There have been results in 19 of the past 23 tests played there..... It may be a road but it produces results.
Design Ideas for new Perth Stadium
- Thread starter Admiral Byng
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V8s might add to that reservoir of knowledge .....
V8s might add to that reservoir of knowledge .....
As I referred, you take out Warne & McGrath and most of those games would have been draws.
hitthepost
Norm Smith Medallist
Or someone else could have stood up and played well.
Or the Aussie batsmen might have been different players who succumbed to the opposition bowlers, thus Australia got bowled out for an average of 200.
Or a meteor hit the ground in 1995 and the minerals from said meteor turned it into an English greentop.
We don't know.
Even in the time since Warne and McGrath most Tests are 5th-day results.
The thing about Adelaide Ovals traditional pitch is that it not only gives batsmen a chance to make big runs, but gives bowlers a chance to dominate at stages. Also early December pitches can be different to Australia Day break in late January which used to be the time it was played.
good idea.
Give the WACA a hundred year lease on the practice oval and let them fence it in. Let them use some of their ill gotten fortune from the sell off of the WACA to build a 5k seat grandstand, high performance training centre, WACAHQ etc. Then they get to relocate to brand new facilities right alongside 2 perfectly sized venues.
get the WACA boys to mow the lawns though. they know their shit.
Eastern Rangers
2015 Worsfold Medalist - Rowen Powell
I think this reads the situation pretty well.
Barnett knows he's good up until close to the election and he knows he'll be finished as a politician after the next election. Barnett will be principally concerned with his own agenda, which means supporting projects already paid for in the forward estimates. Which is why both the rail projects have been bumped back twice already.
blktreacle
Club Legend
wedgetail I agree that would be the best thing they could do.
So I didn’t want to start a new thread, and this old one seemed to start talking stadiums/grounds in Perth in general. But found this interest data about Perth sports home crowds in National Comps as of 26 Jan 2020.
It makes me wonder where the AFLW Eagles team will slot in. And the same if Perth was to get an NRL team.
But in terms of stadiums;
1. It seems like Perth Oval will never get that next upgrade for improved Corporate Boxes on the western side, due to crowds only ever being half full. The upgrades to put in better corporate facilities I think also increases the capacity, and surely no one would really be screaming out for that.
2. It would be great for the WACA to be downgraded in capacity with improved facilities to be able to host football games again to increase the number of events there. Such as WAFL and AFLW games.
3. Perhaps Perth needs a boutique rectangle stadium smaller than Perth Oval such as a capacity of 7,000, that is close to public transport in the CBD to host the National Rugby Championship (Union), and the W-League, and the grand finals for state soccer and rugby comps. Maybe at the East Perth Power Station site, to add to the sporting precinct of East Perth / Burswood. Perhaps it can become the headquarters Football West and NRLWA (since Rugby WA have a new home at WAIS) with a second and third pitch outside just for those two sports respectively. Then maybe put a WA Sports Museum in the old power station.
It makes me wonder where the AFLW Eagles team will slot in. And the same if Perth was to get an NRL team.
But in terms of stadiums;
1. It seems like Perth Oval will never get that next upgrade for improved Corporate Boxes on the western side, due to crowds only ever being half full. The upgrades to put in better corporate facilities I think also increases the capacity, and surely no one would really be screaming out for that.
2. It would be great for the WACA to be downgraded in capacity with improved facilities to be able to host football games again to increase the number of events there. Such as WAFL and AFLW games.
3. Perhaps Perth needs a boutique rectangle stadium smaller than Perth Oval such as a capacity of 7,000, that is close to public transport in the CBD to host the National Rugby Championship (Union), and the W-League, and the grand finals for state soccer and rugby comps. Maybe at the East Perth Power Station site, to add to the sporting precinct of East Perth / Burswood. Perhaps it can become the headquarters Football West and NRLWA (since Rugby WA have a new home at WAIS) with a second and third pitch outside just for those two sports respectively. Then maybe put a WA Sports Museum in the old power station.
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- Thread starter
- #1,286
Perth Oval probably doesn't need any more upgrades. It was planned and built at a time when the Glory and the Force were getting good crowds, and there was the prospect of getting an NRL team too. Since then all of those sports have dropped off sharply. It is hard to see any pressing need for upgrades.
The WACA is stuck in no-mans-land. It is too big for it's current use, but it will cost a lot of money to downsize. There are already plenty of other options for playing WAFL and AFLW, so a new ground is not really required. It is a bit of a luxury and we can plod along nicely without the WACA hosting footy matches. There are no matches that require something like a redeveloped WACA.
