Australian Stadiums Discussion (Excluding Parramatta)

[btron3000]

1 hour ago, Edinburgh said:

Short of a heritage listing, I don't see why not.

Because if they then don't approve the building on it, you have a big hole with nothing for however long.

[Edinburgh]

7 hours ago, btron3000 said:

Because if they then don't approve the building on it, you have a big hole with nothing for however long.

Or just an empty block of land.

[Hughesy]

2 hours ago, Edinburgh said:

Or just an empty block of land.

And a pack of developers sniffing around like an ibis around a bin...

[Taurus]

10 hours ago, btron3000 said:

Because if they then don't approve the building on it, you have a big hole with nothing for however long.

I don't see a problem with that

[Jukes75]

Sydney is used to having holes in the ground with no development prospects. Anyone remember World Square.

[Burztur]

2 hours ago, hughsey said:

And a pack of developers sniffing around like an ibis around a bin...

Imagine if a property developer offered to put apartments there instead and convert the SCG into a Marvel equivalent.

[Paul01]

Well no NRL finals at Suncorp and AAMI Park finished for the transplanted QLD NRL team. The FFA should move the Cup semi-finals to the weekend.

The only stadium that is play is Bankwest depending on the Parramatta Eels results as well as ours.

[pseudonym]

5 minutes ago, Paul01 said:

Well no NRL finals at Suncorp and AAMI Park finished for the transplanted QLD NRL team. The FFA should move the Cup semi-finals to the weekend.

The only stadium that is play is Bankwest depending on the Parramatta Eels results as well as ours.

Melbourne Storm will host an elimination final next week at AAMI Park, probably Saturday 21st

Parramatta only get one home game this Sunday. If they win, they would go to Melbourne then the SCG (against Roosters), then Grand Final at ANZ

[Paul01]

Just now, pseudonym said:

Melbourne Storm will host an elimination final next week at AAMI Park, probably Saturday 21st

Parramatta only get one home game this Sunday. If they win, they would go to Melbourne then the SCG (against Roosters), then Grand Final at ANZ

The commentators said it was the Storm's last game at AAMI. Go figure.

[Hughesy]

Watched a bit of the NPL Victoria GF stream and the AAMI Park surface is looking abysmal. Looks only slightly better than a 'good' local field. I've never seen it so bad before.

[Wanderboy]

Stuart Ayres still up to his ****wittery.

Not only pushing for the Penrith stadium build instead of ANZ rebuild, but gifting hundred's of thousands of pork barreled dollars to local hockey clubs on election eve's. 

The guy needs to leave politics and join the SCG trust so he can lick Alan's butt more often.

What a grub of a man.

 

NSW minister’s bid for football stadium shift

• EXCLUSIVE
  ANDREW CLENNELL
  NSW POLITICAL EDITOR
  @aclennell
• 12:00AM SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

NSW Tourism and Investment Minister Stuart Ayres has been lobbying ministerial colleagues to ditch the government’s $810m plan to revamp Sydney’s ANZ Stadium — the plan he and Premier Gladys Berejiklian took to the March state election — in favour of building a new stadium in his seat of Penrith.

The Australian has established from several sources that Mr Ayres, who was taken out of the sport portfolio by Ms Berejiklian after the March state election, has lobbied fellow ministers and NRL figures in a bid to attempt to kill the proposed $810m redevelopment.

Mr Ayres, who has always been close to the trustees on the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust, including 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones, helped shepherd through the ongoing, controversial $729m knockdown and rebuild of Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney’s east. Sydney Football Stadium is managed by the SCG Trust.

The NRL has threatened to take the grand final out of Sydney if ANZ Stadium at Sydney Olympic Park at Homebush is not rebuilt as a rectangular stadium, as the government plans.

Despite Mr Ayres’ efforts The Australian understands current Sports Minister John Sidoti, who has recently stood aside pending an ICAC investigation, got the business case for the ANZ rebuild through the government’s expenditure review committee.

Mr Ayres, who has long spoken about the need for a new outer western Sydney stadium, declined to comment yesterday.

Several sources have told The Australian Mr Ayres, who is the member for Penrith, a seat he won by 1100 votes, has been lobbying to divert the ANZ funds to Penrith. The government, as part of a $2bn stadium spending program, has spent $360m building the new Bankwest stadium at Parramatta, which has regularly been filled this year. Acting Sports Minister Geoff Lee said: “There has been no change to the government’s stadium policy.”

