The future @ Parramatta Stadium

[IFR33K]

Plenty of people have had their rants about the stadium, the trust, the capacity, blah blah blah.

It's obvious that we either need to move more home games to ANZ, OR the capacity of the stadium needs to be increased.

Apart from the dogs and souths games, I believe the wests and dragons games require a larger venue.

My questions to the people in the know are, when is our contract up at the stadium, and would it be a viable or possible option to increase the capacity at ps?

Would fans be happy about a permanent move to ANZ??

Also, what would you fans think about the possible option of allowing any nrl season ticket holder or reducing ticket prices to a game at the stadium, when we have an interstate or overseas team playing the eels? There's nothing like the atmosphere of 17000+ fans cheering their team. Going to PS with only 10 or 11 k crowd is fu#ked.

Thoughts?

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

I thought the contract ended this year?

I think we need to move the Dragons and Tigers game to ANZ too. It may not happen every time, but if we have a good season and play one of them (who may also be having a good season) Parra just isn't big enough.

 

[bartman]

We should aim to "sell out" out puny little stadium several times a year imo, before we think about moving any more future games to Homebush. Build a culture of people wanting to secure their tickets in advance and of membership being valuable, instead of continuing the habit of people wandering in on the day and whinging if they can't get a late ticket.

Once we establish that culture - and the increased ticketed membership base and its sustained increased minimum crowd that go with it - then we might be in a position to strategically plan for certain of our games to be played at Homebush (where the occasion merits it).

I hope the club can lobby for funding to the Stadium Trust from the State Government to support the plans for expansion work to increase the capacity and facilities at the south end of Parra Stadium. A permanent move to Homebush? I tolerate the two Homebush home games we have per year, and the sweetener of free entry to two away games there (like today's) is not quite enough to make embrace the move (even though Homebush is easier for me to get to than Parra). Personally permanently playing out of Homebush not my idea of what going to the footy to support Parramatta is all about, and I would likely choose that time to cease my history of ticketed membership.

 

[Parramatta1947]

We should aim to "sell out" out puny little stadium several times a year imo, before we think about moving any more future games to Homebush. Build a culture of people wanting to secure their tickets in advance and of membership being valuable, instead of continuing the habit of people wandering in on the day and whinging if they can't get a late ticket.

Once we establish that culture - and the increased ticketed membership base and its sustained increased minimum crowd that go with it - then we might be in a position to strategically plan for certain of our games to be played at Homebush (where the occasion merits it).

This.

We are averaging how many this year, maybe 12,000 at best. UNless we have a season like 2001, most of our games will be in front of a half full stadium. How embarassing would that be at ANZ.

We need to keep out home ground 'advantage' as long as we can. if the likes of Manly and the Sharks can keep thier home grounds (and get decent crowds each week), we should be able to. Home ground advantage can win you games, we need to keep it as long as we can.

They just need to spend some money on things like new toilets, catering outlets and then maybe a grandstand at one end.

And if we did move to ANZ, there would be a lot of members who wouldn't renew. I would be one of them.

 

[natheel]

There are certain games regardless of our positioning on the table that just attract more fans


Melbourne
Dragons
Tigers
Bulldogs
Manly

These games are usually our best games in terms of crowd capacity. I don't think we should move games. A packed parra stadium is daunting for some sides imo

 

[MarkInTheStands]

We should aim to "sell out" out puny little stadium several times a year imo, before we think about moving any more future games to Homebush. Build a culture of people wanting to secure their tickets in advance and of membership being valuable, instead of continuing the habit of people wandering in on the day and whinging if they can't get a late ticket.

Once we establish that culture - and the increased ticketed membership base and its sustained increased minimum crowd that go with it - then we might be in a position to strategically plan for certain of our games to be played at Homebush (where the occasion merits it).

I hope the club can lobby for funding to the Stadium Trust from the State Government to support the plans for expansion work to increase the capacity and facilities at the south end of Parra Stadium. A permanent move to Homebush? I tolerate the two Homebush home games we have per year, and the sweetener of free entry to two away games there (like today's) is not quite enough to make embrace the move (even though Homebush is easier for me to get to than Parra). Personally permanently playing out of Homebush not my idea of what going to the footy to support Parramatta is all about, and I would likely choose that time to cease my history of ticketed membership.

