New stadium at Campbelltown

[westie]

Instead of "keeping them - this refers to both sides - happy", I'd like to reach a point, whether it be through time, or good marketing where people come to accept the club as one entity and want the best for it. The situation we have now is bullsh*t. With regards to the inner west area... Perhaps we could play one or two matches which would draw poorly at Campbelltown at LO - say Manly, GC, Cowboys etc and aim for a full house. As it is that's only about 20k with virtually no corporate income. Would it be worth it? Will we reach a point where after sitting in our own Suncorp every 2nd week that going back to sit on a muddy rainy hill will become an unfavoured option - perhaps like the SCG - full of memories and tradition, but really not up to scratch with modern standards of RL grounds?

 

[N.C.]

Games against the Rabbits and Roosters will draw good crowds at Leichhardt. I reckon Manly and possibly the Bears if they're let back in would do well too... Pretty much any of the inner-sydney-ish clubs would do better there than they would at C'town...

 

[meltiger]

I don't think we've even come close to attracting anything like a small amount of the potential support from out west.

Really? How do our crowds stack up against the other sides who play 12 home games in one region? I'd buy this argument IF we were behind the other clubs in drawing power. We aren't. We attract standard crowds for Sydney RL

With regards to junior development, most good youngsters go to Parra or the Dogs. I'd like to see us commit to the area and from there aim to improve these things. Folau, Inu etc should be ours.

Poor junior spotting/retention in the past has nothing to do with being based out of both areas.

I think Sydney should be able to attract regular, AFL sized crowds, simply by doing what the AFL did. Promote membership and attending the game as a necessary thing for fans and get them into the habit of doing 10-12 games a year instead of just 2-3.

They should but won't. Besides the fact that one is out and out purely a spectator sport and just terrible to watch on tv, whilst the other is the perfect TV sport, there are many other issues - Besides the facilities the major thing is that the AFL control the gate, which allows clubs to offer memberships inclusive of away game access, which encourages the fans to attend.

Outside of Collingwood, Essendon and on a tier below, Carlton/Richmond ... AFL crowds aren't as spectacular as people think. It's simply the away attendance bumping up the crowd.

The Dogs pulling 40k for an "event" this year is another example of people coming out if the hype is there. The second a match looks like selling out, it will consistently.

I pretty much agree on this, but as I said, i wasn't talking about the event games. We are talking about playing 12 games a year in a 40k seat stadium.

The WT membership levels are disgraceful. Around 1.5k or something - meanwhile, the other clubs continue to head towards 10k.

Sydney clubs are that far ahead of us?

I think we'd have attracted 40k to a west sydney stadium because many people who travelled 30mins - 1.30hours to the SFS - from both teams - would have had a much easier journey to a local venue.

& those amongst the fan base who live West or Nth West of Parramatta? The entire fan base does not live in the Macarthur corridor.

I don't by any means wish to alienate "half" the fan base. But quite simply, the area shouldn't be an issue.

& it wouldn't be. If you weren't advocating a full time relocation of the club to a region that belongs to one half of the merger and the virtual death of the other half.

The majority of the Wests Tigers cubs are Wests Juniors. Problem is they have to travel from Campbelltown, Camden, Picton etc to Concord at 4pm for training......what fun .. Now that's what I call a joint venture !

& if they turn out for Parramatta or Canterbury as Westie is suggesting they see as a preference, the difference between travelling from south of Campbelltown to Parramatta/Belmore or Concord is realistically what, an additional 10 minutes?

The sooner Wests Tigers move to Campbelltown to train, play and live the sooner people will start supporting "their" local team because they will actually have a local team.

They DO have a local team.

By the end of the next decade we should be well and truly identified as the number one elite sports team of the Campbelltown area.

We are Campbelltown's team.

A 40k seat stadium will do us no harm - even if it is only half full some of the time...

& the break even will be what? When we are playing the Perth Reds in front of 8k Campbelltown locals, we'd be expecting super-duper profits of course? ;-)

but the reality is that there's nothing really left of Balmain but the stalwarts.

& the majority of the fan base...

 

[madunit]

Instead of "keeping them - this refers to both sides - happy", I'd like to reach a point, whether it be through time, or good marketing where people come to accept the club as one entity and want the best for it. The situation we have now is bullsh*t. With regards to the inner west area... Perhaps we could play one or two matches which would draw poorly at Campbelltown at LO - say Manly, GC, Cowboys etc and aim for a full house. As it is that's only about 20k with virtually no corporate income. Would it be worth it? Will we reach a point where after sitting in our own Suncorp every 2nd week that going back to sit on a muddy rainy hill will become an unfavoured option - perhaps like the SCG - full of memories and tradition, but really not up to scratch with modern standards of RL grounds?

Yes but do you think it's fair that a team plays from the area where the Magpies used to and there is no team for the former Balmain fans to support as their club is permanently moved out west.

You make some good arguments westie, I won't deny that. The western sydney region deserves a lot more attention from the western sydney NRL sides.

But by saying "we should accept the club as one entity" by playing entirely out of the western suburbs, you have to admit, is a slap in the face to the Balmain fans. I know you couldn't give a f**k about it, but I could guarantee that if Leichhardt was going to become a new 40,000 seat stadium and all the Tigers games were to be played from there, you'd crack the sh*ts big time.

Yes we should be seen as a sole entity, but the fact remains is that there are two 90 year old clubs involved here, both with heaps of members who wish the merger never happened, thus preventing any plans for a sole entity for at least another few decades.

So in the meantime, both parties need to be kept happy.

If all club home games are switched to Campbelltown, what should be done to keep the Balmain side of the merger happy?

