The Sydney Cricket Ground is one of Australia’s sporting icons, a ground steeped in history and tradition, a venue which has played host to a myriad of moments now etched into the memories of this country.
It is also singularly unfit to host the NRL grand final.
ANZ Stadium will close its doors after hosting Game 1 of the 2020 State of Origin series for renovations, an upgrade that is expected to take three years. A new grand final venue is needed, and the NRL have settled on the SCG – at least for 2020.
It’s the wrong choice.
The SCG is a fantastic sporting venue – as long as you’re there in summer watching the cricket or sitting in the stands for an AFL match. It’s suited to Sherrins, not Steedens.
It’s not a rugby league ground anymore. It never was.
If you need binoculars while sitting side-on at halfway just to see what’s happening, you’re not at a good stadium.
The playing surface on a rugby league field can be no wider than 68 metres. The SCG has a width of 136 metres.
You don’t need to be a mathematician realise it’s a pretty substantial gap of empty grass between the stands and playing surface.
(AAP Image/Craig Golding)
There’s also the steep rise in the middle of the pitch. Old coaches and players sitting on the sideline had to stand up on their toes to see what was happening on the other side of the field.
That’s a bit of a stretch to make the stadium sound worse than it is, but the point is that’s it’s not the best place to watch a rectangular-field sport. Certainly not in Australia, and not even in Sydney.
What the SCG does have on its side is history. A damn long one at that. It’s hosted 53 NRL grand finals, including for 35 years in a row at one point before the NSWRL (soon to be ARL, then NRL) played around with different venues.
But a great lineage isn’t always the best measuring stick for the present. In that regard, the SCG is the Mitchell Pearce or Shaun Marsh of this stadium debate.
Want to know what the emerging talent in better form is? Suncorp Stadium.
While certainly no new kid on the block, Suncorp has become the premier rugby league stadium in the country, a genuine world-class facility.
It’s just about time the city, one that’s undeniably passionate about the sport, has earned the right to host the game’s showpiece event.
It has greater capacity than the Cricket Ground, the seating is closer to the action, and the distance to public transport and access to the ground is miles better than the Moore Park debacle. The Broncos’ home attendance averages make most, if not all, of Sydney’s look second-rate year in and out.
(Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
Hell, even the food and drink is usually cheaper!
This is the perfect opportunity to test the waters, for the NRL to dip their toes in the Brisbane pond and see if they come back with gold socks on.
With ANZ out of the equation for the near-future, Allianz Stadium still under construction and the new Bankwest Stadium just too small for the occasion, there shouldn’t have been any other option than Suncorp.
With all the other stadiums falling by the wayside and opening up a spot for the gold medal, Suncorp is Steven Bradbury, ready to coast past them to claim the prize.
But instead, the NRL have handed the win to someone who didn’t, and shouldn’t have, made it past of the qualifying race.
A quote from NRL CEO Todd Greenberg in making the SCG announcement should genuinely concern those in Queensland.
“We are not losing sight of the fact that over a four-year period we will have three purpose-built rectangular venues opening in Sydney. This remains a great result for the game.”
“This remains a great result for the game,” he says.
This remains a great result for Sydney, is what it reads.
It’s the same traditionalist mentality that has kept the AFL grand final at the MCG all these years. It’s unimaginable for those running the game that the season-ending showpiece would leave home.
The SCG would be a fitting grand final venue for an anniversary year of some sort – a 125-year anniversary, for example.
But for the next two years? It’s a decision which doesn’t add up.
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
This article ignores the fact that Sydney has contractual rights to just the GF, not sure when that ends, but when new ANZ is done it will be better than Suncorp
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
Exactly. Hell if it wasn’t already booked for origin next year I’d say tear it down now before something happens.
Jock McSprock
Roar Rookie
But why should that 20 years start before the new stadium is built?
Al
Guest
But you run the risk of a change in government and the upgrade being scrapped.
Big Daddy
Guest
The only reason I go to the SCG is for AFL and cricket. Never was a rugby league ground. Only reason they played there was there was nowhere else. The grounds theses days have to be where there is rail service.
