Comments on: Hawks v Saints in Tassie? Spend up or dream on

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:59:17 +0000

Part of the reason MV dont fill TD to a greater extent and would assume similar with Storm at OP is the action is too far away. A rectangular stadium will increase Storms ave crowd, MV will get near capacity regularly and Melb will get a Super 14 team, as well as having some Socceroos Asian Cup qualifiers, ACL games, Rugby teasts etc etc. So MC the new stadium (BTW shooting up and looks fantastic) will be well used and filled and a great addition to what will be just about the best sports precinct in the world.

By: Redb

Redb — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:41:30 +0000

BW,

Can’t agree. Football and cricket have a symbiotic relationship as far as grounds go. These are the only two sports that use oval grounds. Think drop in pitches, and its all good.

Redb

By: Bruce Walkley

Bruce Walkley — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:28:01 +0000

Richdaddy, as I said at the start of my piece, the government and the AFL should share the cost. Looking past the Hawthorn agreement, If you put in a Tassie team or relocate another side from Melbourne you’ve got 11 games, not four. As for numbers, I’d bet on 35,000 for Hawks v Saints on a fine day. And Redb, please leave cricket right out of it - Bellerive is a great cricket ground, and Launceston has its own very nice cricket ground, too, where Keith Miller once hit a six that went over the poplar trees and broke the windscreen of a car in the parking area outside midwicket. Let the cricket officials and the government look after their own grounds as separate entities. The thing about York Park as a great football ground is that there’s no cricket pitch, and may that continue to be the case.

By: Redb

Redb — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:48:10 +0000

MC,

Yes but at least Melbourne has 3.8 million people, Hobart has about 180,000, Lonny 100,000?.

What is obvious is the 31,000 capacity is on the money for the majority of MV games. Hopefully we’ll get a Super 14 team to use the stadium as well.

Redb

By: Michael C

Michael C — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:28:44 +0000

Dave -

so, why is MVFC and Melb Storm getting a new stadium? Storm can’t fill OP to capacity and MVFC TD crowd avg has dropped so far for the 2nd successive year and now stands around 22K……………does your logic still apply?

By: Redb

Redb — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:10:49 +0000

that shoud be ‘correct on’.

By: Redb

Redb — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:10:04 +0000

rich_daddy,

Correcton the 4 sporting events, if you include cricket in the equation the other issue for me is the split between Hobart (Bellerive) - cricket and Launceston (York Park) - football. Any redevelopment should happen where both cricket and football can benefit.

Redb

By: Rich_daddy

Rich_daddy — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:16:39 +0000

The question is whether the cost associated with upgrading the stadium is worth it. Increasing the capacity would cost a few million, then the ongoing cost of maintenance would also increase.

Considering only 4 games a year are being played there, it might not be worth the money. The other question where would the money come from? Most likely the Tassie Government would have to pay as I can’t see the AFL or Hawthorn contributing substanially. Not sure about the state of the Tassie economy, but I doubt they have millions of dollars burning holes in their pockets.

Does seem like the capacity should be increased, but I think more than 4 major sporting events would need to be played there each year to justify the additional costs.

By: Millster

Millster — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 05:57:43 +0000

Oh my god Bruce, I find myself agreeing a column you wrote

Maybe with RedB’s reservation that 25-30000 rather than 40000 would be more reasonable, I could not agree more that for the AFL to explore the untouched yet AFL-receptive fields of Tasmania makes a lot more sense that to join the fray in Western Sydney against their own Swans, a number of NRL franchises, and the rising force of football.

Even football itself - stronger on ‘fundamentals’ (socio-economics, demographics) in that part of the world than AFL will ever be - seems to be looking for alternatives to the west of the big smoke, with the Illawarra alternative gaining momentum of late as a quasi second-Sydney, seemingly ahead of the original Parra/Homebush or Penrith plan.

By: Ken Guy

Ken Guy — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 05:04:44 +0000

Ah! Bruce,
Written like an old Launcestonian. I will agree that York park is by far the better ground, vis a vis North Hobart. Nth H always reminds me of the old pocket handkerchief Glenferrie Oval, cosy, but like squeezing six fans into a Fiat 500. It’s a hard decision to upgrade York Park ,as ‘Dave’ & Redb point out. Hawthorn are the ‘Roosters’ today, but how long, or short, before they’re feather dusters? On the other hand, do the Tassie Govt and local AFL backers take a gamble on our great game ever expanding throughout the map of Tassie? Like most decisions of this kind it all gets down to money.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:12:39 +0000

They cant fill it to capacity now why would they increase the capacity? If they had sellouts every game then yes increase the size. Make it more comfortable for sure by putting a roof on but it would seem crazy to waste money to increase capacity.

By: Redb

Redb — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:29:51 +0000

BW,

I think they should make some improvements to get it to 25,000 max. That is sustainable based on the population. Jst because Hawthorn is successful now does not mean they will in 5 years, building a 30 to 40K set stadium with such a small population is madness.

Western Sydney’s entry into the AFL should be postponed not cancelled.

Redb