What is Your favourite (and least favourite) AFL ground you have been to?

[clarkoscluster]

Travelled to quite a few grounds... my order (from the current grounds) is -

1. MCG
2. Etihad Stadium
3. GABBA
4. ANZ Stadium
5. Simmonds Stadium
6. AAMI Stadium
7. SCG
8. Metricon Stadium
9. Aurora Stadium
10. Patersons Stadium

 

[crazywildhorse]

I guess I have been to a few now.

1. The MCG rules for me, Even when there are only 30k at the ground its still got a great atmosphere. I thought that even before the Hawks took it as a home ground.
2. SCG. It's got a great 'boutiquey' atmosphere. Good viewing and you feel really close to the game.
3. WACA. I mostly grew up in Perth back when friday night games were played there. I don't know why but I really liked it.
4. Waverley. I loved that you could sit just about anywhere. Viewing was good and had a decent atmosphere. The down side was that it was 'way out there' and I can confirm, 'arctic'.
5. and 6. Can't separate Subiaco and Etihad. Etihad has great viewing but does lack a little as far as Atmosphere goes. Subi has morphed a lot in the last 20 years. A bit of atmosphere but some really crappy seats.
7. Bruce Stadium (In Canberra). I went to a pre season game there when I was a kid. It felt like you were looking into a bucket. I don't know if it is still like this but the playing arena if I remember was surrounded by a concrete retaining wall. Very strange ground

 

[Whiskers]

Been to pretty much all the grounds.

MCG is by far the best
Kardinia Park as I'm biased
Etihad you feel very close (lv 2)
SCG has a decent feel but bad memory of 05
Metricon is very nice but loses points for travel options
Pattersons
Gabba
AAMI
ANZ
Aurora
Manaka

Also been to waverly, princess park, vic park, whitten oval for matches. Vic Park was rotten.

 

[putitontheboot]

1. MCG - absolutely no contest whatsoever. Even walking to the ground gives you goosebumps
2. Gabba - Great viewing, excellent location in Brissie. Facilities superb
3. Waverley - great memories growing up despite being freezing
4. Princess Park - similar to Gabba, just harder to get a seat

Daylight

5. Etihad – an artificial, soulless dump of a place. Also located in the docklands; another cross

 

[cats81]

Best - MCG, is one of the best stadiums in the world

Worst - Optus Oval, was hard to get a good seat and full of morons

Other

Simmonds Stadium (Kardinia Park) - Has been great to go to the last 5 years but I stand on the terrace so doesn't beat the G

Etihad Stadium - Good view from most areas but lacks atmosphere and beverages suck

Waverly - Loved the wooden benchs and generally a good view but too far away from everything

AAMI - Was in the players box which was fun but I presume it is shit by the look of it and lacks public transport

SCG - In the main sponsers box which was great and it looked like a great atmosphere on the outer (was the 05 semi final )

 

[Bomber32]

1. MCG - Easily the best stadium for watching footy. Magnificent atmosphere for 75k+.

2. Etihad - Great atmosphere, accessibility to public transport and very close to the action.

3. Gabba - Accessibility and atmosphere make this stadium one of the best.

4. SCG - Great view and atmosphere.

 

[basashi]

Travelled to quite a few grounds... my order (from the current grounds) is -

1. MCG
2. Etihad Stadium
3. GABBA
4. ANZ Stadium
5. Simmonds Stadium
6. AAMI Stadium
7. SCG
8. Metricon Stadium
9. Aurora Stadium
10. Patersons Stadium

Have to agree. MCG charged me $20 to get in and gave me my choice of some excellent seats. You can't argue with 1970s pricing.

Subi is a total dog of a ground and everyone involved with the decision to redevelop it into its current state rather than start again from scratch... you should be washing cars for a living, not making important decisions.

 

[GordonBlue]

I know I'm bias, but the feeling I got from Princes Park is something I know I will never feel again at the footy... which is really sad...

I felt it was home... I felt very welcome and loved every wooden seat and old bars...

I miss going to the footy at PP like nothing else...

I went to Skilled 2 years ago, and I just saw how Geelong fans adored their home... it's just a different feel and I did feel really jealous. Geelong fans should really appreciate what they do have, which I sure they do.

After that comes the MCG, especially for a big game... amazing feeling

Etihad is shit in all sense. I don't like the people traffic getting out of the game, I don't like going to a Carlton game and seeing Essendon, St Kilda and North flags outside the gate. I don't like seeing Locket and Coventry ends, I don't like the lights, I don't like that if I sit on the top level, the Green roof support gets into the way of the screens... I just don't like that ground.

Waverley I liked because it was local to me, but traffic, car park, the wind and the cold was ridiculous... plus seats were really uncomfortable

 

[Dazb86]

I grew up really close to Waverly so that was my favourite ground.

