Brookie gone? SFS new home ground?

[Mark from Brisbane]

I was talking to someone up here in "TV land", don't know if this is "just talk" or not but he said that Fox / Nein are really pushing for this as they can permenantly set up a whole stack of infrastructure which would save the whole mobile set up they have to do at the suburban grounds.

He said the cost saving is in the millions.

Currently TV "own the game", and with the current huge dollars on the table you can see fans being pushed further and further into the background on this.

I was also talking to a Sky Channel guy (regarding horse racing coverage)...he said apart from the big race days (the obvious ones) they'd much prefer to a facility with straight line tracks, in the middle of nowhere (cheaper to create and run), no crowd, no facilities needed just the gee gees, trainers, strappers etc.....with races running every few minutes. Again a huge cost saving with permenent infrastructure set up to handle it....NOW, I agree that's far fetched BUT you can see the thought line of these TV people can't you....all about savings and the fans ...well they don;t give a flying fig about them!!

I remember in the 80's they were talking about doing this at the races.Just have straight course racing,no crowds just participants and only for pay TV.It would have been way out of reach (distance wise) for most people to attend.What a souless atmosphere and the same will happen to football if this goes ahead.

Yes MBE, it would be souless BUT I guess for racing (and betting) it would be perfect.

The trouble is I think the NRL think that no matter what they do they'll still have a growing game....I would NOT be at all surprised to see membership numbers (right across the board) fall this year, and attendance figures for the regular season well down.

Some teams will not be affected, many will...Townsville for example on a Monday night will attract 6 supporters, 4 dogs and the Cowboys cheer leaders...it's just a fact up there that 90% of the crowd travels from way way out of town.

 

[The Who]

As a passionate fan, my comfort comes second to (a) being able to get to a ground, (b) getting a good, close view of the action and (c) being at a ground with a great atmosphere. I choose to sit on the hill, and have done so for almost 50 years. I don’t need to sit in a comfy seat, like those at the SFS. I don’t want to watch from the bleachers in an 80,000-seat capacity ground.
Personally, I think Brookie and Leichhardt ovals are the best for old-fashioned fans like me. I’ve watched baseball in luxury, air-conditioned comfort at Rogers Stadium in Toronto which had excellent food, individual toilets and all the modern conveniences. But it couldn’t match the atmosphere of Brookie.
The push by TV to move passionate Manly, Tigers, Sharks, Panther and Dragon fans from our home grounds into soulless stadia is yet another ploy to homogenize the sport and eliminate the ‘tribal’ aspects that I love so dearly.

 

[Shoe1]

Better still just put the horses on running machine treadmills, wouldn't need much land then.

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Or just play videos of old races with made up names for each horse, and silk colours changed digitally.

 

[Stevo]

I'm going to leave my tv on channel 10 when i go to watch a live game.

That will **** channel Nein! Lets get the word out! lol

 

[Phantar]

Here is the meaningless piece of fluff written by a nameless team of bureaucrats on hardworking Graham's behalf:

http://www.communities.nsw.gov.au/assets/pubs/corporate/NSW_stadia_strategy_2012.pdf

Admittedly it's a smaller scale issue, however I'm reminded of Bob Carr's decision to move commercial port activities out of Sydney Harbour - without allocating money to upgrading the necessary transport links with Botany Bay, Port Kembla or Newcastle.

Or Fatty O'Porkbarrell's head in the sand approach to a second Sydney airport in the Sydney Basin. His solution - move it to Canberra...what a fool.

 

[Captain Moondog]

Here is the meaningless piece of fluff written by a nameless team of bureaucrats on hardworking Graham's behalf:

http://www.communities.nsw.gov.au/assets/pubs/corporate/NSW_stadia_strategy_2012.pdf

Admittedly it's a smaller scale issue, however I'm reminded of Bob Carr's decision to move commercial port activities out of Sydney Harbour - without allocating money to upgrading the necessary transport links with Botany Bay, Port Kembla or Newcastle.

Or Fatty O'Porkbarrell's head in the sand approach to a second Sydney airport in the Sydney Basin. His solution - move it to Canberra...what a fool.

