jim boy
Umpires Association Head
- Admin
- #1
After looking at the plans for the ground redevelopments, one can't help but feel impressed. Gone are the windswept rain chilled days of standing below the windsock on the outer wing. One particular standout memory was in 1980. 22000 punters turned up for the match against North. Howling winds and torrential rains meant that by half-time there would not have been more than (what seemed like) 50 people on the Moorabool St wing. Pity really as the Cats dominated, keeping North scoreless after half-time. These were the days of 10 home matches, with one match at Waverly.
Move forward 20 years and things are different. We're lucky if 8 matches are played at the ground, and these tend to be against team names that were non-existent back in the early 80's. Seats now dominate the wing and even they look like being replaced soon by the new stand.
The first match I ever saw was against Essendon at Kardinia Park. Geelong won by 7 points, but we had to leave midway through the last quarter. My dad wasn't much interested in footy or sport in general and wanted to avoid the crowds, but I was hooked and couldn't get enough. There was no possibility of something as extravagant as going to Melbourne to see a match. Soon enough though, I was going on my own, or rather with my friends, a band of 12 year olds. That was fine though. The ground was friendly enough and cheap enough for kids like me.
Which brings me back to the new plans. As a lifelong supporter and long-term member, I can't but feel that the plans have been delivered as a fait accompli. These plans affect not only the running of the club, but the way in which the club interacts with the community. It's doubtful the experiences I had as a kid may be possible for kids today. This puts the future of the club on the line, but it also puts Geelong into a subservient role within the football community. No longer will the people of Geelong be able to see certain other teams, such as Essendon or Collingwood as many supporters just won't travel to Melbourne to see matches. To me this is all very shortsighted and really does not take into account future likely trends.
For example, over the next 10-15 years, it's likely that 2 or 3 Victorian teams will no longer be with us. If interstate teams replace these teams, then that means that Geelong will probably only ever host non-Victorian teams. But what if these teams aren't replaced and the competition shrinks to 14 or 13 teams. These may be desirable to counter the over-exposure of football and reduce overall footy costs. In this scenario, even fewer matches would be held at KP, as the surviving Vic matches would be played at the G or at the Dome.
What I would like to have seen is the invitation to discussion of these plans, which are fundamental to the future of Geelong. Assess what the supporters think and then put a united plan forward. As it is, we are going with the plans of a bloke who wasn't even a Geelong supporter until a few years ago and who can never have the input of a lifelong Geelong supporter, although I think he is ideal as the arbitrator, simply because he is a bit detached.
I think there are a number of issues. For example limiting the crowd size to 28,000 is regrettable. This ensures that in the future, the matches against Collingwoods and Essendons won't be held in Geelong. This not only gives a tactical advantage to these clubs, but also diminishes the worth of the club to the local community. A packed 35000 at Kardinia Park is a more attractive spectacle than the half empty MCG that was the opening round of this season. It could also be a lot more profitable as well. If the club was to be able to say that a minimum of two matches against the bigger clubs be held in Geelong each year, then that may boost memberships in the local community by as much as 10,000. An extra million dollars wouldn't go astray at Geelong.
Much as the recent trend has been about holding as many matches as possible at 'super' stadiums, this has only been a trend. I suspect St Kilda wish that they had never been forced to leave Linton Street. The trend to bigger stadiums may wither as their costs are prohibitive and clubs give up tactical advantage by playing at them. It is also an idea that has not caught on in other sporting codes, which suggests that it is not an ideal scenario.
The future of the home ground of the club, which the administration has correctly pointed out, is the future of the team. However the long term strategy appears to be based upon the status quo of footy being maintained like that second half score of North's many years ago. North has changed a lot since then as has footy. But will Geelong have the necessary setup to keep changing?
Move forward 20 years and things are different. We're lucky if 8 matches are played at the ground, and these tend to be against team names that were non-existent back in the early 80's. Seats now dominate the wing and even they look like being replaced soon by the new stand.
The first match I ever saw was against Essendon at Kardinia Park. Geelong won by 7 points, but we had to leave midway through the last quarter. My dad wasn't much interested in footy or sport in general and wanted to avoid the crowds, but I was hooked and couldn't get enough. There was no possibility of something as extravagant as going to Melbourne to see a match. Soon enough though, I was going on my own, or rather with my friends, a band of 12 year olds. That was fine though. The ground was friendly enough and cheap enough for kids like me.
Which brings me back to the new plans. As a lifelong supporter and long-term member, I can't but feel that the plans have been delivered as a fait accompli. These plans affect not only the running of the club, but the way in which the club interacts with the community. It's doubtful the experiences I had as a kid may be possible for kids today. This puts the future of the club on the line, but it also puts Geelong into a subservient role within the football community. No longer will the people of Geelong be able to see certain other teams, such as Essendon or Collingwood as many supporters just won't travel to Melbourne to see matches. To me this is all very shortsighted and really does not take into account future likely trends.
For example, over the next 10-15 years, it's likely that 2 or 3 Victorian teams will no longer be with us. If interstate teams replace these teams, then that means that Geelong will probably only ever host non-Victorian teams. But what if these teams aren't replaced and the competition shrinks to 14 or 13 teams. These may be desirable to counter the over-exposure of football and reduce overall footy costs. In this scenario, even fewer matches would be held at KP, as the surviving Vic matches would be played at the G or at the Dome.
What I would like to have seen is the invitation to discussion of these plans, which are fundamental to the future of Geelong. Assess what the supporters think and then put a united plan forward. As it is, we are going with the plans of a bloke who wasn't even a Geelong supporter until a few years ago and who can never have the input of a lifelong Geelong supporter, although I think he is ideal as the arbitrator, simply because he is a bit detached.
I think there are a number of issues. For example limiting the crowd size to 28,000 is regrettable. This ensures that in the future, the matches against Collingwoods and Essendons won't be held in Geelong. This not only gives a tactical advantage to these clubs, but also diminishes the worth of the club to the local community. A packed 35000 at Kardinia Park is a more attractive spectacle than the half empty MCG that was the opening round of this season. It could also be a lot more profitable as well. If the club was to be able to say that a minimum of two matches against the bigger clubs be held in Geelong each year, then that may boost memberships in the local community by as much as 10,000. An extra million dollars wouldn't go astray at Geelong.
Much as the recent trend has been about holding as many matches as possible at 'super' stadiums, this has only been a trend. I suspect St Kilda wish that they had never been forced to leave Linton Street. The trend to bigger stadiums may wither as their costs are prohibitive and clubs give up tactical advantage by playing at them. It is also an idea that has not caught on in other sporting codes, which suggests that it is not an ideal scenario.
The future of the home ground of the club, which the administration has correctly pointed out, is the future of the team. However the long term strategy appears to be based upon the status quo of footy being maintained like that second half score of North's many years ago. North has changed a lot since then as has footy. But will Geelong have the necessary setup to keep changing?