The Australian revealed yesterday Mr Ayres granted a $350,000 low-interest loan to his local hockey association two weeks out from the caretaker period at the March election — and wrote to his successor in June asking him to write off the loan.

The loan, made in the final days of Mr Ayres’s tenure as the state’s sports minister, followed a $600,000 grant Mr Ayres made to the same Nepean Hockey Association two years earlier.

The Australian also revealed there were warnings from the state’s bureaucracy about a “reputational risk” to the government caused by a $12m grant the Penrith Panthers Leagues Club received for a community and sports centre while Mr Ayres was sports minister.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/na...t/news-story/31111d317c9a6a4dcbbca268b87e62fc

[ManfredSchaefer]

51 minutes ago, Wanderboy said:

Stuart Ayres still up to his ****wittery.

Not only pushing for the Penrith stadium build instead of ANZ rebuild, but gifting hundred's of thousands of pork barreled dollars to local hockey clubs on election eve's. 

The guy needs to leave politics and join the SCG trust so he can lick Alan's butt more often.

What a grub of a man.

 

NSW minister’s bid for football stadium shift

• EXCLUSIVE
  ANDREW CLENNELL
  NSW POLITICAL EDITOR
  @aclennell
• 12:00AM SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

NSW Tourism and Investment Minister Stuart Ayres has been lobbying ministerial colleagues to ditch the government’s $810m plan to revamp Sydney’s ANZ Stadium — the plan he and Premier Gladys Berejiklian took to the March state election — in favour of building a new stadium in his seat of Penrith.

The Australian has established from several sources that Mr Ayres, who was taken out of the sport portfolio by Ms Berejiklian after the March state election, has lobbied fellow ministers and NRL figures in a bid to attempt to kill the proposed $810m redevelopment.

Mr Ayres, who has always been close to the trustees on the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust, including 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones, helped shepherd through the ongoing, controversial $729m knockdown and rebuild of Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney’s east. Sydney Football Stadium is managed by the SCG Trust.

The NRL has threatened to take the grand final out of Sydney if ANZ Stadium at Sydney Olympic Park at Homebush is not rebuilt as a rectangular stadium, as the government plans.

Despite Mr Ayres’ efforts The Australian understands current Sports Minister John Sidoti, who has recently stood aside pending an ICAC investigation, got the business case for the ANZ rebuild through the government’s expenditure review committee.

Mr Ayres, who has long spoken about the need for a new outer western Sydney stadium, declined to comment yesterday.

Several sources have told The Australian Mr Ayres, who is the member for Penrith, a seat he won by 1100 votes, has been lobbying to divert the ANZ funds to Penrith. The government, as part of a $2bn stadium spending program, has spent $360m building the new Bankwest stadium at Parramatta, which has regularly been filled this year. Acting Sports Minister Geoff Lee said: “There has been no change to the government’s stadium policy.”

The Australian revealed yesterday Mr Ayres granted a $350,000 low-interest loan to his local hockey association two weeks out from the caretaker period at the March election — and wrote to his successor in June asking him to write off the loan.

The loan, made in the final days of Mr Ayres’s tenure as the state’s sports minister, followed a $600,000 grant Mr Ayres made to the same Nepean Hockey Association two years earlier.

The Australian also revealed there were warnings from the state’s bureaucracy about a “reputational risk” to the government caused by a $12m grant the Penrith Panthers Leagues Club received for a community and sports centre while Mr Ayres was sports minister.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/na...t/news-story/31111d317c9a6a4dcbbca268b87e62fc

The fact that he is doing what he is shows that he thinks he is teflon and that he knows he can get away with any kind of shite because he has the likes of Alan Jones covering his arse.

The whole Olympic Stadium demolish/reno is now irrelevant to him as it's not in his interest or portfolio to get anything done. He achieved his two public aims...getting Bankwest sorted and starting the work on Allianz whilst (behind the scenes) hooking up his mates Jones and Tony Shepherd, plus white-anting Mike Baird. Sidoti is in deep doo-doo and with Gladys B on the nose don't be surprised that he is lining himself up as a potential Lib leader & premier in waiting.

Finally, the stuff he's done and is doing in the Riff is just covering his arse in an electorate where he has been rarely seen fighting the good fight for locals. Pandering to the Panferz is a great way to keep himself on the good side of the power brokers out this way.