I don't think it is worth spending the money to build a new 7000 seater stadium to host once a tear events. Might as well just use Perth Oval but don't open up all the seating.
None of those events draw more than a handful of people - there are a couple of soccer grounds that can cope with that, like Dorrien Gardens and that place in Inglewood. The Force played both their NRC finals at UWA sports park and got about a thousand people to both - and i'm pretty sure that was with free entry (not sure how they'd charge for entry given it's not even fenced).
- Thread starter
- #1,289
The only thing I see the WACA has got going for it is the light towers.
But with modern LED technology it might be cheaper to just build new lights somewhere else rather than redevelop the WACA.
LED lights are much brighter and much cheaper, and use far less electricity than the older types. So fewer of them are required to light the ground to the required standard for TV. Fewer lights means the towers don't need to be quite substantial and heavy duty. Also it seems that these days we don't have such tall light towers either, the MCG and the WACA are about 75m, the lights at Canberra and Gold Coast are about 50m. They still seem to do the job just as well.
But with modern LED technology it might be cheaper to just build new lights somewhere else rather than redevelop the WACA.
LED lights are much brighter and much cheaper, and use far less electricity than the older types. So fewer of them are required to light the ground to the required standard for TV. Fewer lights means the towers don't need to be quite substantial and heavy duty. Also it seems that these days we don't have such tall light towers either, the MCG and the WACA are about 75m, the lights at Canberra and Gold Coast are about 50m. They still seem to do the job just as well.
Another problem with getting more events at the WACA ground is that it is a cricket oval first and foremost.
The football games that would best suit the WACA’s capacity would be the AFLW games. But the AFLW season overlaps with the end of the state cricket season so the cricket pitch would still be in the middle of the oval. And I don’t see it being financially worth putting and taking out the pitch multiple times.
The football games that would best suit the WACA’s capacity would be the AFLW games. But the AFLW season overlaps with the end of the state cricket season so the cricket pitch would still be in the middle of the oval. And I don’t see it being financially worth putting and taking out the pitch multiple times.
hitthepost
Norm Smith Medallist
To be correct the WACA pitch is always in the middle of the oval - but yes.
Yeah, there is a certain need for 5-15,000 capacity grounds for the AFLW. As in grounds with decent facilities as opposed to decrepit WAFL venues. I hope in the medium term West Coast use some of their tens of millions in cash reserves to assist in upgrading Lathlain Park (or somewhere else like Leederville) so that it can provide decent facilities for their AFLW team.
Fremantle Oval is by far the worst ground in the WAFL and is wholly unsuitable for crowds of more than about 2000. It should be a project the council (with the Dockers) should be championing - to turn Freo Oval in a quality 10,000 seat venue that can host AFLW, both WAFL clubs and other events (concerts, maybe a few cricket games, that sort of thing). Because it's in a great location and would bring people into the city. But I suspect the council wouldn't want to risk the "heritage" given it would almost certainly involve the demolition or relocation of the Victoria Pavilion and I don't know whether Freo FC give that much of a shit.
Considering how few AFLW games there are in their season at the moment, and the lack of other events in Perth that requires an oval and draws a crowd in the 5-15,000 range, it seems a waste for the Dockers and Eagles to play at two separately upgraded grounds.
Leederville Oval might be ideal, since it hosts both East Perth and Subiaco in the WAFL, and then it can host State games too. Try and maximise the benefits of usage coming from the expenditure of any upgrades.
Plus Leederville Oval is on the Main Street, central to the whole Metro area and is near the train station.
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Yeah, maybe. But it's important for the AFLW teams to have a bit of separation and keep some identity.
I like the idea of playing at Freo Oval, but it's such a shithole. I took my kids to a game there last year and it was just disgraceful how poor the facilities are when a crowd of 4000 or so show up.
I wouldn't say Leederville is ideal, there's not a lot of places to park and it's a bit of a hike from the train station. But given 2 WAFL clubs play there it gets more use week to week than Lathlain. And importantly it's in an entertainment precinct.
It would be pretty cool if both AFLW teams could have separate playing grounds. Though both AFL teams play out of the same stadium.
It’s a shame that Lathlain Park is outside the entertainment area of Vic Park.
Perhaps if Fremantle Oval is upgraded, East Fremantle would play home games there too.
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