The Game Future NRL Stadiums part II

[titoelcolombiano]

Forgive me if I'm wrong but isn't Cbus beside a station on the only train line servicing the Gold Coast? From memory the train line doesn't really get close to coast either, so the plan would be to have the new stadium serviced by the light rail and buses? Doesn't sound much better but a "city centre" location might make for a better game day experience.

Correct! CBUS is on the main train line connecting Brisbane with various stops at the Gold Coast and situated next to a major shopping centre which means parking is not really an issue either.

I think the mayor is doing his best to put pressure on the state government to give the local team a better deal at CBUS as this is their best option. Good on him.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

What is the future of major stadia in Australia? Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide will prioritise ovals and the NRL, ARU and FFA will cop it on the chin and play there because there is no other suitable option and even Sydney has struggled to get decent rectangular stadia built.

The thing is that for Governments, it is easy to build multi-purpose stadia but this basically just translates to an oval that is great for AFL and Cricket and sh!t for RL, RU and Football. The NRL, ARU and FFA need to take this issue very seriously and use the major events that the AFL can't generate to force their hand into building decent rectangular stadia.

The NRL has the Grand Final, State of Origin, Magic Weekend, Double Headers and 9's to sell.

The ARU has Wallabies games and the carrot of future World Cup bids to sell.

Football has Socceroos games and the carrot of future World Cup bids to sell.

These organisations should be refusing to accept bids from cities that propose that they play on ovals or multi-purpose stadia. Reward the cities that build purpose built large rectangular grounds. Yes, this may hurt in the short-term turning down big money from the Vic Government, but if they stand firm they will get proper grounds built in the long-term.

At the moment the amount of true rectangular grounds in Australia that are capable of holding more than 40k is appauling:

Suncorp: 52,000
Allianz: 42,000

Let's just let that sink in, in a country where RL, RU and Football are in the top five sports. It is just not acceptable and these three organisations need to sign an agreement and stand firm against all cities bidding for major events with the proposal that the major event is played on an oval. Once the Sydney stadia redevelopment is complete there will be the following options:

ANZ: 75,000
Suncorp: 52,000
Allianz: 45,000

 

[herbert henry1908]

What is the future of major stadia in Australia? Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide will prioritise ovals and the NRL, ARU and FFA will cop it on the chin and play there because there is no other suitable option and even Sydney has struggled to get decent rectangular stadia built.

The thing is that for Governments, it is easy to build multi-purpose stadia but this basically just translates to an oval that is great for AFL and Cricket and sh!t for RL, RU and Football. The NRL, ARU and FFA need to take this issue very seriously and use the major events that the AFL can't generate to force their hand into building decent rectangular stadia.

The NRL has the Grand Final, State of Origin, Magic Weekend, Double Headers and 9's to sell.

The ARU has Wallabies games and the carrot of future World Cup bids to sell.

Football has Socceroos games and the carrot of future World Cup bids to sell.

These organisations should be refusing to accept bids from cities that propose that they play on ovals or multi-purpose stadia. Reward the cities that build purpose built large rectangular grounds. Yes, this may hurt in the short-term turning down big money from the Vic Government, but if they stand firm they will get proper grounds built in the long-term.

At the moment the amount of true rectangular grounds in Australia that are capable of holding more than 40k is appauling:

Suncorp: 52,000
Allianz: 42,000

Let's just let that sink in, in a country where RL, RU and Football are in the top five sports. It is just not acceptable and these three organisations need to sign an agreement and stand firm against all cities bidding for major events with the proposal that the major event is played on an oval. Once the Sydney stadia redevelopment is complete there will be the following options:

ANZ: 75,000
Suncorp: 52,000
Allianz: 45,000

Thing is, is there a need for a 50k seat rectangular stadium in the southern states?

I’m all for building them, if there’s a need. For instance if we managed to host the fifa World Cup then we’d have to see improvements in rectangular grounds down there. But the rectangular codes right now just aren’t providing the demand for big rectangular stadiums in those states.

I also wonder if it’s in our interests. To me we want 25-30k seat rectangular grounds in those states. The smaller stadiums will help grow the sport by providing a better atmosphere.

Things have certainly improved though. AAMI Park is a good blueprint for other states to follow, and there’s talk of a similar stadium in Adelaide. If we can also get NIb stadium finished then we’ll have 3 pretty decent venues.

 

[Dogs Of War]

Correct! CBUS is on the main train line connecting Brisbane with various stops at the Gold Coast and situated next to a major shopping centre which means parking is not really an issue either.

I think the mayor is doing his best to put pressure on the state government to give the local team a better deal at CBUS as this is their best option. Good on him.

Thee are lots of things that need to happen to improve the gameday experience. Yes it's close to the shopping centre. But it's still a pain in the arse to get across to with families from the shopping centre. No real entertainment etc right near the stadium either.