[Wanderboy]

33 minutes ago, ManfredSchaefer said:

The fact that he is doing what he is shows that he thinks he is teflon and that he knows he can get away with any kind of shite because he has the likes of Alan Jones covering his arse.

The whole Olympic Stadium demolish/reno is now irrelevant to him as it's not in his interest or portfolio to get anything done. He achieved his two public aims...getting Bankwest sorted and starting the work on Allianz whilst (behind the scenes) hooking up his mates Jones and Tony Shepherd, plus white-anting Mike Baird. Sidoti is in deep doo-doo and with Gladys B on the nose don't be surprised that he is lining himself up as a potential Lib leader & premier in waiting.

Finally, the stuff he's done and is doing in the Riff is just covering his arse in an electorate where he has been rarely seen fighting the good fight for locals. Pandering to the Panferz is a great way to keep himself on the good side of the power brokers out this way.

Yep.

All of that is exactly what he is doing.

It's sickening that he is supposedly a servant of the people, being paid by the people, yet he continues to focus his decisions only on whatever it takes to further his own personal power/popularity/future prospects. Imo.

His agenda on stadium refurbs in this city has flip flopped so many times that I'm dizzy just thinking about them.

Let's not forget that ANZ was originally going to be a full knock-rebuild and was to be the 2nd stadium complete rebuild after Parramatta. That was, until Alan and Tony got into his ears. Suddenly, the SFS soon became priority and the ANZ rebuild was downgraded to just a reno. Now he wants that downgraded and Penrith has become a priority. FMD!!!

[ManfredSchaefer]

2 minutes ago, Wanderboy said:

Yep.

All of that is exactly what he is doing.

It's sickening that he is supposedly a servant of the people, being paid by the people, yet he continues to focus his decisions only on whatever it takes to further his own personal power/popularity/future prospects. Imo.

His agenda on stadium refurbs in this city has flip flopped so many times that I'm dizzy just thinking about them.

Let's not forget that ANZ was originally going to be a full knock-rebuild and was to be the 2nd stadium complete rebuild after Parramatta. That was, until Alan and Tony got into his ears. Suddenly, the SFS soon became priority and the ANZ rebuild was downgraded to just a reno. Now he wants that downgraded and Penrith has become a priority. FMD!!!

It's simple.

Leave the Olympic Stadium as it is. It will host somewhere in the region of 6-8 major sporting events each year max, and for such a limited amount of games the amount of money required for a reno or a demolish is excessive.

SFS is going ahead so get that built, then take say a good chunk of change saved by not doing up the Olympic Stadium & renovate key suburban grounds like Penrith, Warringah, Kogarah, Campbelltown & maybe Belmore. Make each one a fully seated venue and for the leaguies encourage the relevant clubs go back there. Waratahs, Smurfs, Roosters & Rabbitohs can play out of SFS and us & Parra can play out of Bankwest. The Bulls can sort out Campbelltown on their own.

Done.

[mack]

The NSW Government isn't going to do a thing for the suburban grounds because they don't own them.

[Wanderboy]

45 minutes ago, ManfredSchaefer said:

It's simple.

Leave the Olympic Stadium as it is. It will host somewhere in the region of 6-8 major sporting events each year max, and for such a limited amount of games the amount of money required for a reno or a demolish is excessive.

SFS is going ahead so get that built, then take say a good chunk of change saved by not doing up the Olympic Stadium & renovate key suburban grounds like Penrith, Warringah, Kogarah, Campbelltown & maybe Belmore. Make each one a fully seated venue and for the leaguies encourage the relevant clubs go back there. Waratahs, Smurfs, Roosters & Rabbitohs can play out of SFS and us & Parra can play out of Bankwest. The Bulls can sort out Campbelltown on their own.

Done.

It should be simple, but people like Ayres are making it complicated.

Sydney SHOULD HAVE a decent rectangular stadium with a high capacity. We are a predominately rectangular sporting team city, yet we don't have one.

Your claim that for 6-8 major sporting events a year isn't reason for the expenditure doesn't make sense. How many times a year does Wembley get filled. Or the MCG for that matter. Don't forget that ANZ stadium gets used for more than just sporting events. Adele sold out 2 x over 90000 capacity crowds twice last year.

