GWS could choose Showground as home

btw - have you seen the Melbourne Park plans along with all the great artist impresssions and wonderful artistic impression views back over the precinct towards the city with the sun setting........looks brilliant.

btw - a nice overview of the Gosch's Paddock precinct. Notice how the additional oval has to cater to 2 underlying or overlapping (depending on perspective) soccer pitches. When I first came to town in the late 80s we still had the old dog track down there.

ah - now that's the distinction- - - - however, what Blacktown offers for Cricket is a high quality regional venue for higher level matches rather than weekly club games. Now - if it's not 'home' to a single club, then - you might be right on no single cricketer spending comparable time there. If it acts as an (regional) elite training base then that may be challenged. At any rate - it's very important for cricket to have access to top notch venues for those rep matches and tournaments etc that Cricket NSW controls. And no Melbourne player will traverse the surfact of Swan St nearly as much as even the least mobile cricketer who plays a game at BOP and hides at 1st slip all day.......

Collingwoood use Gosch’s paddock number 2. I wasn't discounting cricket from Blacktown but I think if your willing to add them as a tennant then why not the Demons to the Bubbledome. They will likely spend more time at the bubble than any cricketer will at Blacktown.

btw - don't forget, that precinct includes Rod Laver, Hisense arena and the rest of the tennis complex which is getting a ripping re-working..........alas, in the old days there were a couple of footy ovals there - Old Scotch and Old Xav's I think - - about 20 years ago I played a VAFA U19s game on the Old Scotch oval whilst Collingwood battled Geelong at the G', and every now and then you'd get the roar of the crowd floating across to our game.........you could imagine for a minute........

Gosch's paddock is already set up as an MCG size oval that Collingwood train on. Not much new in that. However, I was not pleased with your 'supposedly' comment about cricket being a tennant at Blacktown - - - when, cricket is actually being played there, and trained there and Cricket NSW co-contributed to the overall project. btw - it sucks doesn't it that the MCC 'owns' all the original MFC trophys and premiership flags etc, gee it'd be nice for MFC to be able to break the shackles of the cricket club.........maybe in another 150 years.......

Redb I knew the Demons were using the venue but didn't quite realise what facilities were their until I found the above. Would love a tour of the whole thing once it's finished. Putting it all together (MCG, Lexus, Bubbledome) it will be an awesome precinct for sport.

how are you comparing that to Melb FC and a rectangular stadium at which they will have their admin facilities and might use the gym???? They were prety keen to get those facilities, Rebels and Heart are dissapointed to have missed out. Those facilities are part of the cost, Melbourne Demons use them..... in what way would you say they are not a beneficiary? I had been told that as part of the Bubbledome their developing what is now called Gosch's Paddock 'One' (MCG-sized but multi-use, ie removable soccer, rugger, AFL goal posts etc.) which the demons will use for about 8 hours a week. From the Demons - Football Department will take up an area about 800m2 and consist of reception, coach and football staff offices, physio, multi purpose meeting rooms and plasmas etc, IT room etc., and includes: a 'Heritage Walk' honouring amongst other things Premierships (replicas trophies and flags as the MCC 'owns' all the originals), lists of players (to be added to annually), major contributors to the Club etc. Initial schematics suggest some use of polished timber, etched glass, mandatory red and blue 'v', old MFC logo etc. for a 'sophisticated' visual treatment. Demons only Player-specific facilities start comprise: - the 'player' locker room area (to the right of admin) will include: new 'rugby' style open lockers (still with previous players listed, but also some narrative on the more notable ones), showers, toilets etc. There is a player lounge somewhere in the layout also. Demons only - via a series of short walkway corridors-come-'tunnels' (bypassing Storm player area) our players will access a 1000sqm open space state-of-the-art gymnasium, including: sprung wooden floor section for beep tests, indoor drills etc., and $500,000-fully equipped gym. This is approximately 10 times the size of current Junction sweat shop, and basically faces out through a full glass wall to the east side of the Storm playing stadium. This facility will be shared between the tenants. - another corridor or tunnel takes us further south to the adjoining shared pool area (about 600m2 at a guess) featuring: a combined walking/deep swimming depth pool, group spa pool and 4 cold plunge baths, all again with glass wall to Storm stadium area - via another short and low 'tunnel' (under the lower seating in the stand above) further to the south will be a 26 terminal and plasma equipped computer viewing room for individual and/or group analysis of player footage etc. - in the foreseeable future, our players would be walking across from the 'G' after any games there, but the precinct masterplan includes extending a covered walkway all the way across from the current one to Swan Street, possibly right across into the 'bee hive'. Importantly, we have a long term arrangement, and (along with our co-tennants) have a right of 'veto' over any other tenancy applications. I believe there is also an exclusion on any other same code (AFL at least) club being allowed to join the facility. This gives the Club a great deal of control and 'leverage' in regards to any future arrangements at the venue. Edit: So given the above I think it's fair to say that yeh, the Demons might use the gym :P

AndyRoo, I'm not upset at the Bubble dome apart from the stuff up with it being unsuitable to host soccer WC games. Just a bit of hearsay. Was flying back from Adelaide last week, plane lands, the bloke next to me takes a call and is obviously connected to the rectangular stadium construction (engineer?) , anyway he said to the person on the other end that there is no way it will be ready by early may. Now construction tends to accelerate closer to the first event (RL test) and may not be fully finished in time, but interesting.

