Likewide with all sport.

In contrast, the UK Government has provided an 80 million pound guarantee to the English Rugby Football Union for its bid for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

“What is really being underwritten by federal and state governments and local councils is the expansion of AFL outside of Melbourne.”

If true that’s great news.

Redb

Doom, doom and more doom – where’s the Rebecca Wilson “Sokka Doomed” story in the Sydney Slag Rag?

MC,
What is really being underwritten by federal and state governments and local councils is the expansion of AFL outside of Melbourne.

Parramatta and the new one on the gold Coast. There should be a third built soon in Melbourne.

Just on the governement funding and the Celtic game.. This alot more interesting than a game between Australia v Ireland in AFL.. That is just a joke.

I look forward to watching the celtic game, one of the best scottish teams up against one of the more (most) exciting teams in the a-league.

My response to someone who spins a line that FFA is underwritten by the FED Govt.

– well good on the AFL

The govt gave the FFA money to try to obtain the Greatest sporting event to Australia, whether you agree with this or not, this is not FFA underwriting the FFA.

The govt also provides the FFA with money to assist with the 12 national teams it has to run, which represents this country & only the Socceroos are moneyspinners.

The govt also supports the FFA to support the women’s league which helps promote professional women’s sport in this country.

The govt does not support AFL, because if does not have an int’l event that even remotely important.

The govt also does not support the AFL because it has no National sides to support.

The govt does not support the AFL because there is no prefessional women’s league.

You really need to go on holidays outside of AFL obsessed states to understand what is really going on.

2nd) Smaller stadiums are built so that owners can charge higher seat prices.

Example :
The Old NY yankee stadium had 57,000 seats, the new one 52,325. Yet the old one didnt have seats that cost $2,500 a game. NYY supporters that had seats in the old stadium were asked to pay a lot more in the new one or move into the upper tiers. fans arent exactly happy.

Millster

Canberra Stadium isnt that great. You want a great 25,000 seater stadium, feel free to check out the MLS New York Red Bulls new stadium Red Bull Arena. Thats my dream for the A-league. Long way away though.

As far as boutique stadiums are concerned I’ve always liked the idea behind bluetongue, which is quite similar to some of the famous college stadiums in the US in that it has a horseshoe shape (well not a true rounded shape, but you get the general idea of it) and an open end, which i thought would be absolutely brilliant in perth on the river or something of the like.

Also using grounds such as the MCG would be a suitable compromise for the big games (60000 plus) in that the steep stands put you in a good position to see the ball anywhere on the ground. (having said this, I’ve only ever watched football at the ‘G but if i can watch a ball up on the otherside of the ground and follow whats going on surely it cant be too hard to watch a game of soccer which in my uneducated opinion is a bit more open than football)

In fact my dream, which I think is quite an achievable one, is that we populate the country with about 8 or 10 grounds modelled closely on the excellent little Canberra Stadium, maybe with a bit more roof area. 25K capacity, nice and intimate but also modern, with not a bad seat in the house. And who cares if they sell out from time to time… if its a really big game move it to a bigger venue (compromises and all) and if its just a normal one, well stiff shit concerts and all sorts of other things sell out too and a bit of unsatisfied demand is not such a bad thing anyway. And as for WC, surely something can be designed that would temporarily add 15K seats to get to the threshold capacity in the couple of cities that didn’t have a bigger suitable venue.

And yes Ren again spot on in terms of the baseball issue; it’s also been the experience of the Major League Soccer in the USA that the move from playing on re-marked gridiron pitches to their own specific venues has been a success.

Simply because it is a government initiative & has been from the start. Run by the Dept of multicultural affairs to help them in their fight against racism. A worthy cause using the Roar as a Multicultural team as their means to get their message across.

And the Bombers aren’t doing too badly either.

MC
There will be a significant proportion of fans from interstate for the Celtic game, which will add tourism dollars to the bottom line for the State Govt.

Truly multi purpose grounds are very expensive to build and as mentioned have the danger of becoming no good for viewing for any of the intended sports because of too much compromise. Nevertheless l still believe such a venue in the right location and with moveable seating could be a winner. Telstra Dome in Melbourne was to be such a stadium but for some reason the moveable seats were never….moved?

