium, which has been approved by council, at Loftus.
Loftus is in the Sharks are so if it happens you can guarantee they will be playing out of it. Which means they can develop the rest of the land. Maybe they knew that this was in the air so are sitting on a wait and see approach.
Also i might add, Illawarra/St. George would probably play out of it too considering it is 45 mins from Wollongong and 30 mins from Kogarah, and on the train line.

That sounds like a good solution for the region. How realistic is it?

 

[beave]

Why would Cronulla want to move away from the ground they actually own? And have games/patronage away from their own leagues club?

It’s not a solution at all for them.

The ‘solution’ is to knock down the western stand and rebuild it exactly like the western stand at Wollongong.

Who pays for it? f**k knows.

 

[M2D2]

Why would Cronulla want to move away from the ground they actually own? And have games/patronage away from their own leagues club?

It’s not a solution at all for them.

The ‘solution’ is to knock down the western stand and rebuild it exactly the western stand at Wollongong.

Who pays for it? f**k knows.

And to put a roof over the Eastern.

 

[beave]

And to put a roof over the Eastern.

Let’s not get too crazy here, one step at a time........

 

[Jamberoo]

https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2018/03/16/cronulla-sharks-join-forces-league-expansion-bid

Mate have a read of this. Its about an A-League Southern expansion bid which will play out of Kogarah, Cronulla and Wollongong. That is until they build a 30,000 seat stadium, which has been approved by council, at Loftus.
Loftus is in the Sharks are so if it happens you can guarantee they will be playing out of it. Which means they can develop the rest of the land. Maybe they knew that this was in the air so are sitting on a wait and see approach.
Also i might add, Illawarra/St. George would probably play out of it too considering it is 45 mins from Wollongong and 30 mins from Kogarah, and on the train line.

This story has been around a while. All good but who is putting up the hundreds of millions for the stadium? Don’t know that part of Sydney but it sounds like no mans land.

 

[bad boy bubby]

That sounds like a good solution for the region. How realistic is it?

Well there are a lot of hypotheticals in the equation.
The A-League bid has to be a success, then the backers would have to fulfill their promise of a new stadium. After that it would be up to them to want tenants in there all year round, which i would think likely that they would.
My point is that personally i think it would be silly for the Sharks management to commit to any major upheavals to Shark Park at this point in time when there may be an alternative in the near future, with no outlay by the club. Not to mention the potential for other developments if it does go ahead.

 

[bad boy bubby]

This story has been around a while. All good but who is putting up the hundreds of millions for the stadium? Don’t know that part of Sydney but it sounds like no mans land.

You need to read the article better:
"Southern Expansion is backed by Hong Kong property conglomerate JiaYuan Group and received council approval late last year to build a 30,000-seat stadium in Loftus and a football academy in Barden Ridge.
JiaYuan has reportedly pledged $300 million to fund the new stadium, which would presumably become the full-time home of the A-League team."

 

[herbert henry1908]

Well there are a lot of hypotheticals in the equation.
The A-League bid has to be a success, then the backers would have to fulfill their promise of a new stadium. After that it would be up to them to want tenants in there all year round, which i would think likely that they would.
My point is that personally i think it would be silly for the Sharks management to commit to any major upheavals to Shark Park at this point in time when there may be an alternative in the near future, with no outlay by the club. Not to mention the potential for other developments if it does go ahead.

I genuinely hope it happens, but I can’t see how the economics of it works. Unless this Aleague team is just a plaything for its rich backers.

There’s simply no way of directly recouping a $300m stadium investment in Australia.

 

[Russell Crowe's Band]

Why would Cronulla want to move away from the ground they actually own? And have games/patronage away from their own leagues club?

It’s not a solution at all for them.

The ‘solution’ is to knock down the western stand and rebuild it exactly like the western stand at Wollongong.

Who pays for it? f**k knows.

ah,,,the league could just decide that its no longer a viable venue mate

this is the NRL afterall. they make the rules up as they go.

we have to have all contingencies and backup plans accounted for

and, if its a choice between loftus and the SFS....its a better option

 

[Dogs Of War]

ah,,,the league could just decide that its no longer a viable venue mate

this is the NRL afterall. they make the rules up as they go.

we have to have all contingencies and backup plans accounted for

and, if its a choice between loftus and the SFS....its a better option

And who knows. Given the location, maybe the council might let them move the Leagues club as well to Loftus. With the transport options etc. It would do a lot better business and the Sharks could benefit from the games other teams play.

 

[bad boy bubby]

I genuinely hope it happens, but I can’t see how the economics of it works. Unless this Aleague team is just a plaything for its rich backers.

There’s simply no way of directly recouping a $300m stadium investment in Australia.

I agree but you're getting into a world i have nought to do with.
Who knows what behind the scenes promises could be getting made so the group can go ahead with it. Politics and I are not a good mix.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Why would Cronulla want to move away from the ground they actually own? And have games/patronage away from their own leagues club?

It’s not a solution at all for them.

