Is it really our job to make the trust’s argument for them?
I have my view as a taxpayer and a Sydney FC member. And from those POVs, a 25-35k stadium is the best overlap to satisfy both viewpoints. I don’t attend concerts, I go to finals and derbies, but with very few exceptions (a derby final in either HAL or NRL), 30k or so is ample for both. Build for the 95%, not the 5%. And use the savings for hospitals, schools etc.
If the SCGT want big concerts… here’s an idea for the collection of old scrotes - how about the SCG? That holds 45k or so and has had shitloads of money spent on it. Use that. (*)
(*) also from a SFC point of view, if they fuck these concerts off to the SCG we’re less likely to have our stadium inaccessible to us for the duration, with the surface ruined for weeks after.
Yep, and concerts also fill 3/4 of the actual playing surface with people, so with the playing surface at the SCG being much bigger than a football field, you can fit more people at the SCG, compared to the same capacity stadium next door. But your second point explains why that will never happen. The trust would never allow their beloved SCG to get trashed by a concert.
No chance, outdoor concerts usually happen in summer and there’s no way they could protect the cricket pitch area (even if it’s a drop in pitch) from getting trampled.
I’d argue this would be a positive step for the cricket, given the fairly lifeless tracks which are put out there in Australian grounds.
Maybe our batsmen might learn to bat.
Assuming it’s $ related however I wonder why we aren’t receiving a stadium with a fully retractable roof? You’d think with concerts planned at the venue, this would be a consideration…
Area handles traffic far better than ANZ and the Light Rail will improve things again.
Rectangular stadiums work better for concerts - closer to the stage for those in the stands. Similar to football.
And the SCG Trust is well… A trust… so any profit goes back into facilities… like the new scoreboards etc…
But the reality is stadiums don’t make money (almost all the privately owned stadiums in the US have been built with a chunk of govt grants)
I actually believe the Trust paid for the original SFS without govt funding (and it shows) - lost them a lot of members as they made it a more expensive membership to go to both stadiums, whereas previously you had NRL included in membership (Swans weren’t really a factor averaging 10-12k until mid-90s)
The original proposal was for a 65,000 seat stadium that would have imposed on public land. I did not know they had scaled it back to 45,000 (my mistake) but even so, it is still too large for all the current tenants. The rugby codes and Sydney FC just want a 25,000 seat stadium. Sydney FC and concert promoters would like a retractable roof.
If they keep the two modes concept, it will do the two things badly.
To be honest, i think the only people who want a 25k seat stadium are posting on this forum. I doubt the NRL would want a venue capped at this size, and I wonder whether SFC would want a venue that would force them to play big matches at an alternate venue.
It is also really short term thinking kind of stuff. Given Sydney’s population growth forecast over the next few years, there is no reason to think that the club wont be averaging around 25K itself. Especially if there is a high drawing marquee.
Here is the Ultimate A-League page showing average attendance. Please note these are averages include Derby matches so the non-derby average attendances will be lower.
Highest attended game, 36,057 for SFS, something that would be impossible with a smaller stadium, and would require us to play bigger games at ANZ to try and maximize attendance and profit.
11 out of 14 years we would be capped at 25K with a smaller stadium and eventually we’d be forced to play big games at ANZ, something which i feel like the whole Cove is completely against. Note, this is highest, could be bothered to see how many games were greater than 25k each year
Personally I don’t mind if a few people miss out occasionally. It might create a bit of buzz and urgency for Sydney people to actually get off their arses to buy tickets or memberships, similar to what WSW used to have at Parra, MV at their bubble stadium and what we saw last week for us at Jubilee.
I think the perfect capacity is somewhere between 35-40k. Small enough for weekly club games, but big enough for some larger games and concerts. Basically what we need is a slightly bigger version of Derby County’s Pride Park.
Realistically, any games with crowds over 40k should be at Homebush anyway, which is designed for the bigger events.
And if you remove the Derby matches and Finals games the highest attendance each season is between 17,000 and 19,000 (except for 2014 when the Round 1 v MC attracted 25,000). The average is around 13,000 to 14,000 and some matches attract fewer than 11,000.
point stands, we use the bigger stadium. Capping at 25K would just be stupid. Don’t think the club can afford to turn people away as our stadium is too small.
Also people need to realize that, as annoying as concerts are, if they were to turn them away, it would mean smaller profits, unless the difference were passed onto the other tenants, meaning much higher rent for SFC