Tom G
Guest
Clearly it should go to the best stadium but the NSW government spending all that stamp duty cash on venues no one will use ensures it won’t. Suncorp is by far the best football venue in the country that I’ve been to and ANZ possibly the worst and I live in Sydney
Neel
Roar Guru
Australians tend to watch more sports at home and there was a survey on some site stating that most Aussies prefer to watch live sports at home. I don’t think it matters in that sense. As for the players, well, they might prefer playing at maybe Suncorp or Lang Park. ANZ or BankWest might not be bad options if the final were to be held in NSW.
Edward Kelly
Roar Guru
TV viewers don't really care as long as the cameras are all there and work. Why the NRL went with the SCG is probably due to lots of things with no bearing to the TV NRL audience. But undoubtedly $$$$ came into play for the NRL and its mates, rather than what is best for the NRL in the future.
Clanger McClunk
Guest
There is a lot of merit in the comments here on the topic. Looking at the big picture it looks like a twofold common denominator............Todd Greenberg and Peter Beattie. There are times and events where these two appear out of their depth.
Glen
Guest
Actually the earlier agreement was that the ANZ refurbishment had to happen first or the NRL would shift games out of Sydney. But all the SCG trust lobbyists bemoaned that the SFS was falling apart so pushed for that to happen first. The NRL in gutless usual fashion caved in and kept it in Sydney anyway. With a 3 year absence it should have been Year One: Brisbane Year Two: Auckland Year Three: Melbourne
BA Sports
Roar Guru
Jamo Park is a wind trap! They would be missing the conversions from right in front!
Big Daddy
Guest
This why the AFL are light years ahead of the NRL in sports administration. They had the foresight with Waverley Park which they now have Etihad/Marvel stadium. Meanwhile the NRL have been twiddling their thumbs preferring to get in bed with which government will get them a better deal. Once Allianz and ANZ were built they dumped the SCG and now find themselves without a ground for a couple of years. Good enough to take SOO everywhere but Sydney or Brisbane but not good enough to take the GF. You only have to look at SOO and Internationals where there is no NRL matches nextweek after there is 4 matches week after. No consideration for club fans whatsoever.
Rellum
Roar Guru
This doesn't surprise me. The NRL run the comp like it is still a Sydney suburban comp in many regards. It is beyond the NRL to have a GF outside of Sydney.
Big Daddy
Guest
What a debacle. It's like going back in time. The NRL keep telling us they want to expand and promote the game and this the best the they can come up with. It's not called NRL for nothing. Maybe they should Rebrand themselves as NSWRL. Smaller ground, smaller crowd,tickets will be harder to get and the prices go up. The NRL got themselves into bed with NSW government and the debacle with stadiums. What a mess.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
Simple solution - delay the start of the renovations at ANZ until the new Allianz is ready for use. We kept getting told how good it's going to be - let's put it to the test...
Albo
Roar Rookie
I thought that might bring you out, Nat !
Nat
Roar Guru
Until the mighty Broncos make a late charge to the GF!
Matthew
Roar Rookie
Yet the NRL knew EXACTLY what they were doing when they got into bed with the NSW Government with the MOU. They didnt have to but they knew that funding for their stadiums would be a done deal if they did. And now everyone is aware. I find it odd that nowhere in the article above is this deal mentioned. Very odd.
Albo
Roar Rookie
But 4 million people will still watch it from the comfort of their lounge chairs even if the GF is held at the SCG or even Jamison Park , Penrith. And the SCG was never a problem for the mighty Dragons of the 50’s & 60’s or mighty Rabbitohs of late 60s / early 70’s or the baby Tigers of 69, or the dominant Eels & Dogs of the 80’s. Though, if the Roosters do get through they will likely get a real home ground advantage. So, I guess it may be best to take the GF to Suncorp or Jamison Park, as at least there shouldn’t be any home ground advantage to any likely GF team there this year.
Simon
Guest
A grand final at Lang Park would be the first grand final I'd rather go to than watch on TV since they moved away from Moore Park. It's shocking how little care is held for the actual spectators who go to these events, both the SCG and Olympic Park are not footy venues