I love rugby league.
Despite being raised in Canberra, my Queensland kin have ensured I continue to carry the flames of the Maroons and the Broncos.
I have also been a card-carrying Raiders member for a few years now.
I love the spectacle, the big hits, the silky footwork, flowing set piece plays and conversions from the sidelines.
However, rugby league has problems – and lots of them. This is the first of a five-part series on rugby league’s troubles from the perspective of a passionate rugby league fan, and (potentially crazy) ideas on how to solve them.
There was originally just going to be two, but as I reflected, my list of gripes grew to three, then four and then five. Indeed, as time goes on this may end up becoming a never-ending serial.
But I digress.
It is no secret that there has been significant controversy surrounding the NSW Government’s decision to knock down and rebuild the Sydney Football Stadium in an attempt to, well, make things nicer I guess?
Designers of the 80s and 90s in Australia had a strange thing with building stadiums that resembled dinner plates more so than dessert bowls, with the grandstands sitting well back from the field.
I suppose this rebuild is an attempt to rectify that. I understand it’s getting old, but why they have just not refurbished it is beyond me.
An artist’s impression of the Allianz Stadium rebuild. (Image: Facebook/Allianz Stadium)
This points towards a broader issue regarding stadiums in rugby league. It baffles me as to why the NRL persists in having regular season games at Olympic Stadium, and indeed the SFS.
The place is huge – terrific for the grand final, State of Origin and other major sporting and music events. However, during the season, the Rabbitohs and the Bulldogs have to play in front of an NRL-reported 9000 fans (with everyone knowing it’s closer to 5000) in a cavern where any atmosphere that exists simply echoes between the empty stands until it whimpers out through the gaping roof.
It is also located in the middle of a giant complex, far from the original homes of the teams that now occupy it, with slow and meandering public transport if you’re trying to get there from anywhere other than the city.
Meanwhile, we have Leichhardt, Kogarah, Shark Park, Brooky and Penrith all pumping with atmosphere pretty much regardless of who’s playing, and it’s all happening in what are little more than neighbourhood parks.
The locations are perfect, even if their facilities are found wanting. I love that teams like the Sharks and Sea Eagles still primarily play out of suburban grounds (although the fact that Brookvale Oval remains the main ground for a professional sports team is a moderate disgrace – the place looks awful).
The NRL wants the glitz and glam of the NFL in the United States – the money, the big stadiums, the money, huge crowds, the money. But the market is simply not there, and it boils down basic economics of supply and demand.
New York city has two NFL teams and a metropolitan population of some 20 million people. The Jets and Giants share an 82,000 seat stadium and play eight home games a season each year.
That’s two teams, 16 games, 20 million people. Demand for the NFL is huge. Supply is limited. The Giants averaged 76,000 spectators at home last season, the Jets 1000 more than that, despite both having absolute garbage years.
So here is my idea, and many will not like this. Build a couple of 20,000-seat rectangular stadiums, with steep stands practically on top of the field.
Build one in the south and have the Sharks and Dragons share the home ground, with the Dragons also playing out of Wollongong.
If I had it my way, the new SFS would only have a capacity of 20,000. Expand Campbelltown Stadium and have the Tigers move out there permanently (I will have another article dedicated to relocating teams, so save your anger for that).
Penrith and Parramatta are doing just fine in terms of facilities and Manly, well, is a whole issue in and of itself. The end goal is to limit supply with smaller but higher quality grounds.
Then even when 4000 people turn up to watch St George Illawarra play the languishing Gold Coast Titans, the place still breathes a little. And don’t even consider having anything other than the big games at the Olympic Stadium.
Over the coming days I will also propose that the NRL stop selling its soul to gambling companies and Channel Nine, reduce and/or relocate teams, establish summer programs for players to limit future off-seasons becoming total train wrecks – and finally ending the annual contract circus.
William W
Roar Rookie
Bloody Keyboard, just blame it on the Champagne Breakfast mate.
BA Sports
Roar Guru
Thanks William. The exact location of where people sit was hardly my point, but thanks for the caps lock correction anyway.
