Interesting Richard Hinds article

[Phantar]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/forget-talk-of-old-homes-find-new-places-to-play-20120214-1t4au.html

 

[WESTIE]

Phantar....if Brookvale doesnt get the funding for upgardes it deserves, and soon, then surely the club must bite the bullet and consider the SFS...i know it isn't home, but i reckon the average home crowds would increase considerably, playing out of a modern stadium with decent facilities

 

[Duff]

Northern Beaches people wont cross the bridge, it's a fact that the club, and westie have to accept. They'd want to be pretty sure that the increased corporate could more than cover a 10k drop in crowds. We'd average about 6000 playing out of the SFS i'd guess.

 

[Eagles Terrorist]

As someone who drove up the F3 to Gosford many times (a great footy ground), has been to the SFS more times than I remember (also a good footy ground) and plenty of times out to ANZ Stadium (only good when nearly full), I could watch our team anywhere within reason.

Brookvale is first choice, but if you love the team, then get on the bus, car, train, car pool and get to the game. It ****s me that there is this excuse that those on the PENNinsula (get it?) don't travel. Why not? It's not vital to have a beer at every game is it?

 

[Hamster Huey]

Brookvale is our spiritual home, but if we don't seriously consider using the SFS, then it could very well be our graveyard.

The dollars are just not available to make Brookvale a suitable stadium, and if consideration for a more general 'Northern Sydney' stadium is also ignored, then it is a must to take our home games to the SFS.

To those that wish to continue that fans don't travel across the bridge, the more central location will actually prompt more of our fans from across Sydney to attend IMO.

If the choice is Brooky and limping from year to year financially, or the SFS and financial security, then I have to be a realist and go with the SFS option.

 

[The Who]

We'd get half the crowd if we relocated to the SFS. Yes, it is a good comfortable ground. But Easts only get a meagre number of people to attend their matches - and they live nearby.
The SFS with a crowd anything less than 25,000 has very limited atmosphere. Attending the footy is all about atmosphere. If it wasn't we'd all stay home and watch it on TV.
That's what we are going to miss when we take our Melbourne match to Perth (but I digress, at the risk of flogging a dead horse).
Watching footy at Brookie is an experience. Matches at the large, corporatised grounds are for bloated company execs who are more interested in the food and drink, and begrudgingly watch the match behind glass to drown out the unruly crowd noise.
Many on here claim taking matches to these soulless arenas will be our financial saviour. Perhaps, but these games will be played before small crowds with TV producers having to play clap-tracks over the action to fool their viewers into thinking the match has atmosphere.

 

[Eagles Terrorist]

Matches at the large, corporatised grounds are for bloated company execs who are more interested in the food and drink, and begrudgingly watch the match behind glass to drown out the unruly crowd noise.
Many on here claim taking matches to these soulless arenas will be our financial saviour. Perhaps, but these games will be played before small crowds with TV producers having to play clap-tracks over the action to fool their viewers into thinking the match has atmosphere.

Totally disagree with the comment about company execs. I'm not bloated, I've sat with and witness the same tribal atmosphere at SFS as exists at Brookie, witnessed the same from the other team's crazed supporters - especially when it's Roosters, Souths and Tigers.

And even the very poor crowd for the semi against the Cowboys had a good atmosphere because the Manly supporters were largely all together - as it should be.

My gripe is many say they are supporters but are too lazy to travel across the bridge. Half arsed supporters maybe a better term?

 

[The Who]

I'm not bloated either and I like to think of myself as a company executive - so don't take it personally. It was hyperbole.
However, I take exception to your last sentence about half-arsed supporters. I was at the SFS that night and all the finals series but getting to these matches is a tedious, difficult and costly exercise. I can fully understand why people don't attend the SFS or Homebush.

 

[kurri eagle]

I can make it from the Hunter Valley , and went to the semi at the SFS . If the ppl of the Northern Beaches can't travel maybe the club should be packed up and relocated.

 

[Eagles Terrorist]

I'm not bloated either and I like to think of myself as a company executive - so don't take it personally. It was hyperbole.
However, I take exception to your last sentence about half-arsed supporters. I was at the SFS that night and all the finals series but getting to these matches is a tedious, difficult and costly exercise. I can fully understand why people don't attend the SFS or Homebush.

Apologies, wasn't necessarily directed at you. But I still find it perplexing that we can't get 20,000 to 25,000 to a semi final at the SFS.

Are you going to Perth? I'm thinking of it. Could be interesting to see what sort of atmosphere is there.

 

[The Who]

I'm not bloated either and I like to think of myself as a company executive - so don't take it personally. It was hyperbole.
However, I take exception to your last sentence about half-arsed supporters. I was at the SFS that night and all the finals series but getting to these matches is a tedious, difficult and costly exercise. I can fully understand why people don't attend the SFS or Homebush.

Apologies, wasn't necessarily directed at you. But I still find it perplexing that we can't get 20,000 to 25,000 to a semi final at the SFS.

Are you going to Perth? I'm thinking of it. Could be interesting to see what sort of atmosphere is there.

Regarding that SFS match with the Cowboys: My son and I were in the Manly supporters bays and enjoyed it, but earlier we had met friends who had been given free tickets (GA) to the match and said they could have had as many tickets as they liked. It shows that Manly fans did boycott that match - even free tickets couldn't sway people.
Re Perth: I considered it and asked my son if he'd be interested if I paid (as dad's always do) and his response was a classic: "No, it will only encourage the club to take more matches there!"

