phantom eel
First Grade
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I agree.
I agree.
I disagree, fix up the catering aspect and it more than did the job imo.
I agree, it will be exciting for at least the first few seasons.
Parramatta must overcome poor record at ANZ Stadium following demolition of Pirtek Stadium
Nick Walshaw, The Daily Telegraph
February 14, 2017 8:25pm
PARRAMATTA Stadium is a mess of bricks, twisted metal and piled up plastic chairs.
That, and questions.
For having spent years building up a fearsome home-ground reputation, the Eels are preparing to shift east to ANZ Stadium — where ‘home’ losses sit at a disastrous 92 per cent.
Indeed, over the past six years Parramatta have taken 13 blockbuster games to the Olympic Park precinct, losing 12.
Worryingly, the curse has also struck down fellow Parramatta Stadium tenants the Western Sydney Wanderers, who are struggling after also being forced to shift during renovations.
In eight games at ANZ Stadium and neighbouring Spotless Stadium, the Wanderers have won none. Their only “home” win this season was a 2-0 win recently over Newcastle at their other, other base, Campbelltown Stadium.
As for the Blue and Golds season now being cursed?
“Couldn’t care less,’’ Eels CEO Bernie Gurr said. “That’s all the past for us.
“In previous years when we’ve gone to ANZ Stadium, it hasn’t really been our home ground. But it is now. So there’s a big difference.
“We’ll be playing 11 games there this year, more than even the Bulldogs or South Sydney. For the next two years, this is home to us.”
Parramatta went some way to ending the ANZ curse last year, winning four of five games at the venue.
Before that, they had lost 23 of 25.
Older Parramatta fans will also recall relocation hardly being a dirty word in the 1980s.
“Oh, absolutely not,’’ Eels great Peter Wynn laughed. “We played out of Belmore Oval for four years — winning premierships in 1982 and again in 1983. We also made the grand final in ‘84 and were beat in the final a year after that.
“So all in all, not a bad effort.”
And as for their secret, apart from a squad including the likes of Peter Sterling, Mick Cronin, Brett Kenny and Ray Price?
“We made Belmore our own,’’ Wynn continued. “Same deal with Granville Park, where we trained.
“There was only a small grandstand there at the ground so Jack Gibson, he brought in this old bus and parked it right behind the sheds. And that’s what we used for all team meetings.
“Come training night, you always wanted a seat on Jack’s bus because it meant you were in first grade.”
In a bid to ensure success at their new digs, the current Eels administration has been working closely with ANZ Stadium staff to ensure both players and fans “feel at home”.
Supporters who believe in hoodoos will also be pleased to know that stadium officials will be placing them in the ‘away’ sheds every time they play.
Last year, the Eels shifted only one home 10km east to Homebush — beating Canterbury, 20-12.
Elsewhere, the Eels also got up against South Sydney, Wests Tigers and a second game against the Bulldogs.
They lost a second game against the Tigers.
Speaking with The Daily Telegraph last night, a stadium official confirmed a number of innovative changes for the switch — including increased transport and two specific Eels bars on game day.
The Parramatta Stadium overhaul won’t be complete until 2018.
Parramatta Stadium is being demolished to make way for the new $300 million ground
Tony Bosworth, Parramatta Advertiser
February 14, 2017 4:37pm
IT WAS the field of dreams, a stadium built for the people, a showcase of memorable sporting and musical performances, and it was even loved by the Queen.
But on Tuesday the wrecking teams moved in and no longer did Parramatta Stadium quiver to the roar of tens of thousands of spectators, it began to crumble under the onslaught of wrecking balls.
Out of the dust a new $300 million stadium will emerge and while the Pirtek Stadium will soon be no more, 30 years of memories will always live on.
Home to Western Sydney Wanderers, Parramatta Eels, and Greater Sydney Rams, the current stadium has borne witness to truly great moments and on many occasions provided spectacles of pure ecstasy for the clubs’ fans.
An excavator demolishing the stadium. Picture: Justin Sanson
Part of a grand stand that has been demolished.
The stadium also hosted numerous sporting and cultural events since its opening in 1986. Michael Jackson performed during his Bad World Tour in November 1987, and Sir Paul McCartney of Beatles fame ended the Australian leg of The New World Tour with two shows in March 1993.
Wanderers’ manager Tony Popovic has many fond memories of Pirtek Stadium since the team’s first home game against Central Coast Mariners in 2012.
It was dubbed “Wanderland” and it has been for the club, as great results at the venue paved the way for a Premiers Plate, A-League grand final appearances and winning the 2014 Asian Champions League.
The seats pulled out and the playing surface torn up.
The demolition of Parramatta stadium continues.
“I have mixed feelings about leaving Pirtek,” said Popovic before the last match at Parramatta.
One of the main things Popovic loved about coaching the Wanderers at Pirtek Stadium was the passionate atmosphere the fans generated at games.
“It’s difficult as a coach to soak it up. You do realise before the game when the fans are there in huge numbers and they’re singing and dancing. I could hear it and it certainly had an effect with the players,” he said.
The opening of Parramatta Stadium on March 5, 1986. Picture: Supplied
Aerial view of opening day at Parramatta Stadium for the game between Parramatta and St George.
An artists impression of the new Parramatta stadium set for construction in 2017.
It’s also the turf trodden on by the likes of Eels’ greats Peter Sterling and Jarryd Hayne, with the NRL team playing their last match in August against St George Illawarra in front of a crowd of 13,553 and winning 30-18.
Stadium director Luke Coleman said the stadium had been an icon in the landscape of Parramatta.
“The Parramatta Eels have played on this site at the bend of the river, since 1947, and at this stadium since it opened in March 1986,” he said.
The granstand minues the seats..
Queen Elizabeth II getting amongst it to open the stadium.
But the history goes even deeper, reading like a roll-call of Australian and international sporting greats.
Cumberland Oval, as the stadium was originally known, was the main sporting venue for the Parramatta district from the mid-19th century until 1982 when it made way for the original Parramatta Stadium.
It was home to horseracing, cricket and athletics, rugby union from 1879 and rugby league from 1909.
Construction of Parramatta Stadium on the site of Cumberland Oval in July 1985. Picture: Fullagar News
Cumberland Oval in 1982 before construction began on the new Parramatta Stadium. Picture: News Archives
Motor cycle racing on a dirt track started in 1930, followed by midget speedcar racing in 1936.
Among the famous names to grace the hallowed ground included English cricket great W.G. Grace, and Australia’s triple Formula One World Champion Jack Brabham who raced in midget cars at the Cumberland Speedway in the 1940s.
Peter Wynn with young fans at the last Parramatta Eels game at Parramatta Stadium. Picture: Gregg Porteous
And artist’s impression of the outside of the new Parramatta Stadium.
The destruction of Parramatta Stadium. Picture: Justin Sanson
A pile of seats. Picture: Justin Sanson
TIMING
■ Demolition — to mid 2017
■ Piling and ground work — mid 2017 to late 2017
■ Stage 2 stadium design and construction planning application and approval (includes public exhibition) — early 2017 to mid 2017
■ Stadium construction — late 2017 to 2019
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...d/news-story/59e83261f68aba619041f05e13afca44
I see where you are coming from and I think there are some posts where you just state an alternative opinion.
LOL...
Think???
That's good, it doesn't bother me either.
So trying to be the one to bring a bit of civility into proceedings is sucking up now... lol. Care factor of what others think =Think???
.
worth? fell in the forest and no one was around, would it make a noise?
