I love nothing more than attending Parramatta Stadium to watch the Eels. When the stadium is near its 20,500 capacity, the atmosphere is electric: it is our fortress Parramatta.
Parramatta Stadium is a ground the opposition should fear coming to and while the Eels’ win/loss ratio this year is not particularly good, it becomes far more positive when you look at games won and lost at Parramatta Stadium.
The atmosphere is not only electric at Parramatta Eels games – for anyone who watched the march of the Wanderers this year, the stadium atmosphere was incredible as the crowd roared and cheered their team on throughout the season.
For the Wanderers this culminated in a magic run to the grand final in their first year in the A-League.
However, over the past couple of seasons Parramatta has started moving games away from our fortress Parramatta to ANZ Stadium.
Under the current agreement, which goes until 2015, Parramatta is allowed to move four out of 12 home games away from Parramatta Stadium each year.
Just to make it absolutely clear – I hate ANZ Stadium. Parramatta’s record is woeful there. We have lost 12 consecutive games at ANZ Stadium, which is atrocious.
It is not only Parramatta’s woeful record which makes me dislike ANZ Stadium. When Parramatta play the Bulldogs or the Rabbitohs, we are playing at a stadium which is the home ground of our opposition, thus we give away our home ground advantage.
When the Eels played Souths earlier in the year, there was a chorus of boos following the Parramatta Eels from the moment the whistle blew, particularly whenever Chris Sandow touched the ball.
Parramatta’s position on the table at the moment means we cannot afford to give away any advantage – particularly to a team as strong as the Rabbitohs.
ANZ Stadium also feels completely soulless to me. Because it is so big, it is extremely difficult to get a good atmosphere, because the stadium always feels empty.
The only time ANZ Stadium absolutely erupts is when it is at capacity and that usually comes in September, when finals football is on.
The atmosphere at the grand final qualifier between the Bulldogs and the Eels in 2009 was one of the best games I have ever been to. It is for games like this that ANZ Stadium is perfect.
This raises another question and it is whether moving more games to larger stadiums like ANZ Stadium is the way forward or whether clubs should hold onto their home grounds.
There has been meaningful debate this year as to whether NRL crowds are down from last year. Whatever the outcome of this debate, it is clear the NRL is having issues with attendance.
I don’t think this suggests a move to a bigger and more lifeless stadium is the answer. The crowds that have made their way to NRL games this year does not justify even a suggestion we should be moving games away from suburban stadiums.
Rugby league as a sport is tribal in nature – suburban grounds hold tradition and history. While the value of this cannot be measured in monetary terms, its value to fans cannot be understated.
Suburban grounds hold fond memories, particularly for people who have supported their team from birth until now. Each NRL supporter recalls tight games which their team has won/lost at their home ground.
I particularly remember games where it pours with rain and you walk home soggy, wet and freezing after a good night at the football (always made better by a Parramatta win).
While the larger stadiums have greater capacity, better facilities and more undercover seating, they are absolutely devoid of atmosphere.
The Rabbitohs and the Bulldogs have been playing at ANZ Stadium for a couple of years now and have not seen crowds increase to a point where it seems legitimate to justify a movement away from suburban grounds.
Particularly when a crowd of 20,000 means the stadium is only a quarter full, compared to the capacity it would be at a suburban ground.
The larger stadiums can also be difficult for fans to get to – particularly fans travelling from the west and from Wollongong.
Perhaps instead of debating whether to abandon our suburban grounds, we should be moving the discussion to the ways we can improve them.
You can imagine my delight when earlier in the year it was announced that there would be a $30 million refurbishment of Parramatta Stadium.
This refurbishment will not only see facilities improved but add at least 5,000 seats.
This is fantastic news and hopefully means that the Eels will continue to play at Parramatta Stadium for the foreseeable future.
I am clearly a fan of keeping fortress Parramatta, among other suburban grounds, part of our game. I would love to hear your thoughts!
Bludger
Guest
Sydney, a city larger than Melbourne but not able to get a quarter of the audiences to events. An odd type of people live up there.
Johnno
Guest
Mary I looked at your blog, i liked it, impressed more of this type of stuff, is what I want to see from women. Nitty gritty stuff on sport. Over the next 10 years more of this style of stuff will be on show, that people will eventually forget if it's a man or women writing or doing the blogs.
Johnno
Guest
Holly I was being honest, and i didn't mean it in a condescending way. It's a societal observation, I am just being honest. I am encouraging more women to talk about aport more. I know there are some that do eg sports journalists etc, and some fans, but are there "plenty", that's the bigger question, I know a lot of "females" and i don't know a lot that talk about the actual nitty gritty "subject of sport"beyond who won, or watch the game for a bit of fun. And people like Mary, Elisha, or Irene on here i actually like hearing there voice, i am encouraging them. But you at least in name are Holly on , here and i would like to think you are being honest in you being female. But do you think many women publicity talk about sport as fan, abut the subject. And hardly condescending I am encouraging, and want more female input in sport. And no I am not tony abbot lol, but the guy has a wife and 3 daughters, and is very close to them they love him, so give the guy a break. And as for his silly comment , wow he was being honest and complimentary to someone who happened to be female, talk about pc overdrive by some in society. I wish women would come up to me and say i have the look lol. They don't he he.
SuperEel22
Roar Guru
America come in and give them some more democracy.