The ‘solution’ is to knock down the western stand and rebuild it exactly like the western stand at Wollongong.

Who pays for it? f**k knows.

Being next to their leagues club is obviously ideal, but there’s an argument that attachment to leagues club revenue is what has held the game back. There’s less need to push for growth in crowds & membership because of them.

Only way they’d move is if they think it’d be possible to increase crowds enough to offset the leagues club revenue losses. Or at least come close it. If they could manage that, then they could sell off the ground for further development, or if they’re smart take out a stake in the development. More residents in the area could even offset their leagues club losses from game days.

 

[Russell Crowe's Band]

That sounds like a good solution for the region. How realistic is it?

depends on

A league bid getting up
stadium being built by the Chinese mob
negotiation to play there that benefits the clubs
???
Profit

 

[Russell Crowe's Band]

Being next to their leagues club is obviously ideal, but there’s an argument that attachment to leagues club revenue is what has held the game back. There’s less need to push for growth in crowds & membership because of them.

Only way they’d move is if they think it’d be possible to increase crowds enough to offset the leagues club revenue losses. Or at least come close it. If they could manage that, then they could sell off the ground for further development, or if they’re smart take out a stake in the development. More residents in the area could even offset their leagues club losses from game days.

the reason they would move, is if the league made them move

the LC has 12 days a year where its patronage is huge but for the most part its not the strongest club in the region.
the new ceo of the LC has that task, turning it into a profitable operation and a real competitor.

The stadium itself, the stadium costs etc, when you run it yourself.

it would probably be easier for the club and the business model to play out of a centralized venue and get guaranteed income, but our crowds have shown that shark park gets better patronage for games than the SFS etc for our games. sharks fans like playing at shark park and are against moving anywhere.

loftus would still be in the shire and IMO would be the best "move" scenario

 

[Captain Apollo]

the reason they would move, is if the league made them move

the LC has 12 days a year where its patronage is huge but for the most part its not the strongest club in the region.
the new ceo of the LC has that task, turning it into a profitable operation and a real competitor.

The stadium itself, the stadium costs etc, when you run it yourself.

it would probably be easier for the club and the business model to play out of a centralized venue and get guaranteed income, but our crowds have shown that shark park gets better patronage for games than the SFS etc for our games. sharks fans like playing at shark park and are against moving anywhere.

loftus would still be in the shire and IMO would be the best "move" scenario

If the stadium at Loftus got built, at the very least it would give the Sharks a viable alternative to propose to the NRL as a venue for any home finals games as it may meet the NRL's desired criteria.

 

[herbert henry1908]

the reason they would move, is if the league made them move

the LC has 12 days a year where its patronage is huge but for the most part its not the strongest club in the region.
the new ceo of the LC has that task, turning it into a profitable operation and a real competitor.

The stadium itself, the stadium costs etc, when you run it yourself.

it would probably be easier for the club and the business model to play out of a centralized venue and get guaranteed income, but our crowds have shown that shark park gets better patronage for games than the SFS etc for our games. sharks fans like playing at shark park and are against moving anywhere.

loftus would still be in the shire and IMO would be the best "move" scenario

If this new stadium got built they’d be crazy not to dip their toes in the water though, at least take the dragons game there.

I get that fans are reluctant towards change, but rugby league really needs to be exploring new revenue opportunities.

 

[Russell Crowe's Band]

If this new stadium got built they’d be crazy not to dip their toes in the water though, at least take the dragons game there.

I get that fans are reluctant towards change, but rugby league really needs to be exploring new revenue opportunities.

depends on the agreement
we would wanna have a deal where we made money playing there

if not. no move. move to SFS if the cost benefit is better

 

[Russell Crowe's Band]

If the stadium at Loftus got built, at the very least it would give the Sharks a viable alternative to propose to the NRL as a venue for any home finals games as it may meet the NRL's desired criteria.

yeah deffs
it would be great.

if this gets built, they'll end up there. its a no brainer IMO

 

[herbert henry1908]

depends on the agreement
we would wanna have a deal where we made money playing there

if not. no move. move to SFS if the cost benefit is better

Oh absolutely, but I suspect the ground will offer pretty favourable terms, can’t imagine they’d want their ground sitting empty for 5 months a year.

 

[taipan]

Why would Cronulla want to move away from the ground they actually own? And have games/patronage away from their own leagues club?

It’s not a solution at all for them.

The ‘solution’ is to knock down the western stand and rebuild it exactly like the western stand at Wollongong.

Who pays for it? f**k knows.

They won't ,the very reason they are getting a Leagues club refurbishment,retail centre.Long term is to bring Shark Park up to what a stadium should be .
Zero in it for the Sharks at Loftus,anycase the Loftus situation is up in the air.The Loftus Campus does not want to sell ,and the locals are not thrilled.
The Sharks are building eventually a Centre of excellence adjoining the Sthn Stand ,the chances of Loftus IMO are a big fat zero, nil,nada ,blot and anything else that hangs around zilch.