I like etihad the best of the current lot. Mainly because I get good seats there.

Don't mind the G though. Walking up to the ground has an atmosphere in itself.

 

[RichardL]

1 - MCG. There just is something special about the place. It feels like a big game going there. It might not be the same for a Melbourne game with a low crowd, but a 77000+ crowd for a Collingwood v Carlton game in 2007 got me hooked on the sport.

2 - Skilled Stadium. Maybe it's the narrowness of the field, but the crowd really feels on top of the field, more compact than other venues. It also benefits from feeling like a proper "club ground", giving it an ambience unlike any other (regular) AFL venue

3 - The Gabba. A beautiful well-proportioned ground, that looks far bigger than its capacity.

4 - SCG. The old stands are special. The rest of the ground is slightly generic I suppose, but it still has something about.

5 - Subiaco. A little more run-down than I imagined, and it would certainly have got a much worse rating had the heavy June showers not cleared for perfect blue skies during the game I went to. It is a good sunny day venue though, and was a good place to watch a close Fremantle v Geelong clash in 2009.

6 - Etihad. I've been here three times, and from a purely functional point of view, it is a great stadium. I just don't like domed stadiums though, as they give a dark claustrophobic effect to any game when the roof's shut. The place is also a little too grey.

7 - AAMI Stadium. It probably didn't help that it was a miserable wet afternoon when I saw the Crows beat North Melbourne, nor did it help that it was a dull one-sided game. It doesn't look anywhere near as big as its capcity, and the stadium itself is incredibly utilitarian and dull. Nor does it help being way out from the city, involving a steam cold bus ride to get there from the centre. I'm sure it all seemed perfectly logical in the 1970s, but a move to the Adelaide Oval can't come soon enough, in my opinion.


Although I didn't see an AFL game there (obviously) I did have a look round Princes Park, and it struck me as a real shame that they don't play the odd game there now and then. I went there in 2007, and apparently some of the stands have since been knocked down, but back then it looked capable of hosting games the next day.

If/when I get back to Australia (I live in England and have only been twice, squeezing 9 AFL games + 1 WAFL into two two-week trips) I hope to take in AFL at Adelaide Oval, as well as some of the other venues to see how they compare live to those seven.

 

[bedford]

MCG easily, but have a place in my heart for the Lake oval and even the Junction oval which had all the transport and parking.

Worst, i can't split ANZ ( shit hole that sells shit beer ) and Etihad, prices and security are over the top.

 

[Rik E Boy]

Best, the Gabba. A really good place to watch the footy. The worst, Optus Oval. That was a lot of fun watching an AFL match at a ground designed to fit in SANFL crowds. I was happy when they closed that dump down.

The coldest would be Waverley and Geelong BRRRR.

 

[magic_johnson!]

If/when I get back to Australia (I live in England and have only been twice, squeezing 9 AFL games + 1 WAFL into two two-week trips) I hope to take in AFL at Adelaide Oval, as well as some of the other venues to see how they compare live to those seven.

Fuark, that is a very good effort!!

1. Kardinia Park
2. MCG
3. Gold Coast
4. Docklands
5. SCG
6. Gabba
7. Stadium Australia
8. Adelaide

 

[DardySingh360]

1. MCG - Amazing Facilities, Really open, easy to get food, modern clean, top tier seats are miles from the action but still not half bad. Tickets dirt cheap.

2. Etihad - Modern, Clean, Easy to get food, most seats are good, except in the 3rd tier in the pockets, when you sit in the upper part of the 3rd tier some of the ground is obscured. Again tickets cheap as chips.

3. Subiaco - Good atmosphere especially during a close game, I enjoy going there in a strange way, 90% of seats are shit, food is almost impossible to get to, if you manage to get a ticket they are obscenely expensive, no leg room, infected with concrete cancer, dark, damp, shithole.

Watched Cricket at the SCG, lovely ground.

 

[Natho]

The G easily. Subi for being a shithole.

 

[Ron The Bear]

I know I'm bias, but the feeling I got from Princes Park is something I know I will never feel again at the footy... which is really sad...

Reckon it had the best atmosphere of any of the suburban grounds.

 

[Bollox]

Junction Oval..what a waste.
Whats the story these days ?...does the cricket club own it ? Any games played there ?
Maybe its not practical/possible now i dunno, but always liked it. Practice matches maybe ?

SCG...has taken over as the best AFL ground in the country....and the new home of footy .

 

[RichardL]

Fuark, that is a very good effort!!

Doing four games over two weekends on my first trip was easy (Fri-Etihad, Sat-MCG, Sun-Geelong, following Sat-SCG)

I wasn't even a fan of the game then. I just went along out of curiousity, and ended up binning an NRL ticket I'd already purchased to got to the SCG instead.


