News Gabba Upgrade & Olympics News

[brizrider]

Hope the RNA is picked as the interim venue. Not sure how much work they’d put into it to get it to standard but think that precinct has the potential to be a Wrigley Field style venue with a great mix of heritage and outside stadium space that could be activated for game days. Also think it would be a much better venue for cricket for a lot of games

 

[SpecialBruce]

Not ideal for members, but I reckon they should use Brighton Homes Arena. The AFL will fund it to get it developed to house a reasonable crowd?

Long term it means a good stadium for womens football and a better developed stadium. Plus it could be unique to us. Short term pain for long term gain.

 

[SpecialBruce]

Is Brighton Homes Area still being used for the Olympics? I remember them saying it would host the Modern Pentathlon and they would have to increase the capacity to twenty thousand.

If that is the case then perfect to get it there in 2 years.

 

[MSB ROYS]

Thinking Fitzroy v South aat the MCG might draw better than Lions v Swans at the Gabba especially if marketed right ... I don't suppose they play VAFA games there as well do they (double header)

Could play University Blacks for a VFL re-union.

 

[Walshawk]

Outstanding suggestion. AFL not smart enough to do this.

Lions really should be pushing for an extra Melbourne game while the Gabba redevelopment is taking place.

Put some money into Brunswick oval and play GWS there in the season. Would easily get 15k.

BSO has been open parkland for 30 years. There is literally nothing there besides the old stand that holds around 600 - 800.

Princes Park was home to Fitzroy for 10 years. On the right side of town. 1km from Fitzroy. Now holds 15k. Perfect spot for a few games.

 

[Mighty Lions]

Outstanding suggestion. AFL not smart enough to do this.

Lions really should be pushing for an extra Melbourne game while the Gabba redevelopment is taking place.

Put some money into Brunswick oval and play GWS there in the season. Would easily get 15k.

Ideally what the club want to do while the Gabba is unavailable is to have a facility that will seat 20,000 minimum (1st Priority is Springfield) to call home. For the big home games (such where the crowd would be 30,000 and upwards) they would like to play at the MCG. I see this as a good suggestion because it still keeps most members/supporters going to games and also gives our members in Melbourne more opportunities to watch our boys down there at the MCG where we desperately want and need to play more. I hope they get the support from the AFL.

 

[Kernel Kurtz]

The hill at the Gabba was the best place to watch and have a few drinks!

I don't really remember the games though, the rest was hilarious.
Like the time instead of throwing a beach ball around someone took his blow up girlfriend.
We laughed.

One of the last true places a yobbo could be right at home amongst their own kind.

 

[Thomasno]

Ideally what the club want to do while the Gabba is unavailable is to have a facility that will seat 20,000 minimum (1st Priority is Springfield) to call home. For the big home games (such where the crowd would be 30,000 and upwards) they would like to play at the MCG. I see this as a good suggestion because it still keeps most members/supporters going to games and also gives our members in Melbourne more opportunities to watch our boys down there at the MCG where we desperately want and need to play more. I hope they get the support from the AFL.

Feel like this is a great way to haemorrhage members and the support they’ve built up over the last 5-6 years.

Not to mention expanding Springfield to >20,000 (or even close to that) is either impossible or insane, with no inbetween. It currently holds what, 1/10th of that? And it is an absolute nightmare to get to, on game days already the highway is turned into a carpark as people fight to get off. Train is better, but the infrastructure quite literally isn’t there to support 20,000 people trying to take the train from Springfield station

 

[Fatcat08]

If we're going to play extra games in Melbourne then if i was a CEO then I would be looking at trying to get those games against the absolute highest drawing team I can possibly get and whether that is marvel or MCG, whatever the best deal i could get. We're going to go through a period of financial disadvantage over the coming years while the gabba is out of action. It would be immensely irresponsible not do do everything we can to recoup some of those losses. The above we get benefits for vic members, but we do it in a way that maximises the money we can make. Doing that against the swans would be leaving 20-30k tickets on the table, and that would be a less than desireable outcome.

 

[Mr Ripper]

Can't see how Springfield is a feasible option tbh. Hemmed in by a creek, a road and an admin building. Even if you extracted every square centimetre available for temp seating, it's hard to imagine a capacity boost to any more than 15-18,000. And when you take its limited accessibility into account, you might as well just go to Carrara - as unpalatable as that is.

Rooting for a redeveloped showgrounds miracle.

 

[LongLion]

Can't see how Springfield is a feasible option tbh. Hemmed in by a creek, a road and an admin building. Even if you extracted every square centimetre available for temp seating, it's hard to imagine a capacity boost to any more than 15-18,000. And when you take its limited accessibility into account, you might as well just go to Carrara - as unpalatable as that is.

Rooting for a redeveloped showgrounds miracle.

Rooting is a yank term. Prefer the oz way i.e.barracking

 

[dlanod]

Rooting is a yank term. Prefer the oz way i.e.barracking

To be honest, I prefer rooting.

 

[Squizz89]

Basically all these options are telling me one thing. We basically have 2 years to snare that flag we’re after. It’s going to get awfully hard after that for the best part of 5+ years.

