The same thing happened with the Sydney Olympics in 2000 to the point that many people went away on holidays with many regretting staying away later. Organisers also struggled to sell tickets to many of the events so arenas were empty.
2 Likes
Iâve never thought much of them anyway, itâs an inferior version of the Olympics, being the best in the Commonwealth doesnât really mean much compared to being the best in the world.
1 Like
I honestly wouldnât be surprised if there are older Sydneysiders who (when you look past the events of September 15-October 1, 2000) wish we didnât win the bid in 1993 though.
While I canât say that Olympic Park was anything other than something the city genuinely did need (Letâs be realistic here: The Moore Park Showgrounds probably wouldâve eventually gone through a Brisbane-like chipping away at due to a demand for more high rise apartments or whatever), there are parts of Sydney infrastructure that remained stuck in the distant past until relatively recently and thereâs even some which still isnât up to scratch. The train network, anyone?
Fair point. I suspect most Australians wouldnât really care about the Commonwealth Games at all if we werenât always (or usually) dominant at them, largely due to two significant factorsâŚ
1: Among other countries, the United States, China and Russia (who are perhaps the three most dominant countries at the Olympics) arenât there.
2: The United Kingdom doesnât participate collectively as the UK at the Commonwealth Games, with the four countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland participating separately.
3 Likes
The Olympics is not just a chance to build infrastructure. Itâs more than that. Sure, Sydney needs more public transport and infrastructure but whether we had the Olympics or not, would have made little difference.
We had governments of both persuasions making little to no effort to build any infrastructure for decades. A city that is growing like Sydney is, should have been constantly investing in transport, education and health. Instead, weâre playing catch up on decades of government inaction.
3 Likes
Sorry Iâm a bit late to this, but I have to agree that the Gabba as a site is best placed, but the landlocked nature of it makes it tricky. But if something was possible to expand this it would make the most sense, given its location and that Cross River Rail will place an underground railway station right next to it
QEII Stadium is awful - not near anything with no major transport connection and far out of town, it would be a terrible choice to redevelop. Anything along the river in Hamilton would also have this issue, so far out of town and poorly connected, so would require a dedicated transport connection from Day 1
The Ekka site is interesting as itâs well-located with its own train line loop and a bit of space, but would require the loss of much of the showgrounds. Iâve also heard proposals for expanding Perry Park in Bowen Hills, though more as a boutique rectangular stadium (to host events that donât require the size of Suncorp)
4 Likes
Sorry for being late but, according to TV.Cynicâs post on a new 80k seat stadium, they might need to redevelop The Gabba (to reduce costs). Constructing a new stadium at a different venue will have negative impacts environmentally They will need an extra tier up. I believe that The Gabba tiers are quite short and needed to be expanded to meet capacity. The redeveloped Gabba will have Brisbane Lionâs home games, NRL State of Origin, Cricket, and even soccer games in order to maximise crowd numbers. Brisbaneâs population is growing.
I would think Suncorp will keep Origin and other league, union and soccer games that are better suited to a rectangular stadium?
3 Likes
Agreed. It makes you wonder why Suncorp wasnât built to be bigger in the first place
And letâs be honest here, outside of Olympics and a potential NRL GF or State of Origin, how often do Brisbane stadia ever reach capacity? An 80,000 seat stadium in this town would barely fill once or twice a year, and most events would be a sea of empty seats
2 Likes
Indeed. Sydneyâs 80,000 or so stadium rarely receives capacity crowds (which is probably why the redeveloped ANZ Stadium will have less seats than the current one), and our metropolitan area has around twice the population of Brisbaneâs!
1 Like
Suncorp is also landlocked.
1 Like
Big international rugby union matches sell out Suncorp occasionally. As do big music concerts.
I agree QEII would be the worst option. I think Hamilton would be feasible though. Theyâd need to do something about transport maybe a spur train line and a ferry terminal.
I suspect it wonât be an 80,000 stadium anyway. Coates said last week the days of the 80 - 100K Olympic stadium are over and 80,000 wasnât required for the Brisbane bid. Tokyo Olympic stadium is apparently 67,000.
A 65,000 seat Gabba would be fine and they could probably even reduce it back a bit after the games.
3 Likes
It is but thereâs still some scope for expansion though.
I donât think NRL or State of Origin would move out of Suncorp. An expanded Gabba would be Olympics, AFL, Cricket and major concerts Iâd say.
2 Likes
surely a better option is to find a way to add temp seating to whatever venue they use if we get it? how often would 80k get to events in brisbane? not much iâd say short of perhaps when the lions are doing well or we are playing the poms in the cricket or the occasional concert.
I was at eden park a few weeks ago and they were talking about how they brought in temp seating for the world cup and they did the same at the pool for the comm games.
Thatâs exactly what theyâre talking about doing with the Gabba. A small expansion to 60K with extra temporary expansion. Even if they build a new stadium it will be shrinkable after the event.
Townsvilleâs newest stadium now has a name: Queensland Country Bank Stadium. Queensland Country Credit Union, which will become members-owned Queensland Country Bank next year, has signed a six-year naming rights deal for the venue, which will be the new home of North Queensland Cowboys.
1 Like
Much better name than the old 1300 Smiles Stadium over at Kirwan!!.. or Dairy Farmers Stadium before it.
Perthâs Subiaco Oval has been totally demolished, including the playing surface.
1 Like
The decision is already attracting backlash on social media because:
- it is another budget blowout
- the money could have been better spent on helping volunteers fighting the current bushfires in northern and central NSW
- some argue that the stadium could have been upgraded rather than demolished totally and rebuilt and
- John Holland is now Chinese-owned.
1 Like