New Stadium Feelings

[Danish Moo Cow]

I've got an Intro. to Human Geography report due next term and want to get a quick start in now so I can wrap it up in the holidays. It's basically choose an issue that relates to your suburb in the last 12 months. Considering the stadium is an ongoing issue, I'm going to be a real bore and just do it. It's fairly easy to get newspaper details, plans etc so hopefully it'll just be a matter of pruning the collected data into stuff I can base a report around.

I've sent emails to a number of polititians so hopefully I'll get some quotes and stuff from that end. I'm also planning a number of Emails to Knights staff this weekend. I'll also need some quotes from the ground's users...

That's where you Knights fans come in. I need some quotes. Just sound off for a bit and if you've got a good enough point, statistic or vibe, I'll use it giving full naming credits for my report. Easy!

Some questions you might want to consider while sounding off:

What do you feel like sitting at the old place?
What do you think you'll feel like if it were new (it's not too far off either)?
What do you think when other cities received money for upgrades (Brisbane/Gosford)?
Who do you vote for? Libs to make the seat marginal or the Labs to continue the 102 years that got us to the state we're at now...
If we weren't to get the money, where did you want it to go? Do you think that Schools/hospitals ever got a bunus $22M from us missing out?

Anyway, in the immortal words of Gunnery Seargent Hartman, "Sound off like you've got a pair!"

 

[roopy]

I'm a lone voice crying in the wilderness on this, but I don't think all the options have been properly looked at because of the way funding was arranged.
Basically, the ISC trust has been the driving force behind petitioning the various governments for funds, and all the ISC trust are interested in is developing the ISC.
All around the world they are finding it easier and cheaper to build a new stadium from scratch (geenfields site, as it is called) than to update an old one.
Once we get all the new stands built at the ISC we will still have a rotting old stand from the sixties that will become a hazard in the next 10 years or so and need to be pulled down and rebuilt, but if we were building a whole new stadium we should have 50 years of fairly low maintenance living, and it could be built to incorporate facilities for cricket, soccer, rugby, afl, rock concerts and even be built in the middle of town and have car parking which could be used during the week to help alleviate the parking problems in Newcastle.
I think they have gone with a compromise that will be seen as a huge blunder in years to come. We will have a substandard ground with ongoing problems for the rest of my lifetime now, while we could get private interests involved and get a top venue in the middle of town which would see us have top class facilities good enough to host League tests, Rugby Tests, soccer internationals, one day international cricket games and tests, etc etc etc.

 

[Alan Shore]

I'm a lone voice crying in the wilderness on this, but I don't think all the options have been properly looked at because of the way funding was arranged.
Basically, the ISC trust has been the driving force behind petitioning the various governments for funds, and all the ISC trust are interested in is developing the ISC.
All around the world they are finding it easier and cheaper to build a new stadium from scratch (geenfields site, as it is called) than to update an old one.
Once we get all the new stands built at the ISC we will still have a rotting old stand from the sixties that will become a hazard in the next 10 years or so and need to be pulled down and rebuilt, but if we were building a whole new stadium we should have 50 years of fairly low maintenance living, and it could be built to incorporate facilities for cricket, soccer, rugby, afl, rock concerts and even be built in the middle of town and have car parking which could be used during the week to help alleviate the parking problems in Newcastle.
I think they have gone with a compromise that will be seen as a huge blunder in years to come. We will have a substandard ground with ongoing problems for the rest of my lifetime now, while we could get private interests involved and get a top venue in the middle of town which would see us have top class facilities good enough to host League tests, Rugby Tests, soccer internationals, one day international cricket games and tests, etc etc etc.

We're only interested in League. Yawnion and AFL can get screwed - besides, to accommodate the stupid Victorian Ballet we'd have to make it an oval and stuff everything up.

If I was in charge, I'd build a 35,000 seat stadium on the state railways land reserved for the Mariners stadium.

 

[Danish Moo Cow]

Don't forget the soccer is also played there.

*BUMP*

Anyway, corresponence has been entered into with various Knights officials and several government figures including the PM. Nothing much unique or original yet, but it's all interesting when you get the stuff first hand. You notice all these little things about the story you've probably never considered before.