William W
Roar Rookie
You are WRONG BA Sports, you should really get your facts correct before opening up your fingertips. At ANZ Stadium… When the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs play each other the “AWAY” team fans who have Reserved Season Ticketed Memberships sit on the half-way line on level 4… It is a bloody good seat up there with a very good view. General Admissions Season Ticketed Memberships sit in sections 101 to 104 which is actually Category 2… Not in General admission which is behind the Goal Posts! Another fact you got WRONG! The Rabbitohs have their OWN exclusive dressing room all to their selves. That section is locked and not available to any other team when the Rabbitohs are not there.
Don
Roar Rookie
Channel 9 does not dictate the TV games. That ended a year before the new rights deal when the NRL started scheduling the full season in advance with the exception I think of the last 6 or so rounds. Previously we knew who was playing who each week but the time slots were determined by which games Nine wanted for Friday and Sunday. It was a nightmare.
Don
Roar Rookie
Anyone can come up with valid reasons not to go to something. But when my kids were at school and there was something on that we wanted to take them to midweek, we found a way. It’s not ideal but it’s not that hard either.
William W
Roar Rookie
What about Work and School the next morning? Thursday Night is a terrible timeslot. The game starts at 7:30 pm with all the stoppages and Bunker bull$HI! it finishes at about 9:30 pm. Leave and get home it is now about 11 pm, have a cup of tea and a shower, it is now 12 midnight. Finally, get to sleep and have to get up at 5 am to get ready or Work. Yeah, that works great… NOT! The boss is on your back all day as you are still tired and making mistakes. Yeah good one, NOT!
michael holland
Guest
*Build a new 25,000 - 30,000 stadium in Miranda for the Sharks *Build a new 25,000 - 30,000 stadium in Liverpool for the Tigers (take 2 games to leichardt) & Bulldogs & the new South Western Sydney Soccer team *Have the Dragons play in Wollongong (take 2 games to Kogarah) *Relocate the Sea Eagles to Gosford rename Central Coast Sea Eagles (take 2 games to Brookvale) *Sydney Roosters & South Sydney play at Allianz when it's finished *Penrith play at Penrith (rebuild 2025) *Parramatta will play in their (new stadium) in Parramatta *20 teams 20 rounds play each once are year *Only play State of Origins, Finals, Grand Finals & NRL double headers at ANZ stadium *Expansion 2020+ Perth, Sunshine Coast - 18 teams 20 rounds *Expansion 2025+ Adelaide, Wellington - 20 teams 20 rounds *Expansion 2030+ Port Moresby & West Brisbane - 22 teams 22 rounds *Fixed time slots for home teams *1 Thursday night for each team except New Zealand teams *2 A 2nd New Zealand team means 6:00pm Friday night (8:00pm NZ time) can be covered by each team rotating home & away games * NSWRL add teams from Tamworth (New England), Coffs Harbour (North Coast), Wagga Wagga (Riverina), Dubbo (Western NSW), Central Coast, Illawarra, Newcastle, Canberra & Sydney teams with Balmain , Nth Sydney, St George, Newtown, Western Suburbs, Manly, South Sydney, Eastern Suburbs, Penrith, Parramatta, Canterbury, Cronulla *QLDRL add Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, Toowoomba, Bundaberg, Gladstone *NZRL add a Fiji (Suva), Tonga (Nuku'alofa) , Samoa (Apia) New Zealand teams make up the rest *City v Country *World 9's Tournament (end of November) every year except World Cup Year *3x State of Origin weekends in a row With 3x New Zealand v England Test (played in the USA in 3 different cities) & a Pacific competition playing on the same weekends with Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, PNG playing for a spot against the winner out of Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France & to included in 4 nations in October * World Club Challenge played 2 weeks after NRL - European Super League grand finals.
Adam
Roar Guru
How dare they make money and run it as a business
BA Sports
Roar Guru
That is an interesting notion - of clubs pooling resources to try and own suburban venues. The problem (apart from the clubs not having the financials to buy an asset of that size and then have the funds to get it up to standard and then maintain it day to day) is that the existing venues (the Brookvale's, Leichhardt's, Campelltown Sports Grounds etc) are all Local Government owned. You can't just make an offer on a venue, the LG would have to go through a process of deciding to sell and a community asset which very few ever do, and then there is a procurement process. That said, there are probably a few local governments who need to consider it given many of these grounds run at a loss for the Council to maintain but could make them a very big chunk of money that could be invested in other assets in the community. Interesting one.
