The Game Future NRL Stadiums part II

[horrie hastings]

You dinosaurs and your freakin hills!

The "Hill" is the worst part of any of our grounds. Other then the parent that wants to let their little monsters run a muck to drain all that annoying childhood energy out of them, not to many others want to sit in a damp cold or wet hill, especially at night in the middle of winter mate.

That is why so many games that are played with hills look so empty and lack any atmosphere or have any hype to them at all. If I had my way I would make it a mandated rule that all teams must play out of proper all seat stadiums as part of their licence agreement. If they don't then the NRL can move that licence to whichever region of Australia they chose fit to.

That would force the hand of a few clubs to either do so or perish. Even if they moved to say Olympic, Parra or SFS Stadiums, say the Tigers, Saints or Sharks, if their crowds stayed flat or declined then maybe they would pull their finger out and either make a massive effort to lobby Governments to get a Stadium or if that didn't work, one or two of them would bite the bullet and make the mammoth and monumental decision to move to places like Perth or Adelaide, otherwise they would be left behind.

This molly coddling of all our clubs is what is helping to hold our game back from making the big hard decisions. Tough love is what is needed to help our game to realize its maximum potential. Make the rules of holding on to a franchise licence of the highest and difficult standards, otherwise mediocrity will always linger and allow the armatures and ne'er-do-wells that have a place within our game to hide and actually flourish.

Massive "Hills" at our grounds are the visual result of a game that is poorly run. They are nothing to be proud of or celebrate. When I and hundreds of thousands of others if not millions see hills, especially half empty ones, all we think is amateurism and a sport that isn't that important or popular and people don't care for much. They are a legacy of a bygone era that almost all other tier one sports around the world grew out of decades ago let alone still carry on with in the 21st Century. Modern man and woman spits at the "Hill" and will rush to the dry, under cover comfort of a nice and modern facility that allows them easily access to food, drinks, toilets, Wi-Fi, screens and so on and if you put a full on roof over it, warmth in those bleak, windy and wet winter overcast days and miserable nights. The difference that that creates in the minds of the casual spectator that is umming and ahing about going to a game or not is massive and can turn those casuals into regulars.

The point is "HILLS" are like an acute case of the crabs on a beautiful lady. Sure you will hold her hand, even in public, but they need to be eradicated before anyone wants to commit and go all in.

and did you look at the pic that i posted of the Brookvale oval upgrade from a few years ago, what i meant by the hill is what they had proposed on the right of the pic, a grass area in front and more amenities and what looks like terrace seating at the back, of course i think this plan has been scrapped now.

 

[Tiger Shark]

But they are the people who will buy season tickets in good spots when their finances allow it. So if they have a good experience including the internet. They are more likely to want the same for their families. Can't be short sighted. It's all about the next generation of fans at all times. Get them hooked early and you have your next income stream.

Yeah I get that. What I and others are saying is people aren't using the WiFi capabilities of that stadium as a reason to buy season tickets or not.

They're not spending potentially thousands of dollars ( depending on how many tickets and where ) because they can get WiFi. Yes it's a nice add on and touch to have it but with 4G and 5G rolling out a persons mobile these days is just as good, and if you're on 5G it's potentially better than the WiFi being offered. Public WiFi is notoriously average sometimes.

 

[horrie hastings]

Thank God that design never got the green light.

Yeah nothing really matches up with, will be interesting to see how how they develop the ground now to match the centre of excellence but the two of the older Western stands need to be bulldozed for starters.

 

[Dogs Of War]

Yeah I get that. What I and others are saying is people aren't using the WiFi capabilities of that stadium as a reason to buy season tickets or not.

They're not spending potentially thousands of dollars ( depending on how many tickets and where ) because they can get WiFi. Yes it's a nice add on and touch to have it but with 4G and 5G rolling out a persons mobile these days is just as good, and if you're on 5G it's potentially better than the WiFi being offered. Public WiFi is notoriously average sometimes.

Many times I have had no coverage at games due to the volume of people at games. I get that it costs a lot of put in WIFI coverage for a stadium, but that pays itself off. Most providers will not put the money into stadium coverage which is why stadiums need to do it themselves. I'm not sure if you aware of the inner workings of how 4G/5G work, but more people connected to one tower, that divides the available bandwidth between them all and it will also kick users off a tower. I used to have an apartment near strathfield station, my phone and 4G internet connection was unusable during peak hour just due to the shear volume of users, with trains coming and going all the time. It's why a WIFI solution is better as the bandwidth will allow more users at that point depending on the solution used.