On another note I think soccer can learn from the recent trend in baseball to go towards baseball only parks that are designed for the smaller crowds and with that unique baseball atmosphere (wiki retro ballparks).

But wether or not a stadium is needed or not is an entirely different issue to the type of stadia, and in the current economi climate is even more important (on a side note is the WA budget the only one in surplus this year?)

scrappy – -

perhaps it’s like soccer being F1 on perfect road surfaces to Aust Footy being Rally on less than perfect road surfaces……

that said, Aust Footy is far, far better on a perfect surface for a couple of key reasons -

A. the ball will roll/bounce in a predictable manner on a more carpet like surface, thus allowing players to anticipate better the roll/bounce of the ball based upon it’s ‘spin’ and ‘trajectory’ (you may not realise, but, this CAN be done)

B. extension of above, kicking those miracle goals from the boundary along the ground with the deliberate curver of the rolling ball is far harder to achieve if there’s uneven surface or tussocky grass that kills the imparted roll of the ball.

C. have you ever tried bouncing the ball on average surfaces…..I remember once at Rosedale, the first bounce barely came back to me, the 2nd, I put more umff into it and it came back just right, the third, flew back at me too quick and over my shoulder and there was I left trying to come to a halt and turn with my opponent grabbing the pill and darting off the other way.

D. Aust Footy players probably spend more time than players of other codes on less than 2 feet (and less than 1 feet), which means a good surface for landing on and gaining stability to leap off – - is pretty important.

Scrappiness though – in the main, will be more a function of wind (even more the wind sometimes than rain – - wind just plays havoc with just about anything worthwhile!!)

keep out of it lad, all you ever give is – and I quote “Spin, spin, spin”

Towser -

cool – - roar against racism……….and so tell me why is the Govt funding it again???

Ah, no – I see the answer Sport Minister Phil Reeves said it was another example of how the State Government’s decision to build a world-class stadium was attracting world renowned sporting teams.

SO, the Govt has to pay to lure teams to their world-class stadium to brag that it’s attracting world renowned sporting teams………..if you offer them a good enough deal!! So, come on Anna and Phil!!! What’s the deal???

(shouldn’t it be the Feds any way, given FFA now 51% owns the Brisbane Roar and the FFA is underwritten by the Fed Govt.)

Adelaide Oval could be approved as Adelaide’s stadium foir the bid:
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,25504297-5006373,00.html

Premier Mike Rann supports Adelaide to be part of the World Cup bid:
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,25503642-5006373,00.html

Interesting developments – if they have much fact behind them at all. I’m still not sure about Adelaide Oval as a potential stadium, even after redevelopment, unless the playing surface and seating arrangements were changed to suit the event.

That being the case, the question can legitimately be asked: perhaps it is ok to spend billions of government money on buidling/rebuilding up to 8 stadiums, even if over half of these new stadiums will never again be filled to any great degree ever again (and thus mean a long term drain of future government finances over and above the original price of building).

For instance, let’s say the rebuilding costs something like $4 billion, but the increased economic activity from the WC event is something like $6 billion – it would be acceptable to build white elephants if the present value of future maintenance and upkeep was anything less than $2 billion net (i.e. $2 billion in excess of the future revenue generated).

perhaps an econometrician out there may be able to put this equation into some sort of perspective

Interesting perspective.

I’m surprised you would be so dismissive of England in 2018 (surely only Russia is England’s main competitor for that year).

2022 is absolutely wide open and, yes, I agree that the US would be Australia’s main competition (but we shouldn’t discount China either).

Don’t give Michael C facts, especially those he can’t twist. ‘He can’t handle the truth’.

“Why is the Govt ‘bidding’ to buy an overseas club team to come and play a meaningless friendly?? It might fill suncorp but is it bringing tourists from all around the country/world”

I presume you mean by this Celtics visit which is now confirmed. It is in fact the Annual “:Roar against racism” match which has taken place for the last 2 seasons.
Given the cause the bigger the club the more the Racism bit is emphasised. See below.

