I hope this is one of V'lanys highest agenda items to sort out. Stadiums for the game. Where and what type?
Canberra, 30-35K with roof in the city should be his objective. Manly and finding a centrally located ground by a train line(station) for a Parra style stadium to include and service ALL of the North Shore a must if we ever want to capture the attention and hearts of most of the kids and others North of the bridge.
And in a perfect world finding a ground in the south of Sydney, that again is on the train line for a Cronulla/Staints joint Stadium use would be the go.
If he could pull these 3 Stadium options off, he would be in my mind the first leader since the Super League war that has a clue and is actually competent. Just with these 3 new stadiums the ones that are already allocated to be built and the ones we already have, the game will go gang busters in regards to attendances.
Even if he did nothing else, he would have improved the game 100% perception wise to both sponsors and the general public at large and therefore increasing its stocks on and off the field in all areas. Full stadiums is where it's at. This is where it started for the AFL and why it has been able to achieve all the success that it has to date by spring boarding off the back of full stadiums and great game day experience for all its attendees unlike any other sport in the country.
When you have big crowds at games it builds the game up on so many levels which would include the all important media. I believe they would see the game differently and then join in and become allies not adversaries. Everyone would see the game as positive and prestigious, not struggling to keep its fans let alone grow them by any significant numbers. Its image restored as an all inclusive and well liked sport that is richly embedded within our very culture on a weekly basis and on a massive scale. I have been on about this since I was a young boy going out to suburban grounds and that soulless SCG and wishing that we had larger crowds and a better atmosphere.
I always felt, when sitting on a half empty hill or grandstand that we were a poorly like sport by the wider community out there and other then those handful of games a year where there would be large crowds that would fill a ground close to its capacity, the visuals, atmosphere and overall game day experience were generally very poor from an event point of view. If we want the game to thrive, then this is where we need to focus a heap of attention. Make the game look BIG and the rest will follow.