 

[Timbo]

What is the future of major stadia in Australia? Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide will prioritise ovals and the NRL, ARU and FFA will cop it on the chin and play there because there is no other suitable option and even Sydney has struggled to get decent rectangular stadia built.

The thing is that for Governments, it is easy to build multi-purpose stadia but this basically just translates to an oval that is great for AFL and Cricket and sh!t for RL, RU and Football. The NRL, ARU and FFA need to take this issue very seriously and use the major events that the AFL can't generate to force their hand into building decent rectangular stadia.

The NRL has the Grand Final, State of Origin, Magic Weekend, Double Headers and 9's to sell.

The ARU has Wallabies games and the carrot of future World Cup bids to sell.

Football has Socceroos games and the carrot of future World Cup bids to sell.

These organisations should be refusing to accept bids from cities that propose that they play on ovals or multi-purpose stadia. Reward the cities that build purpose built large rectangular grounds. Yes, this may hurt in the short-term turning down big money from the Vic Government, but if they stand firm they will get proper grounds built in the long-term.

At the moment the amount of true rectangular grounds in Australia that are capable of holding more than 40k is appauling:

Suncorp: 52,000
Allianz: 42,000

Let's just let that sink in, in a country where RL, RU and Football are in the top five sports. It is just not acceptable and these three organisations need to sign an agreement and stand firm against all cities bidding for major events with the proposal that the major event is played on an oval. Once the Sydney stadia redevelopment is complete there will be the following options:

ANZ: 75,000
Suncorp: 52,000
Allianz: 45,000

You can bring the seats in at Etihad, making it 48k rectangle-ish.

I think that’s the best it’ll get in the AFL states.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Thing is, is there a need for a 50k seat rectangular stadium in the southern states?

I’m all for building them, if there’s a need. For instance if we managed to host the fifa World Cup then we’d have to see improvements in rectangular grounds down there. But the rectangular codes right now just aren’t providing the demand for big rectangular stadiums in those states.

I also wonder if it’s in our interests. To me we want 25-30k seat rectangular grounds in those states. The smaller stadiums will help grow the sport by providing a better atmosphere.

Things have certainly improved though. AAMI Park is a good blueprint for other states to follow, and there’s talk of a similar stadium in Adelaide. If we can also get NIb stadium finished then we’ll have 3 pretty decent venues.

No, but there is a need in Sydney and we haven't even forced the Government to get that right. With regards to the southern states, no you are right there is not a need for it, but also from our perspective, don't award them marquee events if they don't have suitable grounds.

The AFL have certainly managed to get a decent stadium for GWS, keep ANZ multi-purpose for...... just in case all on top of the existing SCG. What have the rectangular codes achieved? Even in their heartlands? We have three AFL suitable venues in NSW (including ANZ) and really only two grounds that match that for RL, RU & Football which are basically Allianz and ANZ, and ANZ is seriously compromised in it's current configuration. We have done a poor job at pushing major rectangular grounds in this country.

If a city, like Perth for example, were to redevelop NIB into a 50k venue (just using this as an example) they would instantly be in the box seat to host the following annually:

Wallabies
Socceroos
International Football Club games
At least one (if not more) NRL games
Perth Glory (12 - 15 games per year)

Throw in a SOO every three-years and that to me seems like a decent amount of content for a new stadium and (including Origin) four of those events will sell-out whilst the NRL and Perth Glory matches will pull between 15 - 25k.

 

[t-ba]

50k seats for the Glory as your only guaranteed tenant?

Dreamland seeing at the Dockers and West Coke just got a 60k venue after selling out Subiaco for almost two decades.

 

[herbert henry1908]

No, but there is a need in Sydney and we haven't even forced the Government to get that right. With regards to the southern states, no you are right there is not a need for it, but also from our perspective, don't award them marquee events if they don't have suitable grounds.

The AFL have certainly managed to get a decent stadium for GWS, keep ANZ multi-purpose for...... just in case all on top of the existing SCG. What have the rectangular codes achieved? Even in their heartlands? We have three AFL suitable venues in NSW (including ANZ) and really only two grounds that match that for RL, RU & Football which are basically Allianz and ANZ, and ANZ is seriously compromised in it's current configuration. We have done a poor job at pushing major rectangular grounds in this country.

If a city, like Perth for example, were to redevelop NIB into a 50k venue (just using this as an example) they would instantly be in the box seat to host the following annually:

Wallabies
Socceroos
International Football Club games
At least one (if not more) NRL games
Perth Glory (12 - 15 games per year)

Throw in a SOO every three-years and that to me seems like a decent amount of content for a new stadium and (including Origin) four of those events will sell-out whilst the NRL and Perth Glory matches will pull between 15 - 25k.