"If Cricket is supposedly a tennant at Blacktown" um....they PLAY cricket at Blacktown. It's an oval y'know. 25 Jan 10 @ 01:48pm Junior Twenty20 storms into BOP Cricket THE best junior cricketers in the state took to the new Blacktown Olympic Park cricket ovals in the Michael Clarke Twenty20 Cup Semi Finals on Sunday. and AW Green Shield Final - Cricket Tuesday, January 26, 2010 9.30am – 6.00pm Oval 2, AFL/Cricket Precinct And there's also some brilliant indoor training facilities there too. Cricket NSW will be running a number of Holiday Camps and Clinics from Blacktown Olympic Park. etc etc, how are you comparing that to Melb FC and a rectangular stadium at which they will have their admin facilities and might use the gym???? Heck, even the North Melbourne Arden St facility is able to HOST Fencing Victoria tournaments which is far more than Swan St can do for MelbourneFC. Nah - - -you're off the mark there. I had to re-read several times - - I couldn't believe you said it. Perhaps it was a typo??

My understanding albeit from a distance I admit and what I've read on the net is that the Showgrounds stadium needs work to cater for AFL footy, so it might hold 21K but its not an adequate modern venue much like Olympic Park in Melbourne.

Taxpayers tend pay for stadiums no matter where they are, why should NSW be any different?

Every time I saw Olympic oops sorry Collingwoood park their seemed to be a running track around it? Those internal facilities are part of the cost and the Demons will use them. If Cricket is supposedly a tennant at Blacktown then how the Demons don't meet that criteria for the bubbledome is beyond me. But I think this just shows why GWS is pushing it up hill if people are upset about the Bubbledome when most neutral observers would say their is a lot more need for a single rectangular venue (which will be the largest in the state) used by 4 teams (plus rep matches) than to pump money into the third biggest oval in the city.... for an extra 4k capacity. Edit: I will put an asterix next to the 268m bubble dome in my $$$$ AFL has got from the Government report :P

well, re the BUbbledome....there was already a rectangular venue there......Olympic Park. So, we do look at that expensive roof and wonder. btw - MelbFC aren't going to set foot on the surface. They'll access internal facilities. What'd be nice would be if the MCC monopoly on the MCG was broken and MelbFC could finally call it home!!!! - - - sadly, it should be MelbFC over at the Lexus/Westpac centre instead of Collingwood. Ruddy Eddie McGuire - - - love him, hate him.

I you had actually read what I wrote I only suggested they move games that would get in excess of the Showgrounds capacity (which is apparently 21,000). If they are consistently getting above 21,000 then by all means expand the showground to 25,000 or even 30,000. It would seem a bit of a waste however to expand before actually seeing what the crowds will be like. In the event they are getting big crowds (ie: above 21,000 on average) it won't kill them to play out of ANZ for a season while the renovations can be done to the Showground. Even if the Showground was expanded to 25,000 I'd imagine their big games would be played at ANZ anyway.

But you don't answer the question. WHy should the taxpayers of NSW pay for it. Why doesn't the AFL if they want it. You don't see the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs askign for it. BTW the Showground currently holds 21K. I know, I was there when it had that many in the venue. I don't see why we should spend $100mil so that the AFL can cram another 4K into it. Anything over 21K should be in ANZ.

I thought they were building the bubble dome because Collingwoood wanted Olympic park :P At least the Bubble Dome really is multi purpose though (4 teams playing their plus the Demons training) and I am pretty sure people would feel different if their was already a rectangular venue next door. It would be like the Storm wanting a 20k ground because the bubble dome isn't the right size... yet. At least the Blacktown training venue is far from any other major stadiums so there is a case their for expansion/investment. The sums don't add up if it's just one team playing their, even if they sign up for 10 games a season (I assume a game or two will go to ANZ or Canberra or somewhere) for 20 years that's 450k a match (assuming the Govt only spends 90m). GWS are not going to attract big away support, if your only going to make a couple of interstate trips a year Gold Coast and the Swans would be up their, or go to SA/WA and enjoy a hostile crowd rather than a docile Sydney crowd. Obviously it would look horrible on TV though and I think the main point of their existence is to be a tv team as well as grow AFL. A 25k stadoum would be perfect for both but the political will to build a smaller oval ground right next to an existing oval ground for one team just isn't their.

It's not the end of the world if it does not happen, but ANZ is not the home ground for anyone, GWS probably want a home gound to call their own, build an intimate atmosphere,etc. I could easily mount an argument that Etihad is fine but not 'perfect' for the A League or NRL so why build the rectangular stadium?

Admittedly it's not ideal but we do need to be realistic here. Of course every sporting club in the land would love a purpose built 'boutique' stadium with a capacity just slightly more than their average attendance to allow for growth, right next door to a larger stadium suitable for big-drawing games and all paid for by the tax-payer thank you very much. However I do tend to share the view of some here that it's tough to justify spending a hundred mill or so on a new stadium when you've got a perfectly decent one only a drop punt away. The fact that it's not perfect for a team expecting to draw crowds in the 20-25K range isn't a particularly convincing argument to spend all that cash. As I've said previously, I'd be happy if all sporting bodies (AFL, NRL, ARU, FFA) and events (F1 GP, FIFA WC) funded their own major infrastructure leaving the taxpayer to fund grassroots sporting facilities and activities.

crickets.....