Go to a Melbourne Heat home game and you will be astonished by how small the crowd is.
The truth is the crowd isn’t that small, it just looks small.
Last season Heart had an average attendance of 8,574 which looked pathetic in a stadium with a 30,050 capacity.
So why not move to a smaller stadium? A stadium that is the right size for Heart’s attendance.
Lakeside Stadium (formerly known as Bob Jane Stadium) is a multipurpose stadium with an athletics track around the centre playing field.
The former Aussie rules ground was home to South Melbourne Swans until 1982, when the club moved to Sydney.
Since then it has hosted both Matildas and Socceroos matches, Victorian Premier League Grand finals and it has served as home to former National Soccer League giant South Melbourne FC.
The recently redeveloped venue is the perfect size for Melbourne Heart.
The 15,000 capacity could easily fit in an average Melbourne Heart crowd.
It could maybe fit even a midweek Victory game against a less supported A-League side.
As someone who has attended matches at this venue I feel that the recently redeveloped venue is the ideal place for A-League football to played played.
It has top notch facilitates, hills behind the goals at both ends for those who want to stand and watch, great food stalls and a view of tall buildings in the city from your seat (which looks great in the twilight hours).
These are the reasons I believe that Heart should move to Lakeside Stadium.
Angus
Guest
Agree 100% about moving east. There is no major sports teams based out that way and it could really help Heart grow and as you say it would clearly defferentitate them from Victory
Graham
Guest
You cant be serious, Lakeside is a fantastic venue to watch football, the view from both grandstands is excellent, the terraces behind the goals give it that old school Olympic Park feel, Parking is hell anywhere in the cbd but transport drops you off in front of the ground...its 5 mins from etihad stadium on the same road! where do you get your games look rubbish on tv comment from? im fairly sure fox have never broadcast a match from the venue before and it sure craps on all the grounds used in "regional round". AAMI is fine..for Victory, Lakeside not being used for the "2nd team" is criminal imo, not only a great venue but absolutely perfect down by the lake for summer football.
RB
Roar Rookie
If they are going to move heart to lakeside stadium then they should have just brought in South Melbourne to begin with. It would have been much better if the a league didn't start a second Melbourne side and started a team from Geelong. At least a team from Geelong would represents something like WSW unlike heart who are just Melbourne 2, and Geelong would actually get a larger crowd than the heart currently get.
RB
Roar Rookie
If they are going to move heart to lakeside stadium then they should have just brought in South Melbourne to begin with. It would have been much better if the a league didn't start a second Melbourne side and started a team from Geelong. At least a team from Geelong would represents something like WSW, unlike heart who are just Melbourne 2, and Geelong would actually get a larger crowd than the heart currently get.
Jules
Guest
+1 Spot on, Johnny. The reserved seating all the way down the sides is silly, but the atmosphere was actually pretty decent yesterday and the view and facilities are top class at AAMI Park. I don't think people should be speculating about the financial side of things unless they know the details of the stadium deals Heart has signed. Maybe with the top decks closed and reserved seating on the sides, they don't need to have that much of the ground cleaned and staffed, so make some cash out of 8K crowds, a new stadium deal somewhere else might be more expensive for them.
Rusty Woodger
Roar Pro
So, build a brand new rectangular stadium - something football in Melbourne has been begging for across a number of years - and then only have 5-6 matches there a year? Won't happen.
Jorji Costava
Guest
Was out cycling today and popped into Lakeside as it was open. Have to say it is a beautiful little athletics track. But you may as well play on a regular cricket oval as far as soccer goes. The dimensions for the spectators would be the same as Docklands or the MCG from the sidelines. On top of this the stands are not steep. It would be an okay ground, but you may as well play at AAMI park. Afterall the taxpayers of Victoria shelled out plenty for the soccer people of this state. So turn up and use it!
Stevo
Guest
Yawn LOL
Football United
Guest
Well they need to leave AAMI Park. Heart can't even fill a third of the ground and will go lose a lot of money when there sweetheart deal with the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust expires. Lakeside would be an improvement and might help with their utter lack of differentiation with Melbourne Victory but in the long term they need to leave the CBD for the South East to actually achieve anything. Lobby for a 15k stadium in Dandenong with part funding from their owners and focus on the South East and Mornington communities.
Johnny
Guest
You must be kidding. Watching football at that ground is pathetic. Fans are too far from the pitch. Players are too far from the fans. Parking is hell. and the facilities to host 8k (eg food stands etc) are poor at best. One third of the ground has no access to supporters as it houses the athletics admin, including no seating behind the goals. Games look rubbish on tv. Just check past broadcasts of south games. Aami is fine. It's just that heart admin ruin seat allocation which makes it look poor on tv. Heart at ammi looks no worst than ccm or even Sydney at sfc.