The AFL suitable grounds up here are because of cricket, if there’s no cricket, there’s no 40k seat Gabba for the Brisbane Lions.

If there’s no Olympics & Easter show, there’s no spotless for GWS. They would’ve been playing out of ANZ.

If one of the rectangular codes was as popular in Victoria as cricket is in Sydney, then we would’ve long ago had AAMI Park.

In terms of marquee events, that’s up to the individual codes to tackle. If they want their games at dedicated rectangular grounds they have 3 pretty good options. NRL though are taking some games to oval grounds to help grow the game, and they’re leveraging the events for facilities. But there’s no way to leverage an origin game every few years for a dedicated 50k seat stadium. There’s just not enough content to go around.

 

[Perth Red]

What is the future of major stadia in Australia? Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide will prioritise ovals and the NRL, ARU and FFA will cop it on the chin and play there because there is no other suitable option and even Sydney has struggled to get decent rectangular stadia built.

The thing is that for Governments, it is easy to build multi-purpose stadia but this basically just translates to an oval that is great for AFL and Cricket and sh!t for RL, RU and Football. The NRL, ARU and FFA need to take this issue very seriously and use the major events that the AFL can't generate to force their hand into building decent rectangular stadia.

The NRL has the Grand Final, State of Origin, Magic Weekend, Double Headers and 9's to sell.

The ARU has Wallabies games and the carrot of future World Cup bids to sell.

Football has Socceroos games and the carrot of future World Cup bids to sell.

These organisations should be refusing to accept bids from cities that propose that they play on ovals or multi-purpose stadia. Reward the cities that build purpose built large rectangular grounds. Yes, this may hurt in the short-term turning down big money from the Vic Government, but if they stand firm they will get proper grounds built in the long-term.

At the moment the amount of true rectangular grounds in Australia that are capable of holding more than 40k is appauling:

Suncorp: 52,000
Allianz: 42,000

Let's just let that sink in, in a country where RL, RU and Football are in the top five sports. It is just not acceptable and these three organisations need to sign an agreement and stand firm against all cities bidding for major events with the proposal that the major event is played on an oval. Once the Sydney stadia redevelopment is complete there will be the following options:

ANZ: 75,000
Suncorp: 52,000
Allianz: 45,000

Thats probably because most of those sports would have 2-3 event games a year that would need that capacity, building big stadiums that are crap for clubs and rarely need the capacity are nearly a bad as building ovals.

What is missing is a large number of quality 25-35k stadiums, that is what those three sports really need.
Only Brisbane, Melboure and GC currently have a new decent club sized stadium. We'll soon have one (two if allianz actually happens) in Sydney and one in NQ. Newcastle is nearly there. Perth is half done, Adelaide needs a new one, Wollongong needs finishing, CC is starting to look dated and needs better cover and Sydney needs another 3 at least.

Its a real shame we didnt win the soccer WC, that would have been a stadium game changer.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Thats probably because most of those sports would have 2-3 event games a year that would need that capacity, building big stadiums that are crap for clubs and rarely need the capacity are nearly a bad as building ovals.

What is missing is a large number of quality 25-35k stadiums, that is what those three sports really need.
Only Brisbane, Melboure and GC currently have a new decent club sized stadium. We'll soon have one (two if allianz actually happens) in Sydney and one in NQ. Newcastle is nearly there. Perth is half done, Adelaide needs a new one, Wollongong needs finishing, CC is starting to look dated and needs better cover and Sydney needs another 3 at least.

Its a real shame we didnt win the soccer WC, that would have been a stadium game changer.

Exactly.

The rectangular codes in Australia only need a few 50k + venues. Suncorp & ANZ are enough really. The new ANZ will be Australia’s home ground for international footy codes really, good thing for Sydney.

25-35k is the sweet spot.

 

[Perth Red]

If a city, like Perth for example, were to redevelop NIB into a 50k venue (just using this as an example) they would instantly be in the box seat to host the following annually:

Wallabies
Socceroos
International Football Club games
At least one (if not more) NRL games
Perth Glory (12 - 15 games per year)

Throw in a SOO every three-years and that to me seems like a decent amount of content for a new stadium and (including Origin) four of those events will sell-out whilst the NRL and Perth Glory matches will pull between 15 - 25k.

But its not needed and would A) be a waste of money and B) actually make the bulk of games that are played at it worse experiences. Rectangular sport club games are not popular to attend, NRL 20k on a good day, Glory 15k on a good day, Force, 16k on a good day. We already get wallabies and socceroo games and the big events will be played at Optus which tbh I have no problem with, its a brilliant stadium with public transport set up for big crowds unlike nib which never will be in its location.

