"The home of football"

[melbournemartin]

Other codes do it. Why can't the AFL?

Which other codes?

In Australia the NRL is always set in a venue. A-league soccer is the only one that seems to have a variable Grand Final venue, but that's a much smaller league than the AFL and NRL and therefore easier to schedule at the last minute. Also AFL and NRL have obvious heartlands in Melbourne and Sydney, respectively. That's not the same with soccer.

And heck, even the Big Bash Cricket is moving to a fixed grand final venue in Canberra.

 

[Indie_]

What codes? Nrl is at anz every year,champions league is picked months in advance. Same with the FA cup. You have to hire hotels,catering,security entertainers and more you can't do it in a week

The A-League do it. The Big Bash do it.

 

[Stevi_Tigers]

The A-League do it. The Big Bash do it.

Big bash are going permanent from Canberra now. But none of those draw the same crowd or have what's involved with the grand final

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

Who said anything about WC playing in it? I might like to just go and see it for the sake of doing it? Any year I pick i'll still have to incur the same cost.

Blame the gouging airlines. Unfortunately these days, it seems to coincide with school holidays so there's a double whammy.

GF last year, one way Perth to Melbourne $1,500 unless you took the punt and booked well in advance. Most other times I can get a return flight for $400-$500.

 

[Indie_]

Big bash are going permanent from Canberra now. But none of those draw the same crowd or have what's involved with the grand final

The Big Bash is moving to a neutral venue. If the AFL wants to find a neutral venue for every GF, that works for me too.

 

[Gibbsy]

Papermate why the **** are you being so stoic in 'proving' your point? Most OP's welcome the discussion and maybe chime in two or three times; you're rebutting practically every single response and shooting everyone down. Not sure what the aim of your thread was apart from pushing a pretty weak agenda

 

[Shoei]

Blame the gouging airlines. Unfortunately these days, it seems to coincide with school holidays so there's a double whammy.

GF last year, one way Perth to Melbourne $1,500 unless you took the punt and booked well in advance. Most other times I can get a return flight for $400-$500.

But it's just another cost that Victorian fans don't have to take into consideration and just brush off.

People bitch and moan about the cost of a GF ticket, now dump an extra few thousand dollars on top of that for travel, hotel etc etc EVERY YEAR.

It would be great to see the burden shared occasionally.

 

[bombersfan4000]

The A-League do it. The Big Bash do it.

The afl is by far the biggest game in australia and biggest revenue earner.

The soccer and bbl are minnow comps
The nrl hold their GF in Sydney every year.

why should the AFL change

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

But it's just another cost that Victorian fans don't have to take into consideration and just brush off.

People bitch and moan about the cost of a GF ticket, now dump an extra few thousand dollars on top of that for travel, hotel etc etc EVERY YEAR.

It would be great to see the burden shared occasionally.

I reckon the only place you'd ever think of moving it to would be the new Perth stadium when it's built. I love the SCG and I'd love to go to the Adelaide Oval for a game but they're just not big enough, capacity wise.

 

[Indie_]

Papermate why the **** are you being so stoic in 'proving' your point? Most OP's welcome the discussion and maybe chime in two or three times; you're rebutting practically every single response and shooting everyone down. Not sure what the aim of your thread was apart from pushing a pretty weak agenda

Because everyone else is wrong. Well unless you agree with my argument.

 

[Gibbsy]

Because everyone else is wrong.

A surefire way to make yourself look like an idiot

 

[Bayer_]

We don't currently have an equal competition and how do you propose that the AFL "break" their contract?

So the AFL compensates the MCC for breaking a commitment (would cost 8 or 9 figures), all so Sydney can have a home grand final? Do they think it'll give them a 9.8% advantage?

 

[Tippett2Goal]

But it's just another cost that Victorian fans don't have to take into consideration and just brush off.

People bitch and moan about the cost of a GF ticket, now dump an extra few thousand dollars on top of that for travel, hotel etc etc EVERY YEAR.

It would be great to see the burden shared occasionally.