 

[madunit]

The sooner Wests Tigers move to Campbelltown to train, play and live the sooner people will start supporting "their" local team because they will actually have a local team.

And what will be the local team for those in Balmain, Rozelle etc?

 

[meltiger]

The western sydney region deserves a lot more attention from the western sydney NRL sides.

More than a quarter of NRL games are played West of Strathfield.

How much more attention does Western Sydney need?

 

[gallagher]

I cant believe that we would lose 50% of our fan base by changing home grounds. Wests didnt when they moved to Campbelltown from Lidcombe. Add to the fact that people have still supported the club after a merger suggested we wont just walk away after a simple change in venues.


For the record, if this stadium gets built i believe 2 games a year should be kept at LO.

 

[meltiger]

No you wouldn't lose 50% of your home games. There are plenty of JV fans around who have traded their Tiger stripes for feathers.


Campbelltown fulltime = A takeover and the death of Balmain. It is that simple.

 

[gallagher]

No you wouldn't lose 50% of your home games. There are plenty of JV fans around who have traded their Tiger stripes for feathers.


Campbelltown fulltime = A takeover and the death of Balmain. It is that simple.

Balmain and Wests are already dead as far as NRL goes.

 

[851]

More than a quarter of NRL games are played West of Strathfield.

How much more attention does Western Sydney need?

More WestsTigers games,that is where all the juniors are,it makes sense.

 

[alien]

I could almost gaurantee I reckon, that if we were to move permanently to Campbelltown, then the playing strip would become Black and Orange permanently and the name would probably change.

It's a tit for tat marriage.

"If you get that, then we get this"

etc

Campbelltown Tigers.
Colours: Black and Gold (Orange).
Fulltime Homeground: Campbelltown Stadium (capacity 40,000).

Sounds good to me

 

[DanOz]

I'm an old Magpie fan, but I love watching footy at Leichhardt. I hope the games are always evenly shared. If C'town gets a face lift it will become a great semi final option however.

 

[meltiger]

Last night I meant "Won't lose 50% of fans", not home games.

Balmain and Wests are already dead as far as NRL goes.

& yet ... They both own a 50% stake in the JOINT VENTURE

More WestsTigers games,that is where all the juniors are,it makes sense.

More home games in the Sth West has nothing whatsoever to do with Juniors. We could play 1 game a year in Campbelltown, they are still Western Suburbs/Wests Tigers juniors and if the club(s) are managing them adequately, we still sign them.


Just out of interest, what was the TC sides split between juniors from either side compared to imports?


DanOz ...Good post, would have no issue whatsoever with Semis being played down there if the stadium was a squillion miles ahead of Leichhardt. I wouldn't even neccesarily have an issue with a larger Campbelltown allocation, though wouldn't like it. So long as 4/5 games are played at Leichhardt each year.

 

[westie]

I'll type something longer in a while. But just quickly, Meltiger, it seems you don't really have a "feel" for the attitude in the west of Sydney. Most young talented blokes think we're a piss-take and I can guarantee there's no commitment or passion for our club from most in that region. People "support" the team. They might have a bit of merch. They've gone to a game in the last year or two, but they sure as hell don't "care", they don't turn up and they're not putting money into the club.

Our real fan base is weird. Because of migration through Sydney and generational support, our fan base is spread all over Sydney. Fans are used to travelling to the game, it's just what we do. I believe most would continue to travel and my hope is we'd then capture the support in whats supposed to be our crucial region.

I think it's time you got over your old club and got behind this one. Balmain is basically dead. Playing in a different region isn't really going to make a difference unless you're still playing one ups with the Wests side. That's bullsh*t and it's holding our current club back.

 

[madunit]

Balmain is basically dead. Playing in a different region isn't really going to make a difference

I bet you'd see it differently if there was a proposal to move all games to leichhardt.

Wests is basically dead. Playing in a different region isn't going to make a difference.

You preach about becoming one club but your only idea on doing this is to completely alienate the Balmain side of the merger and fully accommodate the Wests side.

You're putting forward a strong argument for us to follow the one side, Wests Magpies.

 

[madunit]

Campbelltown Tigers.
Colours: Black and Gold (Orange).
Fulltime Homeground: Campbelltown Stadium (capacity 40,000).

Sounds good to me

Maybe change the name to Balmain Tigers
Colours Black and Gold (Orange)
Fulltime home ground Campbelltown Stadium
And all income will go to upgrading Leichhardt Oval, and Wests and Wests Ashfield can cover all the expenses.

Sounds much fairer.

 

[Tiger Hawk]

It's always people from the Wests side of things that bring up playing at one stadium full-time, which leads to playing out of Campbelltown full-time, which leads to bleats about ignoring the juniors out at Campbelltown and so on. All the while preaching "unity" and "one club, not two sides". One club all right....what they want is Wests Magpies to be readmitted in its own right, but are too chicken sh*t to say it and operate under the guise of "moving forward in the best interests of the JV as its own entity", or the latest, "what's best for RL in south-west Sydney".

 

[alien]

Maybe change the name to Balmain Tigers
Colours Black and Gold (Orange)
Fulltime home ground Campbelltown Stadium
And all income will go to upgrading Leichhardt Oval, and Wests and Wests Ashfield can cover all the expenses.

Sounds much fairer.

I doubt they would move to Campbelltown fulltime and call themselves Balmain. :lol:

 

[westie]

f**k me you guys are leeches. Bugger off from my club and watch reserve grade so the rest can move past this old sh*t and actually stop sucking in all departments for the first time in 10 years of failure and bollocks.

 

[madunit]

were you around when the magpies last played finals footy westie?