Canberra's own AFL team

[Power Raid]

When Tasmania gets the 19th AFL licence, Canberra should get the 20th.

GWS has been great for footy in Canberra, but playing only eight games in Sydney can’t last forever. As they continue to grow, eventually the Giants will have to leave the ACT to focus more on Western Sydney (or Los Angeles).

My proposal would be for nine men’s games a year in Canberra and one each at Wagga and Albury to incorporate everything from Canberra to the Murray.

Canberra-Queanbeyan is fast approaching 500k people (double Hobart). With Wagga and Albury, that’s a potential fanbase of 650k.

While Canberra is not the “heartland” that Tasmania is, we have more adults (15+) playing footy in the territory than both rugby league and rugby union participants combined, despite them having full-time professional teams playing in town.

Canberra makes more sense than Tassie. Canberra has the population, the population is in one location rather than over an entire state, the population is growing and the population has income.

Tassie is romantic but Canberra makes sense

 

[ziad]

Canberra makes more sense than Tassie. Canberra has the population, the population is in one location rather than over an entire state, the population is growing and the population has income.

Tassie is romantic but Canberra makes sense

Canberra is also the unofficial capital of the Riverina - north of the Murray which is very supportive of AFL.

 

[Power Raid]

Oh and relocation of a Melbourne based side makes more sense than a new club.

Further every Melbourne based side should play games in regional area such as Darwin, tassie, country Vic to build new markets

 

[TigerTrain23]

Is there room to expand Manuka to a 25,000-30k seat venue in future?

 

[Robertio]

Canberra is also the unofficial capital of the Riverina - north of the Murray which is very supportive of AFL.

Canberra is not in the Riverina

Canberra is also the unofficial capital of the Riverina - north of the Murray which is very supportive of AFL.

Canberra is not in the Riverina.

 

[The Burger King]

Kanberra Kangaroos

 

[madmug]

Canberra is not in the Riverina

Canberra is not in the Riverina.

You'd be looking at about a 6-8 hr return trip to watch a game.

 

[Ok Boomer]

More games in the snow would be cool I guess.

 

[Canberra Pear]

Is there room to expand Manuka to a 25,000-30k seat venue in future?

There was a proposal by GWS a few years back called Manuka Green to upgrade the stadium to 19,000, but it was shut down by local community groups.

What is the true vision for 'Manuka Green'?

Wow! Did anyone see the new idea for Manuka Oval coming? The proposal – launched on Wednesday by the GWS Giants AFL Club and Australia’s biggest privately-owned construction company, Geocon – presented a rough concept to reinvent the low-rise, somewhat agricultural cricket ground into an...

theshaker.com.au

 

[The Warlord]

The Canberra Saints or Canberra Kangaroos sound alright to me.

Doesn't to me.

There will almost certainly never be a stand alone Canberra team.

Definitely not within the next 20 years anyway.

Why are you ratting on Port?

That's the bigger question this thread sparks imo.

 

[Dinsdale]

It's been a tricky run for exciting games. Nobody wanted to watch the Giants get flogged, then nobody wanted to watch the Giants flog everyone.

The AFL has been kinder the past few years. We've had the Bulldogs after their premiership and GWS prelim rivalry, Richmond and Hawthorn (even if it was in the snow). It will be interesting to see if we can sustain these crowds through the next part of the GWS deal.

the snow game was a ripper!

 

[Canberra Pear]

Doesn't to me.

There will almost certainly never be a stand alone Canberra team.

Definitely not within the next 20 years anyway.

Why are you ratting on Port?

That's the bigger question this thread sparks imo.

You'll love coming to Canberra to see the Roos! Perfect excuse to see Questacon.

A full-time team for Canberra would also mean I would get to see Port play three times as often.

 

[The Warlord]

You'll love coming to Canberra to see the Roos! Perfect excuse to see Questacon.

A full-time team for Canberra would also mean I would get to see Port play three times as often.

This is why there'll never be one, among other reasons.

 

[Canberra Pear]

This is why there'll never be one, among other reasons.

No doubt there will be a period of transition from Canberra becoming everybody's second team to more of a first team.

Most AFL fans in Canberra support GWS as a secondary team, but they're becoming more supported as a first team for a lot of people. There are 5000 or so Canberra members.

I know a Sydney fan who's taken GWS as her second team, but her kids have adopted GWS as their first. Giants gear is becoming more and more visible around the city, so I imagine something similar would happen on a larger scale with a full-time team.

 

[The Warlord]

No doubt there will be a period of transition from Canberra becoming everybody's second team to more of a first team.

