Sorry Wanderers fans, ANZ upgrade a win for everyone

Swans leaving in 2017. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-11-24/swans-set-to-quit-homebush

So am I. Really all I'm saying is that while "rake" may not be the word on every critics lips, it's a part of what makes a stadium great. WHen people say "atmosphere" or "distance", to me, the flat bowl at the bottom is a part of that criticism. THe other factors you mention are of course part of it as well. The 70,000 I'm referring to was the Collingwood fixture back in 2003. It was the biggest AFL crowd outside Victoria in history and I think it remains so. I was there. Since then attendences for home and away for that fixture and the others they play there have trended down. Out of the top 20 home away crowds there only 3 have been in the last 5 years. At the other end of the scale, the bottom 20 crowds there, 12 have been in the last 5 years. That's also reflected in the comments you hear from swans fans about going there.

Soccer Stoppage Time reporting that Lyall Gorman, former CCM, WSW and A-League Head, is set to become the new CEO of the NRL's Cronulla Sharks. The rumour is that there is the suggestion that the club might attach itself to a possible new A-League team based in the Sutherland region, in the southern suburbs of Sydney. Gorman, David Gallop and Ch9 boss David Gyngell have been in preliminary talks throwing around the idea. It will be interesting to see how this develops in the coming months and years.

With a good 60,000 stadium at Moore Park and a 45,000 stadium at Parra we wouldn't even need ANZ. The SCG perfectly caters for cricket and the Swans, Spotless is good for GWS and occasional limited overs cricket. I think this is a great idea. Interesting about the close to the CBD argument. Wouldn't it have been nice to have a brand new 50,000 rectangular stadium at Barrangaroo near Darling Harbour....

That would suit SFC and WSW

Well that may be true. As I'd said, I'm happy to be corrected. Btw, the Swans crowds didn't start at 70k and then steadily decline. They peaked at 70k for a final, but mostly hovered around the 40k mark, and they've probably dipped just below that now. Maybe the rake is the reason, but I think the distance from home base, live tv against the gate, rising costs, and other factors would be more at play.

A link here. In summary, the NRL is saying the plan should be upgrade the SFS, build a midsize stadium in the centre of Sydney geographically (i.e., parra), and later build one out west once the airport is finalised. So that means both the NRL, and the Swans, who want to get out of homebush, are not behind the upgrade to the Olympic stadium. http://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/exclusive-nrl-chief-dave-smiths-plan-to-crash-tackle-anz-stadium-and-build-bigger-allianz-arena/story-fnii5s3x-1227131329383 "THE NRL is lobbying Premier Mike Baird to build a new 65,000-seat Allianz Stadium at Moore Park, making it Sydney’s pre-eminent sports arena instead of Sydney Olympic Park’s ANZ. The word is that NRL chief Dave Smith is also urging the government to consider building a new 40,000-seat, fully-roofed stadium at Parramatta. These moves would spell the death knell for the former Olympic stadium, which is hoping the government will fund about $250 million of its $350 million redevelopment plan released this week. In a sign the NRL will be a serious player in Sydney’s stadium battle, a well-placed source has revealed that Smith is giving the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust $750,000 to fund half of a new “concept design evaluation” for Allianz. Work on the study has apparently already begun, assessing two options: refurbishing the existing Allianz stadium with between 45,000 and 55,000 seats or demolishing it and building a new 65,000-seat facility. Smith has told NRL club officials the government should take a 50-year view when deciding how to invest hundreds of millions of dollars modernising Sydney’s out-of-date stadiums. “It’s really a once in a lifetime opportunity and he wants to make sure Sydney gets it right,’’ one source said. Smith is believed to have advised the Premier the government should consider Sydney’s sporting infrastructure as a “network of stadiums” and avoid “putting lipstick on pigs”. He has been telling sports powerbrokers that the most successful football stadiums are purpose-built, rectangular arenas; located near existing commercial hubs; and well-serviced by transport, preferably heavy rail. If you were starting from scratch, Smith argues, the biggest stadium would be located as close as possible to the CBD, like Melbourne’s sporting precinct, with a mid-tier stadium in Sydney’s mid-west and a third venue built further west once the Western Sydney airport project is well underway. While he believes ANZ CEO Daryl Kerry has delivered the best redevelopment plan possible, he believes ANZ lacks atmosphere, with spectators too far away from the sidelines. Sport Minister Stuart Ayres has also been in close contact for Smith over the past six months. One source said the NRL has compared ANZ to Suncorp Stadium and found the worst seat in Brisbane is 45 metres closer to the action than at Homebush. The NRL declined to comment yesterday its views are important as Sydney’s NRL teams are the biggest stadium tenants. The leaders of ANZ’s two main tenants, the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ Shane Richardson and Canterbury Bulldogs’ Raelene Castle spokes enthusiastically about ANZ’s redevelopment plan this week. Under the plan, sports fans would be able to sit within 5 metres of the action at each end of the ground. The stadium would also be surrounded by a dynamic entertainment zone filled with bars, cafes and restaurants. The NRL is responsible for staging roughly 100 premiership games in Sydney a year. At the moment, about 20 games are being played at Allianz, 30 games at ANZ and the other 50 in smaller venues. Smith may make the point that the NRL would be able to convince clubs to play many more games in two main stadiums if it was confident fans would embrace “the game-day experience”."

