Sydney isn’t Melbourne. That’s the perfect length of any argument against a plan to force every Sydney club in the NRL to play games at either Allianz or ANZ Stadium.
South Sydney CEO Shane Richardson floated the idea this week in a bid to take the pressure off clubs who are doing it tough financially in one of the worlds most crowded sporting markets.
This idea works perfectly in Melbourne for the AFL.
All clubs play out of either the Melbourne Cricket Ground or Etihad Stadium.
Suburban headquarters have been turned into facilities where clubs train, recover and go through video analysis.
Collingwood, Carlton, North Melbourne, Melbourne, Richmond and the Western Bulldogs are all within a handball of each other while St Kilda and Essendon are a punt north and south of the city.
It would be like adding six more clubs in and around the Roosters and Rabbitohs.
It makes sense for those AFL clubs to play at the MCG and Etihad, but Sydney is a completely different beast.
Melbourne also has a world class transport system to efficiently get fans to and from these venues.
Sydney doesn’t even have a light rail system from Central Station to Moore Park.
Parking at the venue is an even bigger nightmare with fans stuck in a crowded grass paddock for hours.
Homebush is also a challenge with game day transport a hit and miss proposition.
The last time I tried to use public transport to get to ANZ Stadium for Monday night football I was told no busses could get me there from my location.
That would’ve been acceptable if I was calling from Dubbo, but this was from Ryde with the stadium a 10-minute drive away down one of Sydney’s major roads.
I was told that i’d have to catch a bus to a train station that was further away from the ground than I currently was. From there it was a train to the stadium.
The journey was going to take 1 hour and 20 minutes each way.
The ground was a 10-minute drive away.
Sound inviting?
Manly fans already displayed their disgust at having to travel away from Brookvale Oval to Moore Park during the NRL finals. How many do you think will travel for a regular season game?
How many Cronulla fans do you think will make the same journey from the south of the city?
Why should parents with children be forced to travel from the Blue Mountains to ANZ Stadium when they could just go to Centrebet Stadium in Penrith?
Richardson claimed match day attendance was down 6% this year. That figure will sky rocket if this plan is put into place.
People have less of the leisure dollar at their disposal. If officials make it harder for families to see a game they won’t bother.
Richardson may be happy for his inner city team to play at Homebush, but I wonder how many Rabbitohs fans actually enjoy their game day experience?
You could have a whole bay to yourself if you wanted as 13-thousand supporters try to create atmosphere in a venue built to host major events.
Supporters already give more than enough of themselves. This is asking too much.
micka
Guest
I think the argument of AFL teams being centralised in Melbourne is irrelevant (even though a lot are actually based in other parts of the city). Growing up in the country in Vic it was more than common for work places and community groups or even just groups of mates to put on bus tours to the city to go watch the footy. It was an event you looked forward to and planned, it was a road trip style event. If people from East Gippsland and the Wimmera are happy to slog it into the city on a bus for 4 hours to watch their side why cant Sydney siders suck it up and put up with a couple of hours in the car. If going to see your team play on the weekend with your mates is such a chore, there can't be much of an attraction....
League_coach101
Roar Pro
You probably won't read this because the article is too old. My 50,000 at ANZ and it felt awful referred to Origin. I went to Origin 3 a couple of years back and despite everything - the 20,000 empty seats really impacted on the atmosphere. It felt like you were watching the game on TV at a particularly boring pub. Of course it didn't help that NSW was losing... again. :)
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Any new stadium should consider its transport links first, second and third. Much of the debate around the new Perth stadium revolves around whether the Burswood site can support the rail links that are needed.
Whites
Guest
I've never subscribed to the theory that people don't go to the rugby league in Sydney because they have more things to do on the weekend. I've walked around the MCG and Docklands on game day and there is a great atmosphere in the city.
Redb
Roar Guru
Whites, So we can finally put to bed the often stated theory by Sydneysiders that AFL attendances in Melbourne are high compared to NRL attendances in Sydney, because there is so much more to do in Sydney. The fact is Sydney is harder to get around than Melbourne and people don't like to leave their suburb in Sydney as a result. I also think Melbournians love the big crowd atmosphere particularly of the mighty MCG and the pubs, cafes & restuarants before & after games. AFL games also appear to be much more family friendly in clean modern stadiums with whole age groups attending from kids to Grandparents. Attending the footy is very much a social affair.
JV
Guest
1st step is to get rid of millionaires owning football clubs.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
The State Leagues of most codes still do this. The WAFL and the FootballWest State League do it. I've spent a few lazy saturdays at one of the local parks watching football and enjoying cheap-full strength beer and canteen food.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Agree with a lot of this. The corporate intrusion and power into sport must be balanced.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Depends on if you remember who has what number.
JVGO
Guest
Yeah great post Whites. Balmain Norths Sydney and Newtown were also original inner city teams that have disappeared from the NRL. One phenomenon was that the expansion into the suburbs as the old inner city populace also moved out into the suburbs meant that the old original clubs became relatively weaker. By the 60's clubs that had middle ring newer suburbs such as St George, Canterbury, Wests and Souths were the dominant clubs. By the 70's it was manly, Parra and Canterbury. By the 80's and 90's when Penrith and Cronulla should have been prospering they ran into the new powers of Canberra and Newcastle and then the Broncos. By that stage teams like Newtown, Wests and Souths were barely viable anymore, the population and powerbase had shifted..
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
Surely if you can't see the number you won't be able to read the name.....
Nathan of Perth
Guest
I think any long term planning for the NRL has to consider lobbying the State government on the public transport and road infrastructure.
JVGO
Guest
The thing is that sport is actually a cultural phenomenon, not an economic one, originally based on geographical representation and community participation. But it has been hijacked by commercial imperatives and interests. There is an inate conflict here. The code war is really about the battle for market share and the dominance of the market. In this commercial contest administrations acting in the manner of corporations are prepared to harm or destroy their competitors which amounts to destruction of people's culture and community. People need to fight for the preservation of their community and culture against corporatist economic practice. The idea that corporations should be free to act entirely in their own interests is a fallacy, they need to act responsibly respecting cultural boundaries.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
At least when they're talking about the Western Force it's only Emirates Western Force, not just Emirates Force.
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
You do realise that the supporters of those AFL teams come from all over the city, including the fringes? Many aren't even based in the suburbs they are named after any more. St Kilda in Frankston, Hawthorn in Mulgrave, Collingwood in the city. They are named after what are now inner city suburbs because over 100 years ago when they were formed those suburbs were, well, the suburbs. The main difference in Melbourne is that the city is a lot more centralised, as opposed to Sydney where the CBD is in the east and the city spreads to the west. But that's not why AFL clubs play out of 2 stadiums and why NRL clubs in Sydney don't.
JVGO
Guest
In the good old days people turned up to watch Jersey flegg, Reserve grade and First Grade so they got 3 games.
mds1970
Roar Guru
Or the HSBC Waratahs. I've heard it suggested that HSBC stands for Humiliating Score By Crusaders.....
Epiquin
Guest
I have to disagree, I've been to a few 50,000 games at ANZ and the atmosphere was electric!
Epiquin
Guest
The culture of 'not wanting to leave one's suburb' has evolved from the fact that to do so is an extremely frustrating and arduous experience. far more so than it should be.
Epiquin
Guest
Personally I do the walk from central to SFS and am happy to do so. But if it was pouring rain and I had three young kids and a whinging wife in tow i'd probably give it a miss and thats the reality we're facing.