 

[Fatcat08]

Rooting is a yank term. Prefer the oz way i.e.barracking

If Rip thinks extensive Rooting is the best way he can contribute then who are we to argue!

 

[Fatcat08]

Whatever happens, if they need to build anything before the end of 2025 they are almost out of time to hit that target. Otherwise is could very well be year 1 is thsi and then ongoing years are different after that. I'd say most of the holdup is getting cricket and afl to agree on one proposal together. There will be zero appetite from the government for a solution for each. Not much love lost between those organisations. And stupidly they're going to shoot themselves in the foot if they don't start working together.

As an aside, there are already Edu Dept plans in existence for moving the school, well before the olympics announcement. Have been a number of future feasibility studies into this, so the school moving was always going to be on the cards eventually.

 

[Viceregal]

Whatever happens, if they need to build anything before the end of 2025 they are almost out of time to hit that target. Otherwise is could very well be year 1 is thsi and then ongoing years are different after that. I'd say most of the holdup is getting cricket and afl to agree on one proposal together. There will be zero appetite from the government for a solution for each. Not much love lost between those organisations. And stupidly they're going to shoot themselves in the foot if they don't start working together.

As an aside, there are already Edu Dept plans in existence for moving the school, well before the olympics announcement. Have been a number of future feasibility studies into this, so the school moving was always going to be on the cards eventually.

I suppose a whole year of away games while we don't have the thing quite built yet then a whole year of home games where everyone comes to our places wouldn't work?

 

[Mighty Lions]

Feel like this is a great way to haemorrhage members and the support they’ve built up over the last 5-6 years.

Not to mention expanding Springfield to >20,000 (or even close to that) is either impossible or insane, with no inbetween. It currently holds what, 1/10th of that? And it is an absolute nightmare to get to, on game days already the highway is turned into a carpark as people fight to get off. Train is better, but the infrastructure quite literally isn’t there to support 20,000 people trying to take the train from Springfield station

Respect your opinion but dis agree with it in almost everything you say as a negative.

 

[jjami15]

Can't see how Springfield is a feasible option tbh. Hemmed in by a creek, a road and an admin building. Even if you extracted every square centimetre available for temp seating, it's hard to imagine a capacity boost to any more than 15-18,000. And when you take its limited accessibility into account, you might as well just go to Carrara - as unpalatable as that is.

Rooting for a redeveloped showgrounds miracle.

It’s called engineering.

 

[Mighty Lions]

Can't see how Springfield is a feasible option tbh. Hemmed in by a creek, a road and an admin building. Even if you extracted every square centimetre available for temp seating, it's hard to imagine a capacity boost to any more than 15-18,000. And when you take its limited accessibility into account, you might as well just go to Carrara - as unpalatable as that is.

Rooting for a redeveloped showgrounds miracle.

Well Rip, I guess they have already got some pretty smart people looking at that and talking with councils on how to manage all that and lots more. if you think they can do 18,000, i am sure another 2,000 wont be a problem.
Showgrounds is an option but limited in what they are willing to change to get it where it needs to be to play there along with accomodating supporters...either way, I'm confident they will work out a solution thats best for the club and its on-going success long term. The AFL will need to support the club as well while this dis-ruption causes everyone pain.

Be careful what you "root" for.

 

[briztoon]

Respect your opinion but dis agree with it in almost everything you say as a negative.

You can’t disagree with his comments about lack of infrastructure.

I’ve been out to Springfield at least a dozen times to watch the men train, and to watch the preseason games.

It’s a friggin nightmare to drive to, particularly the last 2-3 kilometres of highway, and then to find parking.

And those preseason games were what, 4000-5000 attendances.

Without widening the highway, adding more off ramps, and accessible parking, the thought of 20,000 fans heading out there for a Friday or Saturday night game is near unthinkable.

Of course that’s going to impact membership.


I remember you were very anti Springfield before we made the move, and possibly after as well, and were commenting that members of the playing group and administration, disliked the commute a lot.

Imagine how fans will feel, when it takes 30 minutes to travel the last 2kms to the off ramp in to Springfield.

 

[briztoon]

It’s called engineering.

It’s going to take some significant engineering, building over the kids entertainment area, as well as demolishing the current stand for a new one.

It’s not like they have the space around the whole ground to build seating for 20,000.

Most likely two thirds of the circumference, and there’s impediments behind all that area.

Creek on one side, roads on another two.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

Relying on anything towards the end of a rail line to move a large amount of people is going to be ugly.

That said, I don't think there's going to be a perfect solution, just a least shit one.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

It’s going to take some significant engineering, building over the kids entertainment area, as well as demolishing the current stand for a new one.

I don't know how much was added to Carrara with the temporary stands for the Commonwealth Games in the gap at the Northern end, but it's not out of the realms of possibility.

 

[Billy ray]

I don't know how much was added to Carrara with the temporary stands for the Commonwealth Games in the gap at the Northern end, but it's not out of the realms of possibility.

got it to 40,000 from memory

 

[SpecialBruce]

Rooting is a yank term. Prefer the oz way i.e.barracking

This is why we are sending him to the Collingwood board