Well if sydneysiders are apathetic about attending, it doesn't really matter does it - what is the point of upgrading at a cost of hundreds of millions a stadium which is never going to pack them in except for a handful of events anyway? As for the swans matches - I would maintain that the rake is part of it. The novelty has worn off, as you say, because it's just not a good place for watching any code. At the beginning, 70,000 and more were there. Every time the fans are asked to go back there, there are more and more people voting with their feet because it's just not an enjoyable night out. The distance is part of that. I'll post a link below - apparently the worst seats at suncorp are almost 50 metres closer to the pitch than they are at the Olympic stadium. The rake is part of this.

Are you ok?

Western Sydney should have a 50K stadium of its own... the west should rise and it should be at Parramatta ... FO Homebush... its just the old brickies drag site anyway...

+999999 WE I remember the same group rebadged who believed a pond for a frog in Lane Cove was more important than a brdge across Lane Cove national park .. thus not connecting the F3 now M1 to the M2 at Epping and every-time I drive along Pennant Hills Road I say those mother F-----ers have me sitting in F----ing traffic...

Daniel did you meant to say multi-useless stadium ?

"There’s not really any basis to that is there?" That's why I said "chances are that crowd averages would increase". Its just my speculative opinion. "People attend stadiums for events, not the seating." I like to think that people attend stadiums for the 'game day experience' irrespective if its a major event or a bread ñ butter club game. And you want to be close to the action, and feel the tackles, otherwise why are we there? Imagine the MCG, with crowds been seated 20 meters away from behind the goal posts.

Oh so the swans are East Sydney now AR ? Why don't they change the Giants colours to red and black, they've copied everything else.

I said Fanless stadium too btw.

"The state government is broke. " The NSW Government has a AAA credit rating, which is the highest possible credit rating, from 2 of the world's most influential ratings agencies. AAA rating means the entity has an "extremely strong capacity to meet financial commitments". To suggest the NSW State Government "is broke" is quite factually incorrect and, quite frankly, ridiculous.

But the Swans' crowd numbers aren't falling due to the angle of the seating, which was my original point. I'd guess Swans fans are just sick of trudging out to a different stadium which is miles from their base - East Sydney. The novelty of a larger stadium has clearly worn off. I do agree that ANZ presents a very strong financial case for clubs, rather than being a "better" option for some fans, particularly those who live closer to the traditional home of their club.

What about the swans, prime example there crowd numbers for anz are falling but they are not comparativly falling at the scg. Anz is for making money not for supporters.

The oceans of empty seats allows advertisers to decorate the ground with huge banners. Went to an NRL game there a few months back where each end of the ground was adorned with half a dozen huge advertising boards covering the empty seats. I imagine some money is recovered there.

Hmmm yes this is very well put.