Don't get me wrong. I've got little interest in being on my phone at a game. But for others it's everything.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Many times I have had no coverage at games due to the volume of people at games. I get that it costs a lot of put in WIFI coverage for a stadium, but that pays itself off. Most providers will not put the money into stadium coverage which is why stadiums need to do it themselves.

Telstra should provide it to the NRL for free considering they're getting naming rights.

Does Telstra provide free Wi-Fi at the footy to Telstra customers?

It could be a way for them to get more RL fans to jump from Optus and Vodafone to Telstra.

 

[TheRam]

I'm happy to go the modern grounds with state of the art facilities like the new SFS will have and Bank West or what ever they call it now especially night games or a brand new Penrith Stadium once it is built but at the same time i would love to see a bit of tradition kept at a handful of grounds like Leichhardt and Brookvale with a hill, face it Leichhardt will only be used for 2-3 games a year and there is also a push for Manly to play games elsewhere like Gosford, i'm happy if Manly do get full grandstand and terrace seating as the ground is dilapidated and does need serious dollars spent on it, Leichhardt oval they could never get rid of the hill there because of the housing that is right behind it.

Sorry mate, I don't agree. I never want to see another "hill" at an NRL venue again.

Of course that will not be the case for a few more years at least, but that is my sentiment. Anyway at least we are finally making the right moves to minimise that type of venue and it will all but be gone over the next 10 years with all the redevelopment and new builds coming down the pipeline.

The last piece of the puzzle will probably be Canberra. Lets hope that plonker that is in charge of stadium finances finally make a decision sooner rather then later and it is the right one in regards to rectangular shape and location City.

 

[Dogs Of War]

Telstra should provide it to the NRL for free considering they're getting naming rights.

Does Telstra provide free Wi-Fi at the footy to Telstra customers?

It could be a way for them to get more RL fans to jump from Optus and Vodafone to Telstra.

Stadium Australia put there own solution in. Telstra are not going to put more towers in as it won't pay for itself. WIFI solution is much cheaper for all parties and a more consistent experience. I will say I have worked for all the big providers and am talking about it from that point of view.

 

[TheRam]

and did you look at the pic that i posted of the Brookvale oval upgrade from a few years ago, what i meant by the hill is what they had proposed on the right of the pic, a grass area in front and more amenities and what looks like terrace seating at the back, of course i think this plan has been scrapped now.

Yeah sure it is better then what is there now, but hardly a great style or design for a boutique stadium. Thankfully like you say, that design will never see the light of day now.

 

[2012....Sharks Year]

You dinosaurs and your freakin hills!

The "Hill" is the worst part of any of our grounds. Other then the parent that wants to let their little monsters run a muck to drain all that annoying childhood energy out of them, not to many others want to sit in a damp cold or wet hill, especially at night in the middle of winter mate.

That is why so many games that are played with hills look so empty and lack any atmosphere or have any hype to them at all. If I had my way I would make it a mandated rule that all teams must play out of proper all seat stadiums as part of their licence agreement. If they don't then the NRL can move that licence to whichever region of Australia they chose fit to.

That would force the hand of a few clubs to either do so or perish. Even if they moved to say Olympic, Parra or SFS Stadiums, say the Tigers, Saints or Sharks, if their crowds stayed flat or declined then maybe they would pull their finger out and either make a massive effort to lobby Governments to get a Stadium or if that didn't work, one or two of them would bite the bullet and make the mammoth and monumental decision to move to places like Perth or Adelaide, otherwise they would be left behind.

This molly coddling of all our clubs is what is helping to hold our game back from making the big hard decisions. Tough love is what is needed to help our game to realize its maximum potential. Make the rules of holding on to a franchise licence of the highest and difficult standards, otherwise mediocrity will always linger and allow the armatures and ne'er-do-wells that have a place within our game to hide and actually flourish.