*Sigh* Oh Homebush is not out home, we need to build a culture at our home. . . Sorry what.

Parramatta stadium is over 25 years old, and is well past its prime. The Stadium doesn't just need to "Increase capacity" it needs to be able to cater for that capacity, which if we are being honest it struggles to cater to a crowd of 12,000 better yet 19,000

Bart, the message you have spoken about here is the same message that our club directors spoke about in 2009 during the great run, and some of that helped with the season tickets, but now we are looking at 3 straight years where we don't play finals football, the club is in the paper every second day with a new scandal and because we rarely sell out games, people are not afraid of waiting till a week before the game.

If we want to have the pre-purchase culture, we need to be winning, we need to be a sure thing, we need to be a constant, and until that happens, there is very little chance of us growing this culture.

On the other hand, an upgrade to Parramatta stadium, yep it has been on the cards since 1986, the Stadium trust got 5 mill from the State government to start work on the Ray Price Stand behind the Kenny Stand at the south of the ground in 2008, yet all we have seen from that money is the hand rails installed in the grand stands.

If I was being honest, I would hope the article recently about $45 million or the like being put in to an upgrade was correct and that both the Cronin and Thornett stands would be demolished and changed to look more like the upper seating at AAMI park, and have their own facilities behind them on their own level with the lower level getting better facilities as well with the expansion of their facilities and the current facilities on the ground.

No more walkway at the front of the stand, aisles between each bay. With most of the walk a walk "down" stairs to get to one?s seat.
All of this might require we move from Parramatta stadium for a year or more. I guess we will see.

 

[MarkInTheStands]

These games are usually our best games in terms of crowd capacity. I don't think we should move games. A packed parra stadium is daunting for some sides imo

Daunting? Really?

The place has a nickname of the "hall of statues", because it may be full but it is always quite. Even with the Swarm, all you have is an out of time djembe (Sorry Tony, but you could get someone who played that much better to get a better effect), once the game starts they shut up.

I have tried to lead chants at that stadium, but really no one gets involved. Again I got back to what "Atmosphere" means to league fans, Atmosphere means every seat sold, not all the fans supporting their team vocally.

 

[B-Tron 3000]

If we want to have the pre-purchase culture, we need to be winning, we need to be a sure thing, we need to be a constant, and until that happens, there is very little chance of us growing this culture.

I disagree.

The whole problem with our culture is that it doesn't concentrate on enought things apart from winning football games.

Football clubs are uniquely positioned as businesses. They are still places that people can feel a sense of community and belonging, as well as being about the business of winning.

We don't do enough to capture that community feel. We don't do enough to encourage people to be apart of the club. We don't ask potential members what they want.

We simply aren't on the front foot enough and our culture is reactive - reacting to who the players, coaches and administrators are at the time. If the culture was stronger it would stand alone and outlast any one person, be that Fitzgerald, Spagnolo, Kearney Ricky etc.

 

[B-Tron 3000]

Daunting? Really?

The place has a nickname of the "hall of statues", because it may be full but it is always quite.

Compared to ANZ?

You're having a laugh

 

[MarkInTheStands]

Compared to ANZ?

You're having a laugh

Nup, been to events at ANZ with 11,000 people that have cooked Parramatta stadium for atmosphere. Sorry guys but it isn't about the number of people in the crowd, it is about the nature of the crowd and event. By comparison, ANZ stadium had 77k at the Wallabies last weekend and you could hear a pin drop.

 

[offside ref]

i would hate to move to homebush but i think it will happen we will start to play a few more games a year there then we will end up playing the odd game against the warriors,broncos,cowboys,titans there. i didnt renew my pass this season iv moved out of sydney and with work and the distence to travel to games i cant get to as many games as id like to but when i do i love nothing more then going to parra stadiam because the stadiam is parramatta. it may not have the best atmosphere to be honest were not the best supporters but anz has none of the charm of ps or any home ground if we moved to anz id never get a season ticket again