So far it's an interesting collection of figures and news articles with a few quotes along the way. I still need your input. The more the better. As soon as the final report has been finished and marked I'll post it on here. Maybe someone else will find it interesting... why are you quiet on this Parki? Parki... (nudge, nudge)...

 

[Parki]

Why have I been quiet on this?

Well for starters ive had my own running battle with vigilante over the last few days, which has taken up far too much of my time, and second I am still coming to terms with the fact that we wont be there oct 5.....but here goes


I got the first plan for the new eastern grandstand, and to be honest i cant say that im impressed......it seems as if they are going to sell the ENTIRE 7000 seats to individual season ticket holders, who will be forced to sit in the same seat next to the same person for the entire year and spend 300 bucks for the privelige. Its all right if you dont have friends, but I actually have friends that travel from Sydney and I like having discussions with the different people around me at footy grounds, so I wont be sitting on the sideline anymore.....no no no general admission for me behind the goal posts....it should be an interesting experience..... I can see the old ladies forking out 300 bucks to sit there and good luck to them, I wont be...not next year anyway

Regarding the Capacity? I think its bloody stupid.... you need to look towards the future and we get 25,000 at every game as it is...its not going to improve the situation if anything all it does is give someone a comfy seat, which i spose is all right...but we need to look towards the future....surely in big semi finals we would have the potential to fill a 40,000 seat stadium.....

I think its great that we are getting a new eastern grandstand, but i think the ticketing is stupid I think keeping a section open to Gen Admin would have been smarter, but its just something im gonna have to live with, and the capacity required much further thought. I cant help but feel that in 3 years we will be discussing this whole stupid issue again due to a lack of foresight by certain individuals responsible for the project

 

[Stevo_G]

when is this new stadium getting constructed

 

[antonius]

when is this new stadium getting constructed

They have started.
I'm with you Parki, they should leave a bit of general admission over there. won't affect me I sit on the hill anyway, although a lot more will be doing like you and coming over to us next season.

 

[tigermite]

when is this new stadium getting constructed

They have started.
I'm with you Parki, they should leave a bit of general admission over there. won't affect me I sit on the hill anyway, although a lot more will be doing like you and coming over to us next season.

I thought they had already came over to you tony... well the girls anyway.... 8)

As for the ground, I'll be there tonight for the United game, which means I'll have to find somewhere else to sit (used to sit on the eastern side). Apparantly they have moved all the seats along there to both ends of the grounds, I'm assuming replacing the wooden benches.

 

[bronnie34]

Just got the plans for the new granstand in the mail today and like Parki said the whole eastern grandstand is being released to people who want to buy season tickets so there will be no general admin seats where the old hill was all along the eastern side of the staduim. The place that every passionate knights supporter loved to sit, the place where all the action takes place.
Normally I wouldn't have a problem with something like this as I would love a reserved seat just for me with basically my name on it every second week but I live in Sydney and can not get to all knights home games and the people I go with are not knights supporters, otherwise I would go and buy a season ticket.
I really don't think the knights Admin have really thought this through, there is nothing wrong with leaving the eastern grandstand as general admission, that is what most other clubs do and it works really well.
Looks like a lot of us will be sitting behind the goal posts next year or not bothering to go.

 

[antonius]

Looks like a lot of us will be sitting behind the goal posts next year or not bothering to go.

Well if you do "bother to go" you'd better get there early because ground capacity will be around 16,000 while construction is going on, so I can see a lot of disappointed fans left standing at the gate unable to get in.

I thought they had already came over to you tony... well the girls anyway.... 8)

Well yes that is true, but we can make room for more.. ;-)

 

[Anonymous]

What do you feel like sitting at the old place?

A: I feel at home.

What do you think you'll feel like if it were new (it's not too far off either)?

A: Proud that we have moved on.

What do you think when other cities received money for upgrades (Brisbane/Gosford)?

A: Typical

Who do you vote for? Libs to make the seat marginal or the Labs to continue the 102 years that got us to the state we're at now...

A: I dont bother to vote, as there is no box on it that says 'me'.

If we weren't to get the money, where did you want it to go? Do you think that Schools/hospitals ever got a bunus $22M from us missing out?

A: I think we need more refugee camps.

On the ground as it is now. Me and my mum went to every home game from 1988 to 1998. Rain, Hail and brilliant shine. I have seen us lose more night games than i care to mention, i have seen us win many great victories. It is a holy place for me.