The next time, was more tricky. Having picked up a favourite team in Richmond, I had to arrange three weekends where...

1st weekend, Brisbane would be at home.
2nd weekend, Richmond + one other would be at home Friday/Saturday, and one of the Adelaide teams at home for the Sunday Twilight game.
3rd weekend - one of the Perth teams at home (bit of a given, that one)

I think only two rounds all season allowed that combination.

I also took in an NRL game on the Gold Coast (can't say I really got into it), most of a game at Fremantle Oval (the prison tour ran late) and about 10 minutes of a game at Junction Oval, where I was just passing by.

 

[Arwib]

SCG - favourite team's home ground, love it every time I go there. Easy walk to Surry Hills as well

Adelaide Oval - Have watched SANFL and cricket there. Beautiful ground, perfect location, will be brilliant for footy.

MCG - only been there once, sat in the Members, went out afterwards in Richmond

Etihad - atmosphere seemed pretty great for a high crowd game. Would probably like it more if it wasn't for that tacky "Fletcher End/Lloyd End" thing. Roof was handy on a wet night.

Manuka - great little surburban ground, can't wait til it has lights and we get a T20 team. Unfortunately it's on the wrong side of town and transport sucks. Will be at the GWS matches this year, maybe I'll like it less when not watching Sydney.

(Alberton Oval) - fond memories, my earliest football memories. Scott Hodges! Tredrea as a 17 year old rookie!

ANZ - eurgh. Sterile and poorly designed.

Aurora Stadium - seemed okay, but it was raining the entire game and I didn't have much of a look around

Footy Park - Awful, awful ground.

Looking forward to checking out Skoda Stadium this year.

 

[BLUEALLTHRU]

MCG-BEST
Western Oval & Windy Hill the worst.

 

[Westy177]

1. Aurora Stadium / York Park - has been my favourite place to watch footy. It's in a beautiful part of Australia and still has enough of the old suburban ground character that AFL has lost over the last decade or so.

2. MCG - one of the best sporting stadia in the world and is head and shoulders above most other ground in Australia for facilities, but it's size and scale works against it sometimes. Prelim final with 80-90K people it is epic, but have 20,000 there on a Sunday arvo and it can feel mockingly cavernous and vacant.

3. Gabba - The couple of times I've been there I've loved being close to the action and the atmosphere when the home side is up.

I've got a thing for suburban grounds, so I liked Princes Park, Waverly and even the Whitten Oval back in the day. The one ground I can't stand is Docklands, as it lacks any sense of character, it's just plain and grey.

 

[Mr Budda Bing]

Best:

MCG - Huge crowd, under the lights, behind the goals with the Grog Squad. Great stuff.

Worst:

Optus Oval - No visible scoreboard with highlights, instead they used to have cheesy cartoons. Parking was terrible, the food was a rip and it was always so congested.

 

[grindog]

Faves
#1 - MCG - Greatest sports stadium on earth!
#2 - Adelaide Oval - Port v Melbourne game last year had an amazing atmosphere for a game I really had no interest in. Will only get better too.
#3 - Etihad - Easy to get to, great view nearly everywhere.

Least Favourite
AAMI Stadium - Seats go back rather than up so you always feel a long way from the action. Terrible to get in and out of.

 

[camiam]

Favourite in order

1. MCG - No other sporting ground in Australia compares. Best ground in the country bar none.

Least favourite in order

1. Etihad Stadium - I really, really hate going to that ground.
2. AAMI Stadium
3. SCG

could not agree more with that answer

 

[Cudi_420]

MCG - Simply an amazing stadium and perfect for football. It has an aura...as long as there is 40,000+...
Optus Oval - A great suburban ground with great personality. Glad I was there for the last match
Waverly - Awfully over-sized, in the middle of nowhere, and awful weather. Just a crap stadium. The views were OK though
SCG - Great stadium for footy
GABBA - Great stadium with awesome views of the ground
AAMI - Reminds me of Waverly
Subiaco - Gives off the feeling on TV that it's massive, but in real-life it's a different story. Small, tight, compact. Not great, but still a good place to watch footy...unless your Melbourne-based team is getting smashed by the Eagles or Dockers
Victoria Park - Awful ground and simply too small for the Pies. Always was. Only good if you were a Pies supporter.
Etihad - A "nice", contemporary stadium that looks cool and has nice facilities, but is just an downright awful place to watch footy. Bad viewlines, tight seating spaces. Although, the Medallion Club on either wing has one of the best views of any stadium.

In order:

1. MCG
2. GABBA
3. SCG
4. Optus Oval
5. Subiaco
6. Etihad
7. AAMI
8. Waverly
9. Vic Park