Better they finish the other two stands and get nib up to a proper 30-35k stadium now that short sightedness meant they didn't build a new rectangular stadium next to Optus.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

But its not needed and would A) be a waste of money and B) actually make the bulk of games that are played at it worse experiences. Rectangular sport club games are not popular to attend, NRL 20k on a good day, Glory 15k on a good day, Force, 16k on a good day. We already get wallabies and socceroo games and the big events will be played at Optus which tbh I have no problem with, its a brilliant stadium with public transport set up for big crowds unlike nib which never will be in its location.

Better they finish the other two stands and get nib up to a proper 30-35k stadium now that short sightedness meant they didn't build a new rectangular stadium next to Optus.

I think that is my point though. The NRL, ARU and FFA currently let their marquee events be played on ovals. Whilst they let that happen, they will never force a rectangular stadium built. Deny Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide marquee events and see how quickly the attitude changes.

 

[Perth Red]

WA Govt wont spend $600mill plus for a SOO every three years and the occasional socceroos and wallabies game! Especially having spent $1.2bill on an oval stadium that can accommodate those events.
These events are played in cities because the city pays the sport involved many millions of $'s, NRL etc dont care if its on an oval or a paddy field as long as they are getting paid and can sell enough tickets.

 

[Suitman]

This will be the sexiest looking stadium in Oz.
This video also gives a great insight into how steep the stands are.

https://www.wswanderersfc.com.au/video/western-sydney-stadium-update-may-2018

 

[jim_57]

Thing is, is there a need for a 50k seat rectangular stadium in the southern states?

I’m all for building them, if there’s a need. For instance if we managed to host the fifa World Cup then we’d have to see improvements in rectangular grounds down there. But the rectangular codes right now just aren’t providing the demand for big rectangular stadiums in those states.

I also wonder if it’s in our interests. To me we want 25-30k seat rectangular grounds in those states. The smaller stadiums will help grow the sport by providing a better atmosphere.

Things have certainly improved though. AAMI Park is a good blueprint for other states to follow, and there’s talk of a similar stadium in Adelaide. If we can also get NIb stadium finished then we’ll have 3 pretty decent venues.

Agree with that, I don't think we're in too bad of a position once Sydney is done. 20-30k at AAMI, Adelaide & NiB are all perfect size for club NRL.

I think we have to suck up Oval grounds in the AFL states if we want/need room for over 30k. Best case scenario maybe Football or Union World Cup bids get us 40k rectangular stadiums in Melbourne, Adelaide & Perth. I don't know if either FIFA or World Rugby stipulates stadiums must be rectangular or if it is just preferable.

I'd be more interested in what either or those bids could do in regards to:

• Brisbane - Upgrade of Suncorp (if possible) and/or new medium sized stadium.
• Gold Coast - Improved public transport links and parking for CBUS.
• Newcastle - Upgrades to Hunter Stadium.
• Canberra - New city centre stadium.
• Wollongong - Upgrades to WiN of either plan to host there.

 

[herbert henry1908]

I think that is my point though. The NRL, ARU and FFA currently let their marquee events be played on ovals. Whilst they let that happen, they will never force a rectangular stadium built. Deny Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide marquee events and see how quickly the attitude changes.

They’re not letting them, they’re selling them. So they are getting something back in return.

With Perth I’d leverage the govt with a Perth NRL team & a few more origin games at Optus stadium to get NIB stadium finished.


I mean I get what you’re saying, but I actually think a big venue in those states with be a disservice to rugby league. We don’t want a future Adelaide team playing out of a 50k seat stadium.

 

[Perth Red]

That hospitality block at WSS looks impressive. Has it got more than hospitality and media in it?

 

[parrawentyfan]

25-35k is definitely the sweet spot for pretty much all our teams except Brisbane.

Parra will be perfect. Pity we don't have another half dozen of them.

For some of the smaller potential clubs I'd be happy with smaller stadiums that are more modern. Even something like the small UK stadiums would be better than Brookvale. Would like to see a version of St Helens ground for Manly. 17k isn't too bad but doesn't leave you much room to grow.

Crowds always seem to naturally top out a couple of k less than capacity so 25k leaves room for growth.

 

[herbert henry1908]

That hospitality block at WSS looks impressive. Has it got more than hospitality and media in it?

I wonder if it might be that size to cater for multiple teams? They talked a lot about having very personalised game day experiences for the clubs who use it.

Maybe they have dedicated change rooms? Dedicated function rooms etc?

 

[Suitman]

That hospitality block at WSS looks impressive. Has it got more than hospitality and media in it?

It's not a hospitality block (lol) but the western grandstand. It'll be connected to the rest of the stadium with the integrated roof. I get what you mean though.
It is the money making side of the stadium. Plenty of high end suites and bars. The lower concourse will be general season tickets, priced accordingly though due to the better facilities available.
The rest of the ground will be for the plebs.
I've posted plenty of pics and videos before of facilities available.
Can post again if you like.

edit: Here it is.....