This is more about the rugby codes and football consolidating their position in this city and fighting back Against the tide pushing in from the south. They need to be repelled.

In time, the suburban grounds you talk about may get upgrades, and I hope they do, but priority should certainly be focused on providing OZ's major city with a decent football compliant ground. Not some semi type circular shite of a ground that pleases no one.

[ManfredSchaefer]

2 hours ago, Wanderboy said:

It should be simple, but people like Ayres are making it complicated.

Sydney SHOULD HAVE a decent rectangular stadium with a high capacity. We are a predominately rectangular sporting team city, yet we don't have one.

Your claim that for 6-8 major sporting events a year isn't reason for the expenditure doesn't make sense. How many times a year does Wembley get filled. Or the MCG for that matter. Don't forget that ANZ stadium gets used for more than just sporting events. Adele sold out 2 x over 90000 capacity crowds twice last year.

This is more about the rugby codes and football consolidating their position in this city and fighting back Against the tide pushing in from the south. They need to be repelled.

In time, the suburban grounds you talk about may get upgrades, and I hope they do, but priority should certainly be focused on providing OZ's major city with a decent football compliant ground. Not some semi type circular shite of a ground that pleases no one.

Yeah, so lets renovate a stadium that is only going to be close to filled when there are 1-2 state of origins, the league GF & maybe a Bledisloe rugby test at a cost of $800 million+.

That's at the same time that neither Bankwest and a rebuilt SFS will sell out.

Instead of pissing away money on useless fooking stadia that are more often than not mausoleums to greed & bullshit I'd rather that money go on smaller suburban stadia that people actually will go to, or even better on health, education and other social capital that we really need.

[Hughesy]

3 hours ago, Wanderboy said:

It should be simple, but people like Ayres are making it complicated.

Sydney SHOULD HAVE a decent rectangular stadium with a high capacity. We are a predominately rectangular sporting team city, yet we don't have one.

Your claim that for 6-8 major sporting events a year isn't reason for the expenditure doesn't make sense. How many times a year does Wembley get filled. Or the MCG for that matter. Don't forget that ANZ stadium gets used for more than just sporting events. Adele sold out 2 x over 90000 capacity crowds twice last year.

This is more about the rugby codes and football consolidating their position in this city and fighting back Against the tide pushing in from the south. They need to be repelled.

In time, the suburban grounds you talk about may get upgrades, and I hope they do, but priority should certainly be focused on providing OZ's major city with a decent football compliant ground. Not some semi type circular shite of a ground that pleases no one.

The MCG and Wembley were renovated because of their historical significance as two of the worlds most famous grounds. ANZ is a generic Olympic stadium that’s only been around for a tick over 20 years. There’s no comparison. 

If the stadium is going to be so good at Moore Park then doesn’t that nullify any rebuild of ANZ and vice versa? Particularly when there’s only about 20k difference in capacity.

This whole stadium strategy is based on fantasy rather than practicality. You’ve got Allianz being proposed at a size that is too big to the point they’re going to install a multi million dollar ‘curtain’ to block off empty seats at 90% of games. Then you’ve got ANZ having $800m spent on it to basically put on a roof, make it a rectangle and actually decrease the capacity all for the sake of a handful of games that may fill it each year. As for concerts, I’ve read a few articles now about how promoters are struggling to bring regular acts to Australia that can pull a crowd big enough to justify renting ANZ let alone sell it out.

You mention Melbourne and it’s ironic because that’s another reason why we’re in this mess because NSW is obsessed with this one sided measuring contest about being the self proclaimed ‘sporting capital’. Who really cares? Our city dynamic and layout is completely different to their’s - which no one in any position of power seems to understand or want to acknowledge.

Once again they’ve ignored the thousands of people that flocked to suburban grounds to watch the footy whenever they had the chance for yet another season running in the NRL. Watching the Smurfs play at suburban grounds last season was the same deal too. 

The only thing that they’ve gotten right is BWS and that’s because it was a need not a want. The rest of this strategy is just an expensive pipe dream to give the government something to show off and gloat about.

[ManfredSchaefer]

16 minutes ago, hughsey said:

The MCG and Wembley were renovated because of their historical significance as two of the worlds most famous grounds. ANZ is a generic Olympic stadium that’s only been around for a tick over 20 years. There’s no comparison. 

If the stadium is going to be so good at Moore Park then doesn’t that nullify any rebuild of ANZ and vice versa? Particularly when there’s only about 20k difference in capacity.