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/2009InsideFFA/default.aspx?s=insideffa_newsfeatures_newsitem_new&id=27443

The Olympic Stadium in Sydney is a great example of what not to do. Yes, it gets a couple of big crowds a year, and some borderline crowds throughout the NRL season (by borderline I’m referring to bums on seats as a percentage of the capacity). But it’s a compromise … the wrong shape and seats are too far from the pitch for football, rugby and rugby league, and not really ‘oval’ enough for Aussie Rules or cricket.

It’s also in the wrong place. Homebush Bay the suburb may or may not have its attractions, but it’s a crappy place to have a night out. There is nothing to do before / after the match, it’s a long way from anywhere.

The multi-use stadium will probably be the way of the future. Roll in pitches like Kurt’s Phoenix suggestion; reconfigurable seating or stands; opening roof; something for sport, concerts, motocross, Papal masses, the works. Expensive? You bet. It’ll also have to be close to populations, right on top of a multi-mode transport hub.

Any such stadium will also then require cooperation between the potential users, and no single organisation could be allowed to control or exert undue influence over its booking. Having the ability to reconfigure and roll in a fresh playing surface will help. Football in particular DOES require a better quality pitch.

This one’s probably a stadium that’s just out of reach of a cash-strapped state government. Shame really.

With Australia set to participate in its second consecutive appearance at the FIFA World Cup finals tournament in South Africa in 2010, Football Federation Australia is also bidding for the right to host the tournament in either 2018 or 2022. We’re up against formidable opposition – including England, Spain, Russia and the USA – but FFA Chairman, Frank Lowy, and CEO, Ben Buckley, are confident of success in what is nonetheless described as a ‘David and Goliath’ task.

Frank Lowy and Ben Buckley outline the reasons why, the ‘nation changing’ benefits for Australia and the Asian region if Australia wins the right, and their plans for achieving success.

Kurt/RedB – Spot on to Kurt’s last comment about a crap pitch turning football into a scrappy game. The point is that this would be bad as the game is not designed to be so random/scrappy. But going back to RedB’s previous swipe at me I stand by what I said, which is not at all an attack on the game by the way because a core deliberate part of the design of AFL is to incorporate this scrappiness. In fact it is what makes your preferred code what it is.

NOW that’s the sort of legacy we need a far, far greater focus on that sports code specific or not stadium developments that may or may not be white elephants,

however, an oversupply of 5 star hotels might not be the highest on the list of priorities going forward, unless perhaps that they are ‘temporary’ hotels that then revert to apartments thereafter.

MVDave -

the argument that you can play one off games now and then against an overseas side – - – for whom you have to BID!!!! Don’t forget this. The news article you presented makes no mention of the financial arrangements of this deal.

Why is the Govt ‘bidding’ to buy an overseas club team to come and play a meaningless friendly?? It might fill suncorp but is it bringing tourists from all around the country/world? Or is it as much of a meaningless exercise as Becks mania?? Or is it on a level with ‘luring’ Andre Rieu to perform in ones city. (sports and theatre merge ever closer together). [reason I question this mainly is that down here in Victoria we had the hullabaloo about the state govt underwriting a portion of the Tiger Woods appearance fee to 'lure' him to Victoria. I wonder if the QLD opposition will launch an attack on Anna Bligh and this effort??]

Well done to Man U.

Redb

Hindmarsh is, arguably, the best place to watch football, of all the A-League stadiums. It’s very similar to Omiya Ardija’s (J-League club) old stadium, in which you were as close to the action as you could get, without standing on the pitch. That’s one thing we could possibly lose, with a new stadium. Is it worth it, to be able to host major events? Absolutely. But it won’t have the same charm as “Our Hindmarsh.”
We’ve seen numerous times – in the likes of the AFC Champion’s League final, among other instances – that the State Government won’t even budge on stadium upgrades, unless the big-wigs force it upon them (at the 2000 Olympics, temporary seating was installed in Hindmarsh, for the football, increasing the size to around 20,000).