Future NRL Stadiums

[beave]

The main problem with DFS is that it was a patchwork job to begin with and the Western Stand is inadequate for a professional sports team this day and age. The Cowboys need more corporate boxes and more suites and currently these are all maxxed out as far as I'm aware. The view at the stadium is pretty good but the actual facilities themselves are very long in the tooth. This new one ticks all the boxes, but I just hope the fee charged to play there is reasonable as the $300k they charge the Titans to play at their stadium is ridiculous and is akin to highway robbery.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

Question beave, the first NRL game in Townsville was in 1990 between Easts and Canterbury, and they mentioned it was played at the Townsville Sports Ground, also the ground where Australia played PNG. Is that the same ground as Dairy Farmers?

 

[beave]

no mate, the Sports Reserve is around near the ocean, near the foot of Castle Hill. It is used for local league these days and athletics

this is from the top of castle hill

and with Castle Hill in the background

A stadium there would have one of the most spectacular back drops you could think of with a mountain (pretty much) right next to it but that ground is right in the middle of suburbia and has the Grammar School right next to it (the tennis courts) so it will never get renovated into a proper stadium.

DFS is out in the suburb Kirwan, it was pretty isolated when I was a kid as I went to school next door to DFS when it was a trotting track but these days there's houses all around it and it is quite a pain in the ass to get access to on game days (traffic wise) as we obviously don't have suburban trains up here.
This new stadium has quite a few access roads to it, which I think will be far better traffic wise than DFS and having the nightclub/entertainment area nearby will be great for the economy, at the moment if you want to bung one on after a game you have to go next door to the brothers leagues club and listen to a kareoke machine and old mate on guitar or be faced with a 30 min bus ride into town.

 

[Perth Red]

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2011/08/27/261391_news.html

A CONCEPT plan for Townsville's new inner-city $185 million sporting stadium has been revealed for the first time.

."

Would love to know how they can build a complete stadium in NQ for $180mill yet one stand in Perth is costing $90mill? Frick building costs are ridiculous here!

 

[PARRA_FAN]

Cheers Beave, also forgot to mention that there was a Pre Season game played there I think in 1989.

Been the Castle Hill in 2004, amazing view really. And went to a match at DFS in 2004, seemed like an age to get the ground from the inner suburbs.

 

[beave]

That pre season game was the eels v broncos in the panasonic cup from memory. Yeah it is a long way from the city out to DFS even by our standards up here in a small city.

God i remember when I left here as a kid in 1991 there was only about 110k living here, i think there's closer to 190k here now, its almost doubled the population in 20 years.

 

[smithie]

Would love to know how they can build a complete stadium in NQ for $180mill yet one stand in Perth is costing $90mill? Frick building costs are ridiculous here!

Skilled Park (Robina Stadium) only cost $160 million.

 

[beave]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...million-makeover/story-e6freye0-1226123545599

THIS is the dream sporting venue that has been designed to get Sydney's stay-away sporting fans back to the football.

A spectacular new $60 million roof over the Sydney Football Stadium that will ensure every fan sits in comfort and out of the rain.

Plans to revamp the stadium into an iconic, world-class sporting venue come from damning research showing footy supporters have become couch potatoes and are watching on their plasmas instead of attending matches.

The Sydney Cricket Ground Trust is in the process of lobbying the state and federal governments for joint funding for the project.

The stadium was opened in 1988 and the new roof would be built in time for its 25th anniversary in 2013.

The project wouldn't increase the ground capacity from its 48,000 but would see improvements to general facilities, including new electronic scoreboards, dining facilities and food outlets.

Related Coverage

SFS and SCG crowds have fallen dramatically for rugby union and AFL in recent times, while Fox Sports and free-to-air ratings for the two sports have attracted record numbers.

The stadium management is convinced the only way to get crowds back is to improve facilities and the overall matchday experience.

Sydney has fallen behind all other states for modern sporting facilities. Plans have just been announced for a massive new $1.1 billion stadium in Perth and $700 million is being spent on the Adelaide Oval.

Brisbane has the magnificent Suncorp Stadium and Melbourne any number of great sporting venues.

We know that Sydney will host the Bledisloe Cup at ANZ Stadium for 10 years from next year, but the new-look SFS will almost certainly stage a second Test match played every year at the ground where the old diehard Rah-Rahs love watching their footy and socialising before and afterwards in all the Paddington watering holes.

There is also talk the Trust will make a serious pitch to get the South Sydney Rabbitohs out of Homebush and back to Moore Park.

 

[Brutus]

That pre season game was the eels v broncos in the panasonic cup from memory. Yeah it is a long way from the city out to DFS even by our standards up here in a small city.

God i remember when I left here as a kid in 1991 there was only about 110k living here, i think there's closer to 190k here now, its almost doubled the population in 20 years.

Wally scored 3 tries.

 

[Timmah]

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/...adium-roof-buckles-in-high-winds/2298049.aspx

Emergency services are rushing to WIN Stadium’s western grandstand, which has buckled under gale-force winds.Both ends of the newly completed roof have buckled after strong winds buffeted Wollongong this afternoon.
Engineers on site have deemed the situation a critical incident.
Witnesses say a large structural beam appears to have snapped.
Parts of Harbour and Burelli streets have been closed due to the dangerous conditions.
The Steelers Club has been evacuated as a precaution.
Construction on the $29 million grandstand had been nearing its final stages.

 

[Red Bear]

f**k!