Massive "Hills" at our grounds are the visual result of a game that is poorly run. They are nothing to be proud of or celebrate. When I and hundreds of thousands of others if not millions see hills, especially half empty ones, all we think is amateurism and a sport that isn't that important or popular and people don't care for much. They are a legacy of a bygone era that almost all other tier one sports around the world grew out of decades ago let alone still carry on with in the 21st Century. Modern man and woman spits at the "Hill" and will rush to the dry, under cover comfort of a nice and modern facility that allows them easily access to food, drinks, toilets, Wi-Fi, screens and so on and if you put a full on roof over it, warmth in those bleak, windy and wet winter overcast days and miserable nights. The difference that that creates in the minds of the casual spectator that is umming and ahing about going to a game or not is massive and can turn those casuals into regulars.

The point is "HILLS" are like an acute case of the crabs on a beautiful lady. Sure you will hold her hand, even in public, but they need to be eradicated before anyone wants to commit and go all in.

Probably best to assume that not everyone wants to sit in a moulded plastic seat. Those kids that get to run around the hill are the fans of tomorrow and are more likely to engage with a little bit of freedom and a jump on a jumping castle or inflatable slide than being forced to sit for 2 hours in a hard plastic seat. Think if you’re going to cater for everyone the parents need to have the choice depending where their kids are at.

 

[Dogs Of War]

Probably best to assume that not everyone wants to sit in a moulded plastic seat. Those kids that get to run around the hill are the fans of tomorrow and are more likely to engage with a little bit of freedom and a jump on a jumping castle or inflatable slide than being forced to sit for 2 hours in a hard plastic seat. Think if you’re going to cater for everyone the parents need to have the choice depending where their kids are at.

It's not like you want kids running around on a hill, especially in this day and age. Jumping castles etc are never on the hill but in concourse areas. Hills are lovely on a good day. Not quite the same in other conditions. It's not the 20th century anymore.

 

[2012....Sharks Year]

It's not like you want kids running around on a hill, especially in this day and age. Jumping castles etc are never on the hill but in concourse areas. Hills are lovely on a good day. Not quite the same in other conditions. It's not the 20th century anymore.

At Shark park the jumping castles and slides have always been up the back of the alcohol -free family hill. Me and a couple of mates used to bring our kids (6 in total) and initially they didn’t give a f**k about the footy…. They were only there for the castles and slides etc. Wind the clock forward 5 or 6 years and 4 of those 6 kids are now season ticket holders sitting in the grandstand loving the footy. Would it have happened without the hill? I doubt it tbh.

 

[Tiger Shark]

Many times I have had no coverage at games due to the volume of people at games. I get that it costs a lot of put in WIFI coverage for a stadium, but that pays itself off. Most providers will not put the money into stadium coverage which is why stadiums need to do it themselves. I'm not sure if you aware of the inner workings of how 4G/5G work, but more people connected to one tower, that divides the available bandwidth between them all and it will also kick users off a tower. I used to have an apartment near strathfield station, my phone and 4G internet connection was unusable during peak hour just due to the shear volume of users, with trains coming and going all the time. It's why a WIFI solution is better as the bandwidth will allow more users at that point depending on the solution used.

Don't get me wrong. I've got little interest in being on my phone at a game. But for others it's everything.

I've never been to any game and had coverage issues, including the Sharks GF in 2016. I've been to concerts etc that have had it but that was years ago when we were on 3G.

I can't see a suburban stadium with 25,000 people having similar issues. And in Shark Parks particular example the nearby apartments have mobile towers on them.

5G will be able to support capacity much better than 4G.

Have to agree to disagree on it being everything for someone. Yes it enriches the experience but there's many things more important than having Wifi.

Time/schedule of game
Weather
Transport/Parking
Food/beverages
Team performance
Seating view

These are all things above WiFi in my opinion. Not in order.

Also to be clear a Wifi solution and a modern stadium are not related. Leichardt oval could put in the latest WiFi solution and everyone could be live streaming their tackles to world if they wanted to. Still will be an old suburban stadium though.

 

[Captain Apollo]

You dinosaurs and your freakin hills!

The "Hill" is the worst part of any of our grounds. Other then the parent that wants to let their little monsters run a muck to drain all that annoying childhood energy out of them, not to many others want to sit in a damp cold or wet hill, especially at night in the middle of winter mate.

That is why so many games that are played with hills look so empty and lack any atmosphere or have any hype to them at all. If I had my way I would make it a mandated rule that all teams must play out of proper all seat stadiums as part of their licence agreement. If they don't then the NRL can move that licence to whichever region of Australia they chose fit to.