 

[Stevo]

? half arsed supporter = not a true supporter ?

 

[Eagles Terrorist]

Re Perth: I considered it and asked my son if he'd be interested if I paid (as dad's always do) and his response was a classic: "No, it will only encourage the club to take more matches there!"

If memeory serves me correctly the Manly Club agreed to go to the SFS for a semi early in teh season? Maybe the Club needs to take more resposnibility to get supporters intersted and transported to a game like this?

Re RE Perth - If your son has given you the flick, I'll go with you if you pay! And I think my wife wants to go too.

 

[The Indian]

Having a ground like Brookvale will prove our point of difference in the coming years when most other clubs are playing in generic stadiums. I think we would be mad to give it up without a fight. We need to improve Brookie yes BUT retain the features that make it great.

We dont need SFS Part II - We need

1) Corporate facilities improved to somewhere near competitive with bigger stadiums. An absolute must. Pump the money in here.
2) Improvements in toilets & catering - just to fair levels.
3) A Stadium that can hold 20,000 comfortably & a few more at a stretch - plus keep 10 to 15,000 of them dry during wet weather.

Remember in the 90's when it was cool to change your name from Easts/Balmain/Canterbury etc to Sydney this and Sydney that because marketing experts suggested they would draw wider fan bases ??? Proved to be a total crock . Moving away from Brookvale and Nth Sydney an area on a million plus people with no other league team to an area where 6 or more other NRL teams may be using is madness & will lead to our decline & then extinction.

Brookvale plays a big part in games won & the vibe of the whole club & our success.

 

[Stevo]

Was it ever confirmed that Manly voted not to play semis at suburban grounds? I thought the official line was that it was a majority vote?

 

[Hamster Huey]

We'd get half the crowd if we relocated to the SFS. Yes, it is a good comfortable ground. But Easts only get a meagre number of people to attend their matches - and they live nearby.
The SFS with a crowd anything less than 25,000 has very limited atmosphere. Attending the footy is all about atmosphere. If it wasn't we'd all stay home and watch it on TV.
That's what we are going to miss when we take our Melbourne match to Perth (but I digress, at the risk of flogging a dead horse).
Watching footy at Brookie is an experience. Matches at the large, corporatised grounds are for bloated company execs who are more interested in the food and drink, and begrudgingly watch the match behind glass to drown out the unruly crowd noise.
Many on here claim taking matches to these soulless arenas will be our financial saviour. Perhaps, but these games will be played before small crowds with TV producers having to play clap-tracks over the action to fool their viewers into thinking the match has atmosphere.

The club can put the point to the fans now and tell them that anything less than a 15000 average for the next two seasons WILL see them move to the SFS. Make the fans get off their arses, rain, hail or shine, and show they want to stay at Brookie. If the numbers continue on their current course, there soon won't be an option.

---

I'm not bloated either and I like to think of myself as a company executive - so don't take it personally. It was hyperbole.
However, I take exception to your last sentence about half-arsed supporters. I was at the SFS that night and all the finals series but getting to these matches is a tedious, difficult and costly exercise. I can fully understand why people don't attend the SFS or Homebush.

Apologies, wasn't necessarily directed at you. But I still find it perplexing that we can't get 20,000 to 25,000 to a semi final at the SFS.

Are you going to Perth? I'm thinking of it. Could be interesting to see what sort of atmosphere is there.

Regarding that SFS match with the Cowboys: My son and I were in the Manly supporters bays and enjoyed it, but earlier we had met friends who had been given free tickets (GA) to the match and said they could have had as many tickets as they liked. It shows that Manly fans did boycott that match - even free tickets couldn't sway people.
Re Perth: I considered it and asked my son if he'd be interested if I paid (as dad's always do) and his response was a classic: "No, it will only encourage the club to take more matches there!"

It was a ****e time and not family friendly. That was a bigger issue than not playing Brookie IMO.

The bad feeling leading to that event, doesn't have to be replicated if the need for a full-time move is investigated. The local fans need to take ownership of this issue of average crowds, otherwise complaining after the fact just makes them look like Bears fans.

 

[Eagles Terrorist]

The local fans need to take ownership of this issue of average crowds, otherwise complaining after the fact just makes them look like Bears fans.

Now that is the smartest thing any of us have said in this thread. I think.

Take up membership, and get to the game. No matter when it's on at Brookie.

 

[Mals]

I think we need a 30,000 seat stadium at Chatswood. Who's got the cash to build it?!?

On a serious note unless we get major funding grants to improve Brookie Oval within the next 5 years we need to search for alternative options. I would hate to see our club relocated out of Sydney but I would prefer that than see us become the next North Sydney or Newtown...

 

[WESTIE]

what shytes me is , the majority of people on the north shore would travel to and from work, 5 days a week , in peak hour traffic , or on a ferry ?...yet wont drive the 19.5 ks ( 25- 30 mins ) to the moore park ?? after the northern beagles debacle, if this team does move out of sydney, i reckon thatd be end of any support they get from the area....i bet those same people who couldnt be farked , would be the same ones going to AWAY games to watch their transplanted eagles playing against other syndey teams and thus contributing to the other teams finances through gate receipts.

 

[Stevo]

Why would you want to do it on the weekend after doing it all week?