The Game Future NRL Stadiums part II

[Captain Apollo]

Andrew Webster is a union guy through & through.

Eastern Suburbs to boot.

His article was rambling nonsense , at no point does he address how a 55k stadium at Moore Park benefits rugby league.

Further he ignores the fact that to be able to build a stadium over Kippax Lake, the State Government would have to get legislation thru to the NSW Parliament transferring the land from the Centennial and Moore Park Trust to the SCG Trust. On something like this, the Premier would have a better idea of that likelihood occurring or not than his Sports Minister.

By the way, the Olympic Park line will never be directly linked to Burwood as it is not major train hub. Strathfield Station is. Also, unless you build tunnels, there is no room to build a new direct link from it to Parramatta station.

Finally, you can have trains run from Olympic Park Station onto Strathfield/Lidcombe and then either eastward or westward from those 2 stations they do it all the time during the Easter Show and for things like Origin and the Grand Final. They only use it as a "shuttle" line on most days due to the lack of people going to that station.

 

[Pommy]

What's the thinking about putting a retractable roof on ANZ? I understand having all seats undercover but doesn't it seem a bit of a waste of money to have a covered pitch in Sydney?

 

[adamkungl]

http://m.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/nsw-premier-mike-bairds-stadium-backflip-is-not-a-win-for-rugby-league-20160414-go6axu.html

Webster continues to be a knob over this issue. He doesnt seem to co.prehend that homebush and parra is much more accessible for most rugby league fans coming from north, south, east or west than moore park ever could. Especially when the new road and rail infastructure kicks in. He and the SCGT are the only people unhappy with the solution and note the trust includes union, cricket and afl big hitters. The SFS has great site lines and sufficient facilities to cater for the majority of its crowds in all codes, it is justifably last in the pecking order for refurbishment. All it really needs to be transformed into an enclosed arena to be complete

Andrew Webster is a union guy through & through.

Eastern Suburbs to boot.

His article was rambling nonsense , at no point does he address how a 55k stadium at Moore Park benefits rugby league.

This is nonsense. Webster is an excellent Rugby League writer, possibly the best going around at the moment.
While I don't agree with his assessment, I don't begrudge him having a different opinion.

There are clear benefits to Sydney as a city having a state of the art CBD stadium. This is an undeniable fact. The debate is around whether it should be a priority over the other options, and the requirements to get it done - we fans and the clubs mostly agree that ANZ needs it more.

Personally I think it's a pity that we can't have both somehow

 

[slm9]

What's the thinking about putting a retractable roof on ANZ? I understand having all seats undercover but doesn't it seem a bit of a waste of money to have a covered pitch in Sydney?

Rain doesn't always fall straight down so you would sometimes get wet in the first set of rows (i was out there for a state of origin and was soaked) plus the playing area is also used for concerts so they can close the roof and the audience would stay dry.

 

[TheFrog]

This decision will make sense if they also decide to make Olympic park station more than an off track pit stop; they need it to be an actual link between Parra and Burwood stations

If you are suggesting moving the entire main trunk rail corridor 2km north so it passes by the Olympic precinct, it's a ridiculous idea that would cost much more than the $1.6b they are spending here.

They can run trains from Parramatta to Strathfield via Olympic Park right now, but the only time it is feasible to do so is when there is a big event on, like the Grand Final or the Easter show, or what it was designed for, the Olympic Games. It does double the running time (at least)to run trains by this route, though, so it would not impress those whose destination or origin point is not Olympic Park.

 

[herbert henry1908]

What's the thinking about putting a retractable roof on ANZ? I understand having all seats undercover but doesn't it seem a bit of a waste of money to have a covered pitch in Sydney?

Not at all.

Sydney receives 50% of its rainfall in the months march through June.

And Sydney is a rainy city to begin with , 1200mm annually.

 

[herbert henry1908]

This is nonsense. Webster is an excellent Rugby League writer, possibly the best going around at the moment.
While I don't agree with his assessment, I don't begrudge him having a different opinion.

There are clear benefits to Sydney as a city having a state of the art CBD stadium. This is an undeniable fact. The debate is around whether it should be a priority over the other options, and the requirements to get it done - we fans and the clubs mostly agree that ANZ needs it more.

Personally I think it's a pity that we can't have both somehow

Yes but he framed it as rugby league is the loser by not having a CBD stadium , not the city.