This whole stadium strategy is based on fantasy rather than practicality. You’ve got Allianz being proposed at a size that is too big to the point they’re going to install a multi million dollar ‘curtain’ to block off empty seats at 90% of games. Then you’ve got ANZ having $800m spent on it to basically put on a roof, make it a rectangle and actually decrease the capacity all for the sake of a handful of games that may fill it each year. As for concerts, I’ve read a few articles now about how promoters are struggling to bring regular acts to Australia that can pull a crowd big enough to justify renting ANZ let alone sell it out.

You mention Melbourne and it’s ironic because that’s another reason why we’re in this mess because NSW is obsessed with this one sided measuring contest about being the self proclaimed ‘sporting capital’. Who really cares? Our city dynamic and layout is completely different to their’s - which no one in any position of power seems to understand or want to acknowledge.

Once again they’ve ignored the thousands of people that flocked to suburban grounds to watch the footy whenever they had the chance for yet another season running in the NRL. Watching the Smurfs play at suburban grounds last season was the same deal too. 

The only thing that they’ve gotten right is BWS and that’s because it was a need not a want. The rest of this strategy is just an expensive pipe dream to give the government something to show off and gloat about.

We just spent 3 seasons hating the whole shitfight of going to SOP & the Olympic Stadium. And some folk think a 75,000 capacity renovated Stadium is going to magically dissipate the antipathy & loathing of those who will be expected to go there such as Canterbury, maybe Souths, even the Waratahs or the Smurfs if the SFS comes a gutzer.

You get it Hughesy 

[matty]

Major stadiums aren't built or renovated by governments with any particular sport in mind, it's all about the money. 

State governments are constantly trying to attract events to their population centres, having the best, most capable facilities, aides that. $800 million is nothing if it helps a government attract events and people (tourists) - comparatively these major events bring in millions every year. 

 

[Hughesy]

The other thing I’d like to know is why ANZ requires a roof when every sport that is played there can still go ahead despite rain?

[ManfredSchaefer]

7 hours ago, matty said:

Major stadiums aren't built or renovated by governments with any particular sport in mind, it's all about the money. 

State governments are constantly trying to attract events to their population centres, having the best, most capable facilities, aides that. $800 million is nothing if it helps a government attract events and people (tourists) - comparatively these major events bring in millions every year. 

 

Ok, this is the same bullshit line that we heard from Ayres about the stadium policy in general. The mantra is if you have premium venues you get premium events with big returns on the investment. Well that's crap.

If one looks at the renovation or development of SFS, Olympic Stadium & BankWest into amazing rectangular venues that means they are only going to be suitable in a sporting context for league, union & sokkah. So what kind of huge events will each sport be then capable of bringing to Sydney & from there justify the spend?

League? Well that's the NRL GF & one or two SOO games per year. We already have those events here & they are not going to change unless the NRL decide to cut their own throat & neglect their single largest market in the world. Yes QLD can offer some nice digs in Brisbane but Suncorp is only roughly 10% bigger in size than the new SFS, plus the govt up there will be looking at their dumbarse Olympic bid as a priority. So without any spend on a new or reno'ed Sydney Olympic stadium we will continue to see the biggest League games in Sydney for many years to come.

Now what about Union? The biggest events there are the RWC & a few test matches, with maybe a Waratahs game. The RWC is a once every 4 year event that cycles through a very small group of countries. We've already hosted it twice, the first time alongside NZ. Aside from us, the four home nations, France, South Africa, currently Japan and maybe Italy & Argentina would have reasonable expectations to host. The IRB know they can always go with one of these options. Yes, another country might lodge a bid like a Qatar 2022 scenario, but then it's not the stadia that are crucial but the political and commercial benefits to the IRB to go with such an option. A brand spanking new ANZ will mean jack shît in that context.

As for one off international rugby games the Bledisloe is the only one that could possibly fill a renovated ANZ, but with Optus in Perth & the MCG being alternate options it then comes down to possible subsidies from the stadia owners/operators and/or state governments to sweeten deals to bring a Wobblies vs All Blacks game there. Perth has a big problem in that it's 5 hours behind NZ so the ARU are going to be expecting the Kiwis to accept a late night broadcast whilst the MCG is already bigger than ANZ & is going to be even more capacious after the reno. The Australian Rugby Union can easily demand of the NSW government subsidies or inducements to play here in Sydney and a you beaut ANZ  will not change this expectation.