I was doing a uni test when the winds really picked up, could hear them and could hear the rain, walked out and it had cooled down but stopped raining. Pretty hectic.

(Maybe we should've used bluescope steel)

 

[Tiger_Tim]

f**k!

I was doing a uni test when the winds really picked up, could hear them and could hear the rain, walked out and it had cooled down but stopped raining. Pretty hectic.

(Maybe we should've used bluescope steel)

It was hailing earlier too

 

[Xfactor1979]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...elmore-gets-its-bark-back-20111017-1ltfi.html

 

[Yosemite Sam]

Great news. While I don't believe the Bulldogs will ever return to Belmore full time, it would be perfect for 2-3 games a year against the likes of the Cowboys and Raiders - similar to what the Tigers do with Leichhardt.

 

[aarondoyle]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...elmore-gets-its-bark-back-20111017-1ltfi.html

Nice and close to the train station! Ticks that box.

 

[PaulyTom]

If they build the Townsville stadium which I think would be a huge for North Queensland area there would be no chance of the CQ stadium in Rockhampton in the next 10 years. The government definitely do not have the cash to fork out multiple stadiums state wide. There is also talk of major revamp of the current stadium in Cairns.

 

[Smiley]

It's actually the reverse.

The Townsville stadium is no chance of happening because of the CQ stadium.

Both sides of government have already agreed to build a stadium in Rockhampton if CQ gain entry into the NRL.

Can't see them agreeing to spending 200 million on a new stadium in Townsville while there is a chance they will have to spend the same amount again come 2013-15 for CQ.

The best bet for the Cowboys is to aim for a Ausgrid Stadium type upgrade. New eastern grandstand for Dairy Farmers funded between the State and Federal government.

It's good to see upgrades and discussion happening around regional Queensland stadia. With the construction of Stadium Mackay, new grandstand at Sunshine Coast Stadium (Stockland Park) and the Cairns government looking at improving Barlow Park.

 

[PaulyTom]

CQ will not get in the next round of NRL expansion and that will be Queensland Gov get out clause to then sign an agreement with Townsville.

 

[gUt]

Seems topical:

Picture This

Rugby league is blessed with fans that love and follow the game itself. NRL fans will happily watch just about any NRL game whether their team is playing or not. A quick glance at the weekly television ratings backs this assertion up.

It’s a double edged sword though because instead of trekking off to the ground to watch their own team go around, a fan with the means might choose to stay home on a Saturday to watch all the games in the comfort of his own armchair, happily sipping on her own wine and not having to queue for a toilet break.

What’s the one thing all rugby league fans hate to see, but see all too often? A visual clue:

If you answered “Roosters fans”, you are partially correct. However I humbly draw your attention to the hundreds of empty seats. A zoom-out of this picture would not improve it. Every week we see matches at the SFS and/or the Olympic Stadium where no matter how absorbing the game may be, those empty seats express more than the loudest, most passionate fan ever could. It’s a distraction, too often it’s a talking point and it’s an embarrassing look for the game. Why is it that 15,000 packed into a rusting suburban ground always creates a better atmosphere than 30,000 at the SFS?

This article could be about ways to entice fans to fill those empty seats with the toned, supple buttocks of the typical NRL fan. I could beat my chest about ticket, food and drinks prices; I could roast the old chestnut about improving crowd safety and in a desperate attempt to mention chests one more time I could soberly discuss cheerleaders performing topless. Instead I will open a chest of ideas, previously secured with a padlock of not having thought about this before.

Professional rugby league is staking its future on an upgraded television (along with other media) deal. Even the code’s critics acknowledge it’s a superb television product. It’s time to embrace this fact of the evolution of the sport we love and forget chasing the fans that prefer to cheer at their television screen, which evidently is pretty much all of them. It’s time to adapt and thrive. It’s time for a studio stadium – a STUDIUM. Join me on a quick jaunt into the future.

News Limited has constructed the world’s first dedicated indoor football arena-come-television studio: Fox Studium. Clubs are eager to take their home games to this neutral venue because of the generous compensation that Fox Sports offers them. These clubs’ members are notified ahead of time and only the first 10,000-20,000 fans are able to buy a ticket to this match. The many microphones placed strategically around the fan zones pick up as intense a noise as possible.

It’s easy to see the playing surface is in perfect order. During the week, sun lamps blaze down upon the green top while pop-up sprinklers provide what all good sprinklers should provide. Free from the damage caused by too much heat/cold/water, Fox Studium is renowned as the surest playing surface underfoot of any ground.

This venue is built with one ideal in mind: to bring to the screens of NRL fans the best possible vision of the game. A hundred cameras hang from the ceiling, or slide along rails, or motor along suspended wires, or hover with miniature blimps, or are operated in the traditional way. These cameras have dedicated jobs; some are programmed to track and follow the ball with a predetermined zoom setting. Others provide wide shots from every conceivable point around the Studium. Others are free to actually move and provide dynamic action shots never before attempted by any sport in the world. Infrared cameras literally bring us the heat of the battle, miniature cameras sewn into the headgear of players takes us into the fray.

These cameras provide a feed to a crew of 10 directors who select what they think is the best available shot of the action. These shots are then provided to an over-director who decides what to broadcast. However, the sophisticated viewer at home is free to choose any of the 10 shots coming to the over-director instead.

With the atmosphere of a packed suburban ground and the technological capability of a modern submarine, Fox Studium quickly becomes famous the world over for providing what is simply the best televised sporting product available.

 

[applesauce]

So crazy, it just might work. But will never happen.