Mary Elizabeth
Guest
Johno, It seems like you need to have a read of my blog. Check out: http://ladieswholeague.blogspot.com.au/ :)
Marco
Guest
You might be lucky to get 5000 but I'm sure the official crowd figures will state that you got more. This year must be one of the worst for fibbing on crowd numbers. Accurate reporting is needed so clubs can be clearly advised on what ground to play at.
Epiquin
Guest
You'll never get cheaper parking. SOO car park is privately owned. Besides public transport costs are usually included in the ticket price. All the stakeholders want you to catch the train.
Jimistix
Guest
I think a more interesting angle to look at the problem of suburban vs large stadiums is to invest in improving the atmosphere at the large stadiums such as investing in structural changes so that the stands sit more steeply over the ground at ANZ. Closing off the top tier of seats and having huge canvases with rear projectors showing the different angles of the telecast! Food vendors walking up and down each aisle selling their wears so you never need to leave your seat. Like the old baseball hotdog vendors. And Cheaper food and parking! Just for good measure:)
Australian Rules
Guest
+1
Holly
Guest
You had a point until i had to read your condescending response to MAry - is this Tony Abbott??
Epiquin
Guest
How about instead of trying to move games to smaller stadiums, we try and fill the bigger stadiums? Crazy thinking, I know, but I suspect it may be slightly more cost effective than simply building new stadiums all over Sydney that are not too big, not too small depending on the crowd...
Clark
Guest
I can see the reason behind teams moving their home games to outside grounds such as Perth and NT In order to grow the game. You still get a brilliant atmosphere. Home ground is supposed to be an advantage. so why move to a concrete jungle with no atmosphere and minimal crowd numbers if it isnt going to be an advantage? Nothing worse seeing and empty stadium while watching on TV
Epiquin
Guest
If NSW is third world then what does that make QLD???
June
Guest
I am a season ticket holder for the Eels, I hate ANZ stadium and will not be going to the Dragons game. I like you was appalled at the boing and jeering of the Souths supporters at ANZ, If it wasn't for the rest of us supporting them when they were kicked out of the comp they wouldn't be here. I think all Eels home games should be at home and that is ARRAMATTA STADIUM. The new Parramatta Board were elected because that is what they promised. We only had a large crowd against Dragons at ANZ last year because it was Hindy and Burts last game, this year we will be lucky to get 5000.
Johnno
Guest
A pleasure Mary anytime. It's always nice to get a female angle in sports. A nice article too, the women that develop or show there interest to be sports fans the better. There are more out there female fans base, in all sports, but it seems to be the silent majority, or the cult following, or underground type status, still it seems. It hasn't yet in the mainstream everyday speech, if a women says "hay i'm a footy fan" people still blink. I am a generation leer than you 34 soon, and if you said you liked soccer and were not ethnic you'd get a weird look, at well teased in the school playground. But good your a girl who loves sport, there are more of you ladies out there who like sport, and the more of you that come out of the woodwork and let the world know you are an actual sports fan, who follows the actual fan side of sport not playing or just watching for a per at the cute guys but the actual Game itself, the better the sport will be. What has always fascinated me, Mary is if women when they are out, or at a social gathering, do they ever go into in depth analysis about the subject of sport, beyond just who won. As men do all the time, in general conversation.
turbodewd
Guest
I agree that not all Eels games should be at ANZ. But if the Eels were to play another Sydney team in a playoff then its likely to be 30,000+ and should be at ANZ. Indeed Eels vs Bulldogs at a semi not long ago attracted 70,000. A regular season Eels v Cowboys/Raiders shud indeed be at Parra stadium
Mary Elizabeth
Guest
Agreed! As I said in my piece, there is nothing better than a capacity ANZ Stadium. The atmosphere is electric. However, capacity is rare and what is more likely are crowds of under 20,000. If the Eels were to move all their games to ANZ, there would be very few games which would reach over 20,000. For games on special occasions like Easter or a long weekend which are marketed correctly, the NRL can get strong numbers. But, we can't depend on the quality of games to consistently get decent crowd numbers.
Mary Elizabeth
Guest
Hi Johno, Thanks for your comment on my story. I agree in that often the big stadiums are more lucrative for teams whether they get good crowd numbers or not. However, sport is a business unlike any other and it shouldn't be just financial decisions which drive decision making. As I said, I feel like fans don't particularly like the big stadiums and that there is something about playing at a suburban ground which makes it really special. A 40,000 stadium for Western Sydney sounds like an excellent idea though!
Australian Rules
Guest
Over the past 2 years, the Eels have elected to move 3 home games to ANZ against the 3 big Sydney clubs. 2012 Cant - 28k Sout - 14k St.G - 46k (last game of the year) 2013 Cant - 26k Sout - 17k St.G - ? There's probably a marginal benefit in terms of gate receipts for those games, compared to hosting at Parra. A commentator once said that the difference between a full stadium and an empty one, is the same as the difference between a full glass of beer and an empty one. Whilst I agree with that sentiment, I think there does need to be a balance with clubs like Parra. The difficulty for the Eels is that it will now have a stadium fit for 25k (perfect for the club presently) but holds latent ambitions to move to ANZ and hopefully attract crowds of 40-50k+. In a way, the club is currently having its cake and eating it too. I.e staying at Parra with the upgrade, yet softly planning for a permant relocation to ANZ. It needs to have a clear strategy in place about doing this, and ensure that the fan base is willing to move with it.
Tigranes
Guest
That was v the Bulldogs and it was during Easter, so it was always going to draw a big crowd, plus both teams are in form