Victorian Clubs Moving Home Games: When will they start taking them to Sydney ?

[understudy]

Games seem set to go to Qld at Carrarra next year (Nth?). Lots of games gone to places that will never be able to fund and support AFL (Tas, ACT, NT etc).

When is a team going to bite the bullet and take some games to Sydney, either at the SCG or Telstra Stadium?

Where is the AFL in proactively trying to encourage this?

Would the SCG and Telstra Stadium throw up incentives for this to happen?

The AFL has a long term goal of getting a game in NSW and Qld every weekend, surely they should be proactively moving to encourage extra (non Swans) games in Sydney as soon as possible?

 

[MrSquashed]

Games seem set to go to Qld at Carrarra next year (Nth?). Lots of games gone to places that will never be able to fund and support AFL (Tas, ACT, NT etc).

When is a team going to bite the bullet and take some games to Sydney, either at the SCG or Telstra Stadium?

Where is the AFL in proactively trying to encourage this?

Would the SCG and Telstra Stadium throw up incentives for this to happen?

The AFL has a long term goal of getting a game in NSW and Qld every weekend, surely they should be proactively moving to encourage extra (non Swans) games in Sydney as soon as possible?

Melbourne and Western Bulldogs already have, in the last 5 years each club has played 2 HG @ SCG (i think) and they have all been really good matches too, but the only reason is because its almost always near sell out (because of sydney fans) and always gross's a LOT of money for the cash starved piggy banks

 

[Warwick]

Melbourne play a home game in Brissie each year. Do they play one at the SCG as well?

 

[Giants FC]

Melbourne have never played a home game at the SCG. The Western Bulldogs have played their home game against the Swans up here since 2000 - that money comes from the Swans, not from the SCG Trust.
I can't see any club flying in to Sydney to play non-Swans games. The Kangaroos' experience in 1999-2000 would put some clubs off that would consider it.
If they're playing games to test the waters for a possible relocation, they'd be best off saying so. Otherwise there's no point coming up here, Sydney already has a full-time team so doesn't need any one-off games between teams from out of town.

 

[understudy]

Sydney already has a full-time team so doesn't need any one-off games between teams from out of town.

Fair enough but they only play in Sydney every second week, AFL has a goal of getting a game in Sydney every weekend.

 

[Secco]

The Bulldogs started playing 2 games a year in Sydney, but changed that to 1 in Sydney & 1 in Darwin.

 

[scarecrow2k1]

You have to perform in those games or get criticised ala Melbourne in Brisbane

 

[Giants FC]

Fair enough but they only play in Sydney every second week, AFL has a goal of getting a game in Sydney every weekend.

Sydney people won't get behind teams flying in to play occasional exhibition games. It works in Tasmania and Canberra because that's all they've got, but when the Swans are here already it doesn't make sense. I'd go, but 4-figure crowds would be the rule rather than the exception.
A second Sydney team playing their home games at Homebush could work in the long term, but would take a lot of promotion and cash injection in the short term to survive. I'd love to see it, and having a game in Sydney every week would be fantastic - and the local derby would be sensational. But it's a long and expensive project.

 

[RizzoTheRat]

It's hard to think of a Vic club with enough drawing power. The Pies? The crowd would be mostly wetbacks.

 

[eirinn]

Sydney already has a full-time team so doesn't need any one-off games between teams from out of town.

Why not? I for one would love to get to some games that don't involve the Swans. I can't make it down to Melbourne more than a couple of times a season, so a game involving a team other than the Swans in Sydney would absolutely delight me.

It might also be good for some of my more parochial fellow swans supporters.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

North did, and Colless came out on Sydney radio and sumped on the idea big time. (This was before a few fools decided to wear Swans gear and sell North memberships.)
That was fair enough in his role as head of the Swans, protecting hios pown from a threat, but he was also CEO of NSW/ACT footy at the time; and was actually slamming the idea of football being played in Sydney. Of course, he has never had that problem with the Swans getting a home ground advantage for an away game, only for neutral matches that might somehow threaten the Swans' monopoly.

The real point is though, a part time presence is not going to work in a market that has a full time team. So for a team to play games in Sydney they basically will have to move to Sydney and no club wants to do that.

 

[MrSquashed]

Melbourne have never played a home game at the SCG. The Western Bulldogs have played their home game against the Swans up here since 2000 - that money comes from the Swans, not from the SCG Trust.
I can't see any club flying in to Sydney to play non-Swans games. The Kangaroos' experience in 1999-2000 would put some clubs off that would consider it.
If they're playing games to test the waters for a possible relocation, they'd be best off saying so. Otherwise there's no point coming up here, Sydney already has a full-time team so doesn't need any one-off games between teams from out of town.

last 4 years melbourne have played at least 1 and that was in either 2004 or 2005, which sydney won, and was a damn good match too.

 

[whythelongface]

The Bulldogs started playing 2 games a year in Sydney, but changed that to 1 in Sydney & 1 in Darwin.

When did they start playing 2 games a year in Sydney? I certainly can't recall that ever happening.

 

[Rob]

Not much point playing games in Sydney unless you're going to relocate there, they already have an opportunity to watch AFL regularly.