That would force the hand of a few clubs to either do so or perish. Even if they moved to say Olympic, Parra or SFS Stadiums, say the Tigers, Saints or Sharks, if their crowds stayed flat or declined then maybe they would pull their finger out and either make a massive effort to lobby Governments to get a Stadium or if that didn't work, one or two of them would bite the bullet and make the mammoth and monumental decision to move to places like Perth or Adelaide, otherwise they would be left behind.

This molly coddling of all our clubs is what is helping to hold our game back from making the big hard decisions. Tough love is what is needed to help our game to realize its maximum potential. Make the rules of holding on to a franchise licence of the highest and difficult standards, otherwise mediocrity will always linger and allow the armatures and ne'er-do-wells that have a place within our game to hide and actually flourish.

Massive "Hills" at our grounds are the visual result of a game that is poorly run. They are nothing to be proud of or celebrate. When I and hundreds of thousands of others if not millions see hills, especially half empty ones, all we think is amateurism and a sport that isn't that important or popular and people don't care for much. They are a legacy of a bygone era that almost all other tier one sports around the world grew out of decades ago let alone still carry on with in the 21st Century. Modern man and woman spits at the "Hill" and will rush to the dry, under cover comfort of a nice and modern facility that allows them easily access to food, drinks, toilets, Wi-Fi, screens and so on and if you put a full on roof over it, warmth in those bleak, windy and wet winter overcast days and miserable nights. The difference that that creates in the minds of the casual spectator that is umming and ahing about going to a game or not is massive and can turn those casuals into regulars.

The point is "HILLS" are like an acute case of the crabs on a beautiful lady. Sure you will hold her hand, even in public, but they need to be eradicated before anyone wants to commit and go all in.

I agree with you. If you want an example of a club and ground that got rid of its hills post haste when its home ground was redeveloped, look no further than the Newcastle Knights. Before the upgrade of what is now McDonald Jones Stadium had one grand stand on the western sides, with hills on the eastern, northern and southern sides. When it rained those hills turned to slush, making it a very uncomfortable place to sit, especially if you were near the tracks that people had made over the years walking up and down the hills to get to the toilets or the canteens, as they turned to mud in the wet. If the wind blew, in winter, wet or dry, you felt it in your bones.

Now they have nice, well covered stand, with decent leg room, and sitting in puddles of water on the hills is a distant memory. Only reason they drew big crowds, despite the poor amenities, is that Newcastle is a mad rugby league town with a passion for the Knights. In many other places, that old stadium as it was would have turned off many fans of other clubs. The Knights helped drive this, as the people of Newcastle deserved a good stadium with good facilities.

People want relative comfort, and a good viewing angle, not being cold and or wet with a piss poor view of the onfield action.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Probably best to assume that not everyone wants to sit in a moulded plastic seat. Those kids that get to run around the hill are the fans of tomorrow and are more likely to engage with a little bit of freedom and a jump on a jumping castle or inflatable slide than being forced to sit for 2 hours in a hard plastic seat. Think if you’re going to cater for everyone the parents need to have the choice depending where their kids are at.

AwFuL don't have terraces at their grounds, yet they've got more kids watching and playing the game.

No terraces in NFL, NCAA College Football or EPL. Crowds and participation among children shit all over our game.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

It's not like you want kids running around on a hill, especially in this day and age. Jumping castles etc are never on the hill but in concourse areas. Hills are lovely on a good day. Not quite the same in other conditions. It's not the 20th century anymore.

Terraces are alright at park football games played by amateurs. They're shit at Queensland Cup and NRL games.

 

[2012....Sharks Year]

AwFuL don't have terraces at their grounds, yet they've got more kids watching and playing the game.

No terraces in NFL, NCAA College Football or EPL. Crowds and participation among children shit all over our game.

Whatever mate…. Done with this tedious repetitive thread. All the best with Chad and the spoon hey.

 

[LineBall]

 

[Perth Red]

Media Still saying ‘22 GF will be at the new sfs. I guess if the anz roof project is underway then it will be held there. Would be a great atmosphere.

 

[2012....Sharks Year]

Terraces are alright at park football games played by amateurs. They're shit at Queensland Cup and NRL games.

Maybe the Cows should have some terraces…. They look like amateurs

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Double post.