Or Hitlers idea to invade Poland...

 

[Frogz]

U can just smell the cr@p coming out of the ARLC now with their 5 year plan....Bye Bye Sydney clubs.....This has the ability to kull the local clubs and move them around.....

Super League is coming around again....only we cant afford another war....We r gunna get shafted

 

[Darren]

Always going to happen. No one is going to get shafted. You all sound too emotional! They are just saving costs by playing more teams at less grounds. It's not that hard to understand. We will be around for a long time. The salary cap and tv deal has kept us alive.

 

[Frogz]

Hope u a correct Darren but I dont think so....The grass aint always greener and sh1t creek aint that far away......MY OPINION b4 you all bag me.....

 

[Captain Moondog]

Always going to happen. No one is going to get shafted. You all sound too emotional! They are just saving costs by playing more teams at less grounds. It's not that hard to understand. We will be around for a long time. The salary cap and tv deal has kept us alive.

Did'nt the league form as a revolt against the Union status quo. I hate the thought that we are in thrall to CH9. Maybe it it's time for the commission to grow some balls and remember our roots.

 

[Frogz]

Commission have none.....None of them would remember their last root....and Gyngell will control.....

 

[Captain Moondog]

Commission have none.....None of them would remember their last root....and Gyngell will control.....

Gyngell knows diddley squat about football and all about the advertising dollar. Once the supporters think they're not getting a fair crack they'll leave, then there will be no product to sell.

 

[Darren]

The league has sold out to Nine! The AFL don't seem to have this problem.

 

[silvertail]

Plan A for me has always been about staying at Brookvale.

The new position on stadiums is keeping me awake at night. A holes, the lot of them. State goverment makes the easy decision to save on expenditure. The NRL commission is complicit with their silence.

So, what's Plan B? A privately funded stadium within 10km of Brookie, with a roof, seating up to 40,000, away from surrounding neighbours, with lots of parking may be the way to go. The north side of Sydney deserves a stadium as good as the south side.

 

[tookey]

Always going to happen. No one is going to get shafted. You all sound too emotional! They are just saving costs by playing more teams at less grounds. It's not that hard to understand. We will be around for a long time. The salary cap and tv deal has kept us alive.

Darren this announcement has been made as a prelude to the commision getting rid of a couple of sydney teams.

They desperately want to expand into Perth, SA and a second brisbane team but know there is not the talent to go around.

Therefore the only way to expand the comp and foxtel membesrhip is to cull several sydney teams

 

[Frogz]

And as the Balmain Tigers hang on to Sweet FA.....guess which one may be first to move....If Balmain go Western Suburbs dont have the dough.

Central Coast Tiger Magpies

 

[mickqld]

And as the Balmain Tigers hang on to Sweet FA.....guess which one may be first to move....If Balmain go Western Suburbs dont have the dough.

Central Coast Tiger Magpies

With the Gladiator pulling the money pin I'm guessing we will see the Central Coast Bear/Rabbits, Perth and a 4th QLD teams in a few years with Goodbye Tigahh playing in the background. If we get booted from Brookie or Panfers go from Penny park then we will hit the endangered species list as well. Is the Sharks ground commercial development going to happen or not ? If not then they are goooone too.

 

[The Who]

The Sharks developnment was formally approved a month back, and I read the club has been given $10-M to pay off its bank debts. So, for the next few years at least, the Sharks seem safe. They also own their own ground - unlike the rest of use using suburban grounds.
My concern for the Sharkes is that the development will not be successful. In Sydney 90% of apartment sales are to Asians (no, I'm not exaggerating), and I doubt this area will appeal to them.
I'd hate to see the Sharks go. They are a club with similarities to us, only their trophy cabinet is bare!

 

[Rambo1987]

the Sharks dont have a council that doesnt want progression of open spaces in the Shire. The Sharks are safe they make any money off the land (which they will) it will pay the bills then the Stadium.
As for us at Manly we are royally screwed in both directions state gov and local Council.

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

I reckon the Panfers might be forced to merge with the Eels, I think we will be forced to move, we might see a " SFS or see ya later" within a few years.....I may well be wrong and hope I am!!!