Simple fact is RL's demographics aren't in the city.

And I couldn't disagree more that Webster is the best RL writer , he's always had a bias against the code. And furthermore he continues to demonstrate an Eastern Suburbs bias.

 

[bazza]

Yes but he framed it as rugby league is the loser by not having a CBD stadium , not the city.

The downside of Homebush being the main stadium is that it is less likely to attract casual fans from the east of the city to big games

However, SFS was never going to be able to be as big as Homebush so it is a moot point

 

[RoosTah]

The other question I'd be keen to see answered is what would $350 million be able to do for Allianz?

 

[herbert henry1908]

The downside of Homebush being the main stadium is that it is less likely to attract casual fans from the east of the city to big games

However, SFS was never going to be able to be as big as Homebush so it is a moot point

Big games don't really need casual fans to come though.

As you say the Moore park stadium was too small for the biggest games , I could've supported the idea for a 70k stadium for the CBD in principle , but the trust themselves abandoned this idea when it was pointed out transport links weren't good enough for anything above 55k.

 

[herbert henry1908]

The other question I'd be keen to see answered is what would $350 million be able to do for Allianz?

Opening roof
New lower bowl
Change rooms
Corporate facilities
Eating facilities

Quite a bit really.

 

[RoosTah]

Opening roof
New lower bowl
Change rooms
Corporate facilities
Eating facilities

Quite a bit really.

Sweet.

That's plenty, because it's already a pretty good stadium.

Win win in my view, because I'd be WAY more likely to go to Homebush for away games if the stadium offered good views of the ground and had more going on.

 

[dangerousdave]

This decision will make sense if they also decide to make Olympic park station more than an off track pit stop; they need it to be an actual link between Parra and Burwood stations

This is the route that the light rail will follow.

Well Parra to Strathfield

 

[Desert Qlder]

What's the thinking about putting a retractable roof on ANZ? I understand having all seats undercover but doesn't it seem a bit of a waste of money to have a covered pitch in Sydney?

Once upon a time I would have totally disagreed with having a roof over a football ground. I had an old fashioned disposition about conditions being a factor and teams should be able to handle anything.

But I have had a complete reversal on this. Mainly from my experience at going grounds with a roof, which does add atmosphere. Also, I found myself enjoying wet weather football less and less. As players became far more highly skilled, poor conditions do not allow for the best quality football to be played. I wanted to see the best players showcasing their skills in premium conditions, not slugging it out in a bog.

Sydney is notorious for its winter rain. So many rounds and big clashes get ruined by drizzle. To now have prospect of two large grounds with retractable roofs is a major win for the city and the game.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Yeah, I love the Tahs, but even for our once in 20 year Super Rugby GF we couldn't fill it up - only 61k. The atmosphere was pretty awesome for that 61k, but it just goes to show you how weak the support for the team is.

Looking at the vid though I'm pretty sure that was the Blues...

I think it was intentionally ambiguous...

They had images of each on either side of the tunnel. Obviously sitting the fence there on picking their "major" team.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

What's the thinking about putting a retractable roof on ANZ? I understand having all seats undercover but doesn't it seem a bit of a waste of money to have a covered pitch in Sydney?

Wind makes cover pretty useless and dry-weather football is infinitely better than in the wet.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

The other question I'd be keen to see answered is what would $350 million be able to do for Allianz?

Was there the will, they could tear down SFS and build a new 25-30k seater in a better location (Barangaroo, Wentworth park).

That would be my first choice but it was never likely...

 

[RoosTah]

This is the route that the light rail will follow.

Well Parra to Strathfield

Will there be a light rail stop be within walking distance from Olympic Park? If so, that'd be great. Ideally you want your big events stadium to have a strong mix of transport options to reach it.

 

[bazza]

Will there be a light rail stop be within walking distance from Olympic Park? If so, that'd be great. Ideally you want your big events stadium to have a strong mix of transport options to reach it.

Plan is to run through the precinct

http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/parramatta-light-rail/preferred-network

 

[RoosTah]

Plan is to run through the precinct

http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/parramatta-light-rail/preferred-network

Perfect.

This all lines up really well. It all makes so much sense - honestly can't understand how Ayres was pushing for a Moore Park 55k rebuild looking at this.