Most AFL fans in Canberra support GWS as a secondary team, but they're becoming more supported as a first team for a lot of people. There are 5000 or so Canberra members.

I know a Sydney fan who's taken GWS as her second team, but her kids have adopted GWS as their first. Giants gear is becoming more and more visible around the city, so I imagine something similar would happen on a larger scale with a full-time team.

AFL doesn't care whether 20,000 people turn up to a game or not, it is about eyeballs.

If you are all watching footy anyway, then they don't need you, they've already got you.

FWIW I thought North's model of playing four games up there was really good, but our idiot board back then got seduced by the Gold Coast.

AFL knows it needs some footy content up there to hold off rugby and soccer, but it knows it'll never support a full time team.

GWS are it for now and probably forever I'd say.

 

[CURVE]

No, tiny market. Wouldn't work.

It is estimated that the Canberra region will grow to more than one million by 2050 so it has more potential than Tasmania. Also Canberra itself is expected to more than double in size over the next 50 years, from 430k to over 900k by 2070.
Canberra is the next market that all sporting codes should be looking at if they don’t already a team.

 

[Canberra Pear]

AFL doesn't care whether 20,000 people turn up to a game or not, it is about eyeballs.

If you are all watching footy anyway, then they don't need you, they've already got you.

FWIW I thought North's model of playing four games up there was really good, but our idiot board back then got seduced by the Gold Coast.

AFL knows it needs some footy content up there to hold off rugby and soccer, but it knows it'll never support a full time team.

GWS are it for now and probably forever I'd say.

A good point about us already watching footy anyway. There's definitely room for growth, but not as much as a NZ or Western Sydney market could provide.

My other thought about getting more games would be if GWS remained for their current three home games a year, then other Melbourne teams seeking a bit of cash could play a home game against the Giants here, too. If North, Saints and the Bulldogs all played a home game here against the Giants, we'd have essentially a full-time team with six games (Brumbies only have eight home games), and you'd only be given up a low-drawing team for your Melbourne home games.

 

[dylan93]

If anything, make it a territorian team that plays games in Darwin, the Alice and Canberra. #sorted

 

[The Warlord]

A good point about us already watching footy anyway. There's definitely room for growth, but not as much as a NZ or Western Sydney market could provide.

My other thought about getting more games would be if GWS remained for their current three home games a year, then other Melbourne teams seeking a bit of cash could play a home game against the Giants here, too. If North, Saints and the Bulldogs all played a home game here against the Giants, we'd have essentially a full-time team with six games (Brumbies only have eight home games), and you'd only be given up a low-drawing team for your Melbourne home games.

AFL doesn't allow that.

 

[Senor M]

Will the AFL Fixture Canberra's home games around Parliament sittings weeks to ensure that 1/3 of the population is actually in town and not flying off to their electorates/Singapore?

 

[Canberra Pear]

Will the AFL Fixture Canberra's home games around Parliament sittings weeks to ensure that 1/3 of the population is actually in town and not flying off to their electorates/Singapore?

That's a tricky one. We'll have to cram all our home games into a four weeks.

 

[Freomaniac]

No, tiny market. Wouldn't work.

Theres 400,000 that live in Canberra. Market is too tiny.

People want a team in tassie where Launceston and Hobarts population is 200,000 each.

Bastardization post to me.



As someone posted, Canberras population will be 1 million by 2070 or so.

Canberra is a good location too and here is why. Its only 248 kms from Sydney. Its also 654 kms away from Melbourne.

Canberra is expected to get away games vs the Victorian sides. Very likely to face the NSW twice each year.

 

[1990crow]

Canberra kangaroos

 

[Mr Magic]

Canberra is also the unofficial capital of the Riverina - north of the Murray which is very supportive of AFL.

you have NFI

Canberra is special. Its all government and limited by the state. If not government something dependent on government. Very on horse town and like others said transition.


Trouble with ACT is its small georgraphically and very one dimensional. It needs to get a bigger slice of NSW to it but do you thing the states would agree on that??

One thing in Canberra's favour there is money in the town

 

[Aussie in exile]

There was a proposal by GWS a few years back called Manuka Green to upgrade the stadium to 19,000, but it was shut down by local community groups.

What is the true vision for 'Manuka Green'?

Wow! Did anyone see the new idea for Manuka Oval coming? The proposal – launched on Wednesday by the GWS Giants AFL Club and Australia’s biggest privately-owned construction company, Geocon – presented a rough concept to reinvent the low-rise, somewhat agricultural cricket ground into an...

theshaker.com.au

Who will pay for the upgrade?