Sydneysideliner
Roar Rookie
Sharing suburban stadiums should be the start of a process towards owning your own exclusive one. If clubs from NRL and other codes pooled their resources they could influence their leagues to favour suburban grounds and in turn make upgrades and refurbs viable. Most people agree that suburban games are a better experience than traveling further to sit in a mostly empty ANZ, so more suburban games should help grow club support. But they need to show solidarity, or else it'll be too easy to keep taking the sponsor-funded sugar hit of discounted rents at these oversized government-owned stadiums...
GWSingapore
Guest
If the NRL was smart they would use the new Parramatta Stadium for most Friday night matches. 30 000 seats will look good with a 20 000 crowd, and Parramatta is a lot easier to travel to and from than Homebush. Plus Parramatta has many more pre and after match venues for liquids and solids. Now watch the NRL NOT make the switch.
GWSingapore
Guest
The rebuilding of the Sydney Football Stadium with a larger capacity is about bankrupting Homebush. The SCG Trust wants a monopoly again on Sydney's big sporting events and have persuaded a dumb Government to fall for it. Notice how the original priority for Homebush refurbishment and field reorientation has shifted to the back-burner.
Gjs
Guest
The NRL needs to move from the simple mindset that more money will fix things. Players are paid more than ever, but is that reflected in better behaviours - a big fat NO. How many parents would seriously want their child to play NRL? And it’s not just what happens on the field but increasingly what happens off, reflecting a lack of values and poor culture. Get the values right, stand by those values and the rest will more than take care of itself.
Big Daddy
Guest
Marty, Going back quite a few years even before Gallop I'm sure that was a prerequisite for clubs to develop their own grounds to a standard suitable for seating, food and amenities but some clubs have worked closely with local councils and done that to a reasonable standard while some clubs have nothing. The clubs that have done that use them mainly as training facilities e.g. belmore , redfern. Lately the NRL wants to centralise to the bigger stadiums similar to Melbourne. It works there because of very good transport links and the home grounds of nearly all inner city clubs use their grounds also as training facilities. The AFL have been proactive in purchasing Etihad or whatever they call it now. That's something the NRL will probably will never be capable of.
Don
Roar Rookie
I never used to watch Monday Night Football but I always watch the Thursday night game now. Thursday is one of the highest rating games of the week. It works for broadcasters and sponsors. At the right ground it can work for fans too.People who really want to see a game can find their way to a ground by 7.30pm on a Thursday night. And as a once in a while thing, taking kids doesn't cause much heartache either. Excuses come easier than effort...
AE47
Roar Rookie
Telstra customers arnt enough mate ,
AE47
Roar Rookie
How will that work in Sydney when the bulk of NRL sides are there ?
Big Daddy
Guest
Amen to that. Of course the NRL want bigger crowds but the numpties running the NRL programming and marketing do not have a clue and you are right the TV channels are running the game. Until the NRL dig their heels in and start to show some leadership. But Chanel 9 hold all the bargaining cards via the TV rights nothing will change. Playing at the big stadiums is a complete waste of time. I love the SCG but the days of playing games there are over but because of the demolition of SFS they have no other choice. Start to take games to the central coast with an underutilised stadium. God knows why they play at Brookvale . They cancelled a trial because of the state of the ground and our only centralized ground is ANZ and parramatta when its reopened. By all means play matches at suburban grounds but they need to be up to scratch because the fans deserve better.
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
I have never been a fan of either and from the attendance figures for most Monday and Thursday night games I don't think I'm alone in that opinion.
FatsDontCrack
Roar Rookie
Thursday nights do work though. They fulfil their intended purpose of being a highly popular TV game while acknowledging the negative affects it may have on crowds (would like to see the numbers tbh). Monday games dont regularly exist anymore unless I'm mistaken.