Heritage gates
Patersons Stadium (Subiaco Oval) - Discussion
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Nothing outside of the heritage listed gates, the buildings you can see in the background are a new high school being built on the site. Where the Subiaco playing surface was will become the schools oval.
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It's almost an out of body experience passing through West Leederville station and not seeing the 3-tier stand or the light towers. I can't imagine what it would be like if the same thing now happened to something like Docklands or The Gabba.
RussellEbertHandball
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3 tier stand was there for 50 years - opened in time for 1969 season.
Of all the major stadiums in Oz, I reckon that would have been the second oldest when they started knocking it down. Can only think of the Ladies Stand at the SCG surviving the bulldozers over the last 30 years or so.
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What Subiaco Oval looks like now
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The idea was that stand would be on the wing of an oval running North/South extending close to the railway reserve.
Also the idea was for the stand to extend all the way around the ground making for a super stadium.
Instead Subiaco Oval was developed two story only along existing lines which led to the wings being thinly accommodated.
RussellEbertHandball
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Are you saying it was opened 1973 or that's the date of your picture?
1969 was always what I was told, heard or read it opened, so I looked up the Austadium page for Subi. Looks like it was opened in time for 1969 finals not full season.
Subiaco Oval | Austadiums
Information about Subiaco Oval in Perth including venue layout, history, records, events, map, tickets, directions and accommodation.
www.austadiums.com
Subiaco Oval was built in 1908 and was then known as Mueller Park, with the first match on 9th of May in that year between Subiaco and East Perth. The facilities have been consistently improved since. The three-tier grandstand which dominates the end behind the goals opened on 31 August 1969 and the two-tier Stand on the members’ wing on 27 April 1981. The stand opposite the members stand opened on 14 May 1995 which included two tiers of seating and corporate boxes on the wing.
Gordon Farkas
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Date of the picture. It's the 1973 WAFL Grand Final.
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That guy's voice really annoys me. He also didn't mention the fact the 3-Tire Stand was weirdly behind the goals and not on the wing because they had intended to change the oval direction but, of course, politics and the ineptitude of the WAFC got in the way. Otherwise that's great.
Not only change the direction but the three tier stand was supposed encircle the oval. The W.A.F.C. had to sell the land next to railway that was essential for the new alignment but the new stadium was only two tier and no thought of buying air space on the wings where it was needed,
errant bounce
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All these youtube nerds speak the same way.
Same smug cadence and bland gamer accent.
Also, how would you realign the ground when one end would be a train line and the other a key road?
How it was able to operate into the 2010s was just one of those 'shut up, we're fixing it' things. if there was a fire it would have killed just about every one above row D.
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errant bounce
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I also think about 95% of my experiences at Subi were in the three tier stand, either right at the back where you just locked into your seats because the toilets were a quarter of footy away or at the very bottom where you were almost below sea level. plenty of good games though in the better parts of those tiers where you'd get some real vocal and clued up Freo people.
Sat once on the skinny wing for a round 1 (?) classic against the Cats when I was a student. that was a real treat. think it cost me about 80 bucks. it was the game where that little shit Ballantyne got smacked by that psychopath Scarlett. I remember having a really good kebab post-game back near uni accom where I lived at the time.
Sat once in the new stand at the city end with my dad and it was genuinely, and no hyperbole, one of the worst games ever played. Brisbane came over and I think about nine goals were scored in the whole game. ****ing horrible.
The city end was only constructed in 1999 but it felt way more like Optus Oval's Legends Stand than it did Docklands – and both were of the same era, essentially.
Horrible ****ing ground, we'd always lose when I went, and it took about three packed trains and four ghost trains before you finally got back to Freo.
But the crowds had way more soul and knowledge. these days you get kicked out for swearing and everyone claps politely. most of the time people just go to the game to scarf shit food and drink watered down piss. it's a shame. still hold those Subi days in real warmth, though.
Sat once on the skinny wing for a round 1 (?) classic against the Cats when I was a student. that was a real treat. think it cost me about 80 bucks. it was the game where that little shit Ballantyne got smacked by that psychopath Scarlett. I remember having a really good kebab post-game back near uni accom where I lived at the time.
Sat once in the new stand at the city end with my dad and it was genuinely, and no hyperbole, one of the worst games ever played. Brisbane came over and I think about nine goals were scored in the whole game. ****ing horrible.
The city end was only constructed in 1999 but it felt way more like Optus Oval's Legends Stand than it did Docklands – and both were of the same era, essentially.
Horrible ****ing ground, we'd always lose when I went, and it took about three packed trains and four ghost trains before you finally got back to Freo.
But the crowds had way more soul and knowledge. these days you get kicked out for swearing and everyone claps politely. most of the time people just go to the game to scarf shit food and drink watered down piss. it's a shame. still hold those Subi days in real warmth, though.
I had little experience with the 3 tier stand but each time it seemed weird whether it was the incline, short spans, small concourse, close seating, i don't know.
This stand was the supposed template for the entire ground. How would that have been?
What would have the capacity been?
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We had a fireman come to do a safety course for us at work when Subi still existed and he said if there was a fire in the three-tier stand it would have been a disaster. Wooden seats, not near enough to any exits. How did it not get closed down to be up to standard. WAFC being well connected...again?
errant bounce
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A few weeks ago they were talking about the surface at Optus on AFL 360 (I am a loser, yes) and one of the players said it had always been slippery and inconsistent and worse than most local grounds, Whately said something like 'have the players considered a boycott?' and one just answered 'well where else would you play in Perth?'
I remember some of the dinky, shithouse 'upgrades' they made from the 2000s onwards and it was like something Homer Simpson would do – single layers of paint not even cut in, Sanyo TVs. it was diabolical.
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I thought those wooden seats got replaced. Unless if he's talking about the 1981 2 Tier stand that was next door
Yer it was wooden seats in the 2 tier stand. The 3 tier stand had plastic seats but they had no leg room and your knees would be jammed against the row in front.
I’d totally agree the 3 tier stand was a fire hazard - unfortunately alot of people would have perished in any sort of excavation. There was a lack of exits and it was just so cramped in there - it was long past its used by date.
The last few seasons I would only sit at the city end in the newer built part of the ground cause it was relatively fine,
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