Finally we have our own sport. As we all know the big prize to get is a World Cup, either men's or women's. So, after seeing how FIFA operates with our 2022 bid, does anyone seriously believe huge new expensive stadia win the hearts & minds of FIFA? Okay, the men's tournament is out of reach, but maybe we could be a reasonable chance for 2023? Bullshit...the stadia issue is meaningless because we have zero influence at the highest levels of FIFA, we're too far away & in the wrong time zone for the key football markets of Euope & the Americas, and both the NRL & AFL won't play nice when it comes to a bid. Oh, and then there's FFA's incompetence & poverty.

So with the three sports that drive the supposed logic of multi-million investment in rectangular stadia not really reliant on said development to deliver the big events that the policy is nominally designed for, why the fück should the NSW govt piss away $800 million on a rebuilt Sydney Olympic Stadium? Why not spend a portion of that money on suburban venues where people actually want to go on a regular basis, year after year? Or push those dollars into other more important social capital like schools, hospitals and transport? The stadium policy as it was and as it is will not be the key to bringing big events that'll rake in millions for the state government coffers & fir local businesses. Politics, subsidies and a myriad of other issues drive this issue and tn believe otherwise is either naïveté or stupidity.

[matty]

Not just 'sports' Manfred 👍

I actually didn't mention sports. 

As I pointed out, governments see this kind of expenditure (upgrading the biggest venues) as an investment, $800 million isn't much in that context. 

And please don't lump my arguments in with dirty Ayres 

Edited September 26, 2019 by matty

[ManfredSchaefer]

5 minutes ago, matty said:

Not just 'sports' Manfred 👍

I actually didn't mention sports. 

As I pointed out, governments see this kind of expenditure (upgrading the biggest venues) as an investment, $800 million isn't much in that context. 

And please don't lump my arguments in with dirty Ayres 

Not having a go at you but the argument you have cited is exactly what Ayres uses as the reasoning behind the stadium policies we've seen these last few years

As for other non-sporting events, again where is the evidence that they are reliant on you beaut stadia that are hugely expensive monoliths. If that was the case why is it that both Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift put up with the 'inadequate' ANZ last year? 

If you really want to get to the reason why state governments invest in huge stadia it comes down to the following:

• Looking after their developer mates
• Making it look like they're doing something useful for the public
• In Sydney, doing what Alan Jones and the SCG Trust want you to do
• Getting into a dick measuring contest against interstate pollies

[Potkorok]

22 minutes ago, ManfredSchaefer said:

Not having a go at you but the argument you have cited is exactly what Ayres uses as the reasoning behind the stadium policies we've seen these last few years

As for other non-sporting events, again where is the evidence that they are reliant on you beaut stadia that are hugely expensive monoliths. If that was the case why is it that both Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift put up with the 'inadequate' ANZ last year? 

If you really want to get to the reason why state governments invest in huge stadia it comes down to the following:

• Looking after their developer mates
• Making it look like they're doing something useful for the public
• In Sydney, doing what Alan Jones and the SCG Trust want you to do
• Getting into a dick measuring contest against interstate pollies

The frustrating thing here is that if Ayres et al hadn't been successful in lobbying to have the SFS rebuilt, we would probably not be having the argument about ANZ. The fact remains that Moore Park is a dog of a place to get to unless you live in Paddington and that, generally speaking, crowds for major events at Homebush have been larger than Moore Park because all of us Westies/South Westies can actually get there and home more easily than Moore Park. I agree that as a week in/week out ground for our games atttracting 5-15000 people it's pretty dire, but I have been able to get family members from the West/Blue Mountains to come to numerous major events (esp WC qualifiers, state of origin and NRl GFs) because they can get to the ground more easily and it's also better designed for large crowds than Moore Park(S1 GF at SFS anyone??)

I will agree that $800m seems excessive for what they're planning, but then all infrastructure in Oz seems to be astronomically expensive (greedy mates with their hands out I assume - everyone seems to have to get their "share".....).

Finally, if the Olympic stadium had been converted to a rectangular ground after the Olympics as it should have been, none of this would be relevant - and of course it wasn't because of the AFL/Cricket numpties and pollies!