Pretty much, even this year with no WA team in the final for 2 of us im looking at $2000+ in flights and $700+ in accom, before anything else is accounted for.

Makes for an expensive weekend.

Last year I know people who spent 6k in flights alone when Freo made it....

 

[Kummerspeck]

So the AFL compensates the MCC for breaking a commitment (would cost 8 or 9 figures), all so Sydney can have a home grand final? Do they think it'll give them a 9.8% advantage?

Hawks fans seemed pretty hell bent on the AFL breaking a contract with ANZ or 7 last year for an 18 hour break and their inability to do so was sooked about pretty seriously. What's changed now?

 

[Indie_]

So the AFL compensates the MCC for breaking a commitment (would cost 8 or 9 figures), all so Sydney can have a home grand final? Do they think it'll give them a 9.8% advantage?

Well if you're so keen on making the competition fair, why not do it? It's not just Sydney who would benefit from this. There are 8 teams interstate who'd love to be able to play a home GF if they've earned it by finishing first.

 

[Bayer_]

Hawks fans seemed pretty hell bent on the AFL breaking a contract with ANZ or 7 last year for an 18 hour break and their inability to do so was sooked about pretty seriously. What's changed now?

They didn't have to break the contract. They should just have made the lesser team play on Sunday. And they certainly shouldn't have given John Longmire tickets to spy when he didn't deserve to finish a day early. It was a disgrace.

 

[a_fighting_fury]

Best stadium in the world, in the world.

/

 

[Bayer_]

Well if you're so keen on making the competition fair, why not do it? It's not just Sydney who would benefit from this. There are 8 teams interstate who'd love to be able to play a home GF if they've earned it by finishing first.

The competition's been made pretty 'fair' for you, with free agency and COLA. The AFL's bent over backwards to help interstate clubs with their finals arrangements.

But the real reason it can't happen is the lead in week, as it's too elaborate and special to plan in a week. And certainly couldn't be done in a suburban wasteland, in a shit stadium.

 

[Kummerspeck]

They should just have made the lesser team play on Sunday.

There's a reason I mentioned 7 in contracts.

 

[Scotland]

Build a stadium that holds 100,000.

Then what?

If there is a 100,000 seat stadium in Sydney does the 2014 GF move there because Sydney are in it?

Is the decision that the GF will be held in Sydney made before the season starts? Going to look like dills having Hawthorn vs North (for example) in Sydney...

 

[Mkcaptain]

Organising the venue based on highest ranked team after the prelim would be a logistical nightmare, it just couldn't be done. If there were adequate venues rotating it each year would be a different (and more feasible) argument. But then you encounter the same problem of fairness where Sydney could finish higher on the ladder but come up against Adelaide the year it is scheduled in Adelaide. Personally I don't see the problem with playing it at the MCG every year, and if anything I'd say the current system works very well.

 

[HolyWars]

All cities build a 100,000 capacity stadium and then we can have this conversation.

There is no way the AFL would do it unless they had a similar capacity stadium to play it at.

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

I do believe the AFL has contractual arrangements with the MCC for some years to come to hold the GF at the MCG. It would be a shame to move it from there but as better stadiums are becoming available interstate I wouldn't mind if say a GF that involves both teams from the one state be played in their home state instead. Like Crows V Port at AO, or WCE v Freo at the new stadium to be built etc. etc. But the current arrangement would have to expire before that happens.

This is going to be an issue once we see two non-vic sides from the same state playing in a GF. It will happen one day.

 

[BornPort]

It's fine to continue having the GF at the MCG but at least let the interstate sides play a couple of games there during the year. We had 1.

 

[radiojake]

Get stuffed -

I am pretty parochial of SA footy and it irks me how often Victorian footbal history seems to take precedence over the other states..

However, not in a million years would I want to see the GF moved away from the MCG -

Don't Syndey have that much talked about 'BLOODS CULTURE' from their South Melbourne roots? Should be fine playing a GF just over the yarra from your spiritual home..