30k in sydney?
Are you new here?
Mate I have written in detail over the years why a stadium in either of those location would easily get 30K+ crowds.
But think about it, a in the city, state of the art stadium is a game changer for sport in our emerald city and Australia really.
It would become a focal point very much like the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge for tourists and locals alike. It would be put in brochures, ad campaigns and so on, show casing our city and its wonders just like those other two landmarks to go see. Whenever a fireworks display is on the stadium would have been the focal backdrop every time for the Darling Harbour Stadium. I live in Darling Harbour and until Covid we had a fireworks display almost every weekend and even some week nights. It's what is done around here.
So both locations would in my estimation get at least a 2-3K bump in crowds every time an event is on just from the tourists that are always looking for something cool to do in the city as part of their experience in Australia. Tourist guide would be constantly pointing it out to every potential tourist as a must go do and see thing in our city. Remember the hype around the city would be massive and in your face everywhere. Even the young backpackers who all stay in the city Central Station area would love to go see a Soccer or Rugby game right in their backyard. The volume of people and buzz coming into these events will make everyone take notice and get caught up in the hype. New eateries, cafes and drinking holes will start to take advantage and open up especially if it were in the Central Station district, which currently can do with something big to change its fortunes and make it more alive and buzzy, especially after hours.
Then there is the local office workers who are always looking for a place to go and knock a few back after work on a Thursday or Friday night. I can imagine the discussions at the office, which I was a part of for so many years. Where do we go for a drink guys? The same old boring pub or bar? Or lets go to the pub/bar/eatery or whatever and then go see X game and have a few there too, especially on a Friday night with no work the next day. There would be a few thousand workers who would love to walk down a few blocks and do a mini pub crawl to the stadium. There would be nights that large work groups would book huge groups tickets to have a night out at the stadium too. The company I worked for has a box and seats at the Big stadiums and often gave us tickets as rewards too. Like I said these two locations are uber premium and will be considered as such.
Then there are the Locals. If you include Pyrmont, Ultimo, Haymarket, Sydney, Surry Hills and Glebe for example, the local immediate population that can easily walk to a Stadium either in Darling Harbour or Central Station, it is easily over 50K. Again these people, just like me are always looking for things to do and entertainment in their own back yard. I would conservatively say at least 5K of these people and their kids would become season ticket members. I know I would.
Now add in all the tens of thousands that are actual fans of the teams that are playing who now can catch a train straight to the Central Stadium and walk a few metres to it after getting off the train or walk to Darling Harbour which is a flat, safe well lit and easy walk with a million places to drink and or eat along the way to and from, well its a no brainer that it becomes a great afternoon or night out for every one.
Lets not forget, The hype on game days and each and every week for events at what could have been jewel of a stadium and location is like nothing we have ever consistently had in this city. The city will feel alive because of it and everyone will feel it and will want to be part of it and experience it. Like I said, tourist will be drawn to it like moths to a flame, because of the buzz. Don't think of it like what has been going on forever at the SFS, or Olympic Park, where they are out of the way and or soulless cavernous flat entities. People would have looked at these stadiums and locations as places of fun and excitement where great memories are made as tourists experiencing a local sport amongst passionate Aussies or with work colleagues, friends and or families or just passionate mad fans that love the fix that only this stadium delivers so consistently in our City. Dare I say it, AFL style with capacity crowds and atmosphere. Each and every game becomes an event and tickets will become a premium asset that people will need to book in advance for or risk missing out.
Do you think that all this is Hyperbole? I seriously don't. I just don't think that people get how important it is for some cities, cities like Sydney, lets face it we are snobs, so unless it is presented as an premium event and convenient, then we tend to pass and ignore. This addresses that in spades and gives everyone what they want, which is convenience, atmosphere and HYPE with a capital H Y P E!!!
As another example of a city that struggles to get consistent and large crowds to their sporting events, look no further than Auckland. But if they were ever to bite the bullet and actually build the many times suggested and mooted City Stadium, watch how their city would take on a totally different feel and vibe. The place would transform into a must visit and experience showpiece on the NZ sporting calendar for so many New Zealanders and tourists alike. But unfortunately the Kiwis also suffer from the same think small syndrome and conservative mind set that us Aussies do. So instead they upgraded their version of our Olympic stadium, the cavernous Eden Park which is in the burbs. Which now again people are saying needs to be either redeveloped again or a new Stadium(City) needs to be built. I wonder which way they will eventually go. I think that the odds are that they will f**k up again and not pick the best location that will change everything and make Auckland the envy of the all the Sothern hemisphere cities when it comes to stadiums and sports/events with the most dynamic, bang for your buck location, which of course is the city waterfront.
The links below show what Auckland has in its power to one day have and become a real destination city in the world for millions of sports loving people around the world and all the positive knock on affects that will happen when you create the right environment and facility and give the people what they actually want. Sports and Stadiums are like the modern day Renaissance Cathedrals that the Popes used to build for the worshiping pilgrims to come and visit. It was a way to not only assert their power and influence but a great way to increase the local economy. Well that today is what strategic Stadiums can do too. Our pollies just don't have a clue or let politics get in the way.
I like this one the best because it is right on the Waterfront and right next to the underground central city railway station. It would be unprecedented in either of our countries and blow our freakin minds if it were to ever happen.
Public urged to let politicians know whether they want The Crater, a waterfront stadium,
www.nzherald.co.nz
But this one would be pretty good too but in my opinion not as magnetic and alluring as the first one but nearly as good.
WATCH: Newsroom has obtained a video and images of a spectacular stadium that was mooted for the downtown Auckland railways land, the favoured site in a previously secret report to the Mayor
www.newsroom.co.nz
Anyway end of rant.
Oh...maybe V'Landys needs to be a Pope, then maybe he can see the big picture and fight to make the Adelaide city stadium happen for our rectangular football sports.
www.abc.net.au
