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During the days of the NSL, Steven Issa sat on what he and his mates dubbed ‘Granville Hill’ at Melita Stadium, watching his beloved Parramatta Eagles.
This season, the Deputy Lord Mayor of Parramatta has become a passionate Western Sydney Wanderers fan.
He’s an important friend for the fledgling A-League club to have.
The Sydney derby is still several weeks away, but tickets have already been snapped up by eager fans. In fact, it sold out less than an hour after going on sale to the public.
After the success of the Melbourne derby, we all hoped the Sydney derby would arouse similar passions and bumper crowds. Now – with one win apiece – the city is already buzzing with anticipation for the deciding derby of the season.
So much so that this week Parramatta Council passed a motion to have the streets around Parramatta Stadium closed in order to create a ‘live site’ outside the ground.
Considering the millions of dollars and goodwill the Wanderers have brought into the local area, the Deputy Lord Mayor’s idea was enthusiastically backed by the chamber. It’s an unprecedented move for an A-League club, and even more amazing considering it’s during the regular season.
There has been plenty of praise already for the Wanderers in engaging their local community. From the very beginning, the FFA were at pains to include the locals in all decisions. It’s how the Wanderers got their name, their colours, and their home ground.
In such a large catchment area, choosing a stadium was always going to be a difficult balancing act. Penrith, Campbeltown, Parramatta and ANZ Stadium were all viable options.
In choosing Parramatta, you feel as if they’ve backed the right horse.
Even without covering the Ray Price statue, Parramatta Stadium has quickly become a Wanderers fortress. It has the right dimensions to create a proper football atmosphere, and is easy to access for fans. The Red and Black Bloc’s march to the ground has quickly become stuff of legend.
Now, the plan is to turn the entire city into ‘Wanderland.’
The Roar spoke to councillor-cum-Wanderers fanatic Steven Issa about the decision to close streets in order to erect big screen televisions outside the ground.
“Its about engaging the community in football, the RBB in particular. It’s part of our duty to the residents and the city.”
Some may argue that instead of creating a live site, the Wanderers should have just moved the game down the road to ANZ Stadium. In years past, that may have happened.
Squeezing in a few extra fans into a bigger stadium may be financially better for the club, but it disrupts the culture that is quickly germinating at Parramatta Stadium.
Unless it’s a full house, ANZ is a soulless monstrosity of a stadium. But most importantly, it’s not Wanderland.
As Cr Issa explained, “there’s a certain brand and authenticity that goes with the Wanderers at Parramatta Stadium.”
Furthermore, having less seats available creates the impression that tickets to the football are a valuable commodity. If fans start to think that space is at a premium, it increases the profile of the Wanderers brand, which can only be good for membership sales next season.
Steven Issa also wants local businesses to get involved. The council’s economic development team recently ran a survey among local businesses to gauge their perception of the Wanderers. Over 90% gave positive feedback.
Some even want Wanderers paraphernalia to put in their shop windows.
Inspired by the live sites at Darling Harbour for the 2010 World Cup, Issa is looking to recreate a similar atmosphere in the western suburbs. With the game not on free-to-air television, it’s not an unreasonable expectation for fans to come along and watch the match on the big screens.
The club and the council certainly have plenty of time to advertise and promote the event.
Indeed, the initiative is being funded both by the club and the council. Politically, the Wanderers have quickly become a safe bet. There’s even a ‘Parliamentary Friends of the Wanderers’ with over 30 members. One of them is the sitting member for Granville and Steven’s dad, Tony.
The first two Sydney derbies have had the air of two boxers just feeling each other out. They’ve had a kind of experimental atmosphere. Both sets of fans, however, will be baying for blood in the last derby of the season, to land a knockout blow.
If the atmosphere of the first two games was intense, expect next month’s fixture to be electric, both inside and outside the ground.
Win, lose, or draw, Steven Issa will be there in the Red and Black Bloc, singing for the Wanderers. He was at Campbelltown for the club’s home win against Newcastle, and he was there when the Wanderers beat Sydney FC away from home last December.
The live site may only be one small initiative, but it’s an important one for the league. The fact that local politicians are active supporters of the Wanderers and are willing to throw their political weight behind the club illustrates some intriguing possibilities for the future.
It creates a healthy synergy between the club, the community and the city representatives.
We all want A-League clubs to appeal to their constituents for attention. But when the local area and the local council want to be part of the Wanderers, you know something is going right.
Building a club becomes a two-way process, allowing it to become part of the fabric of the community and an intrinsic part of the city landscape.
It won’t happen overnight, but through small steps and direct action, it may happen sooner than we think.
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