[ManfredSchaefer]

1 minute ago, Potkorok said:

The frustrating thing here is that if Ayres et al hadn't been successful in lobbying to have the SFS rebuilt, we would probably not be having the argument about ANZ. The fact remains that Moore Park is a dog of a place to get to unless you live in Paddington and that, generally speaking, crowds for major events at Homebush have been larger than Moore Park because all of us Westies/South Westies can actually get there and home more easily than Moore Park. I agree that as a week in/week out ground for our games atttracting 5-15000 people it's pretty dire, but I have been able to get family members from the West/Blue Mountains to come to numerous major events (esp WC qualifiers, state of origin and NRl GFs) because they can get to the ground more easily and it's also better designed for large crowds than Moore Park(S1 GF at SFS anyone??)

I will agree that $800m seems excessive for what they're planning, but then all infrastructure in Oz seems to be astronomically expensive (greedy mates with their hands out I assume - everyone seems to have to get their "share".....).

Finally, if the Olympic stadium had been converted to a rectangular ground after the Olympics as it should have been, none of this would be relevant - and of course it wasn't because of the AFL/Cricket numpties and pollies!

Stadium policy post Sydney 2000 has been abysmally run by all parties. It has also been heavily influenced by the intrusive & disruptive agenda of the SCG Trust. Their membership includes many big hitters in politics & commerce who are not afraid of manipulating the government and media to affect the changes in policy they want. Then of course you have individual sporting groups such as the AFL , Cricket Australia & the NRL. Joe Public matters nothing to the power of nought over the square root of fook all in these matter.

I would argue that as it stands we now have Bankwest in Sydney and we will, whether we want it or not, be getting a new SFS. These are two primo venues with the individual and combined capacity to handle almost every major event of a sporting or non-sporting nature that we can reasonably expect to happen between now and say 30-40 years down the road. The Olympic Stadium is perfectly adequate for the small number of events that it would be expected to host for at least the next twenty years if not longer. Renovating it into a rectangular format does nothing for the non-sporting events it will be looking to host and for such a huge cost with minimal actual usage it's a criminal waste of public money. Meanwhile we have antiquated, barely adequate venues dotted around the city with a history of high usage plus the added benefit of being regularly used for lower tier sporting and community events. Instead of pissing away dollars on shiny toys for the big end of town & their rich & powerful mates we should be demanding that the state government and the opposition use public funds more wisely for our interest, not theirs.

[matty]

11 hours ago, ManfredSchaefer said:

Not having a go at you but the argument you have cited is exactly what Ayres uses as the reasoning behind the stadium policies we've seen these last few years

As for other non-sporting events, again where is the evidence that they are reliant on you beaut stadia that are hugely expensive monoliths. If that was the case why is it that both Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift put up with the 'inadequate' ANZ last year? 

If you really want to get to the reason why state governments invest in huge stadia it comes down to the following:

• Looking after their developer mates
• Making it look like they're doing something useful for the public
• In Sydney, doing what Alan Jones and the SCG Trust want you to do
• Getting into a dick measuring contest against interstate pollies

I don't agree with the Ayres inspired stadium policies At ALL. Doesn't change the fact that this is how governments (especially the more Populated states) see things. 

[Paul01]

18 minutes ago, matty said:

I don't agree with the Ayres inspired stadium policies At ALL. Doesn't change the fact that this is how governments (especially the more Populated states) see things. 

Your giving too much credit to Ayres as he's not that smart. 

He is the mouthpiece of Alan Jones and that's why the Sydney Stadium upgrades are f******

[mack]

They essentially got the policy right, replace the three most important stadiums in Sydney (Parra, SFS, ANZ), after sorting out a major upgrade to Newcastle. The cost is large, but in the terms of the NSW Government, it wasn't a particularly massive amount of money for three stadiums that will last minimum 30 years and probably upwards of 50+

And then Baird "forgot" about the bottle of wine, got ICAC'd and then Ayres took his shot to appease Jones and wrecked it when Gladys came in, she got spooked by "Fitzy" whinging and dumbed it all down.

[Carns]

13 minutes ago, mack said:

And then Baird "forgot" about the bottle of wine, got ICAC'd and then Ayres took his shot to appease Jones and wrecked it when Gladys came in, she got spooked by "Fitzy" whinging and dumbed it all down.

O'Farrell was the bottle of wine. Baird resigned for family reasons (and partly the greyhound racing ban fiasco) and went back into banking.