[DEF] AAMI Stadium Upgrade | $100m | 52,000

[adam73837]

I am a mad Essendon Bombers fan that lived in Melb for a few years. I would actually drive to the Kensington train station and catch a train in to either the "G" or Colonial, as it was known back then, on many occasions. Realistically, i don't believe i would have done it anywhere near as much had games still been played at Waverley, which is well on the other side of the Melb CBD. So i can say in my circumstances, it was a case of build it and they will come. To be able to walk 5 min to the CBD after a game and celebrate or drown your sorrows with fellow supportes just added to that commeradere that is missing in this city life of Adelaide. It is even a real buzz and vibe to see supporters of differing teams to yours, marching proudly through the city, on their way to battle the opposition.

Will it works here in Adelaide, i don't know, i have never argued yes or no. All i can speak for exprience from my few years in Melb. I don't believe in building the stadium tomorrow, i just ask for a plan and future direction that budgets and visions the future of this CBD and state.

Give us a chance and i'm sure the sporting fanatics of this city will truely prove it's worth in numbers!

Hear, hear.

[Ash-SV6]

Although I haven't posted here for some time, I've been following this thread and would like to raise a point to those members who have doubts about the flow on economic benefits to the CBD an inner city stadium would create.

For 21 of the last 23 years, massive amounts of money has be expended setting up and then removing a temporary street circuit on the edge of the CBD for Formula 1 and then the V8 Supercars. The cost of doing this over just a few years could have allowed the Mallala circuit to be upgraded to a first class facility to hold top level motorsport events, however we still persist on creating a temporary circuit despite the interuptions and restrictions it places on many people. The reason - because the economic flow on to the city and state for holding such an event so close to the city far outweighs the costs of running the event. Hotels, tourist attractions, hospitality and retail all benefit from having the event held in the East parklands.

Having a stadium on the edge of the city will be like having a mini Clipsal 500 every time an event is held there. More spectactors will naturally head out before or after an event, and fans of interstate teams will be more attracted to travelling to Adelaide to support thier team. You don't even need to travel to Melbourne to see how much thier city benefits from having stadiums so close to the CBD, just watch the next Adelaide Crows match at the Telstra Dome and take a guess what proportion of the crowd are Crow's supporters. Against some teams, I wouldn't be suprised if a third of the crowd were Crow's supporters! I don't think it'd be any secret that Melbourne and the AFL profits nicely from the Telstra Dome, ever since it replaced the Suburban stadiums (Waverly, Princess Park, Optus Oval) crowds have continually risen and its obvious that more Crow's supporters are travelling to Melbourne to support the team than pre-Telstra Dome.

[monotonehell]

Just a point of order to further derail this off topic thread:

As of March next year get used of Telstra Dome being renamed to Etihad Stadium.

Melbourne Stadiums Limited (MSL) is delighted to announce the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, Etihad Airways as its new naming rights partner, taking effect from March 1, 2009.

The deal was announced today (Thursday) at a press conference held at the stadium attended by James Hogan, Chief Executive of Etihad Airways, and Ian Collins AM, Chief Executive of Melbourne Stadiums Limited (MSL)...

Now may I draw your attention to the thread's title.

[Paulns]

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... 82,00.html

Interesting article in the paper, "SA stadiums old and unexciting", says expert.

[AtD]

Headline should be "Expert states the obvious."

[crawf]

Hah!

[ricecrackers]

we already almost have an inner city stadium.


it called Hindmarsh.

the problem is, its too far to walk to from the CBD.

whats needed is a free and frequent shuttle bus to and from the CBD to and from Hindmarsh on matchdays.

the stops needed to be clearly marked out and it needs to be publicized

this will enable

1. people who are already in the CBD on a matchday to strongly consider heading down to Hindmarsh, without having to worry how to get there or back. they also wont have to worry about waiting around as the transport experience should be something akin to the CBD free tram, where timetables are not an issue, you just wait 5 minutes and one comes.

2. people who catch public transport to the CBD dont have to worry about a connecting bus or train, as they'll know a shuttle will just come right by some time soon.

3. after the game, getting back to the city will be easy as this shuttle will pickup right in front of the stadium and take patrons back to a location where they can easily find transport to go in whatever direction they need to get home or if need be, can party on in

it has to be free. the AdelaideMetro will get its money back via more patrons using connecting transport from their homes to the CBD, or from the CBD to their homes

it will have the effect of capturing Hindmarsh with the CBD net, much the same way the tram brings the south CBD much closer to the North CBD.

people say whats the problem, a train already runs right by there. well no, its probably about 5 or 600 m away, its poorly lit and its infrequent. heavy rail cant be too frequent in any case. i know there are a lot of people who arent comfortable using this 'service'.

i'd be very surprised if (dont right) this didnt increase match day attendances to the Hindmarsh Stadium thus pushing a further case for an upgrade to that facility.

ultimately a tram service should replace this shuttle however this can be done now and done cheap.


if you wanted to take it a step further you could
1. include an after hours matchday ticket office and merchandise shop at the city terminus for 'walk up' crowds
2. extend the hours of the service such that the Entertainment Centre and the Gov Hindmarsh can also utilize it

IMO its the missing link in enabling the creation of an annexed central entertainment precinct in the HIndmarsh area, free from the restrictions and constrictions of the ACC.

[Prince George]

"SA stadiums old and unexciting, says expert".

Mind you, the expert is a stadium architect, who might have rather a lot to gain from Adelaide building new stadiums. Interesting article generally, though.

Ash, we have the Clipsal 500 in the CBD because we are still mourning the loss of the Grand Prix, not because it pays for itself. Now the GP really was a transformation in Adelaide, it seemed to ignite the cafe culture across Adelaide. You got that feeling that it had put us on the map, that people overseas now knew we existed. For all that, it didn't pay for itself directly, but I don't think that I'd want to give up on what we did gain from it. For something to pay for itself it's not enough that it generate some economic activity, it has to generate more value than it costs. Otherwise it would be simpler to just write people a bunch of cheques.

[Norman]

whats needed is a free and frequent shuttle bus to and from the CBD to and from Hindmarsh on matchdays.

I already suggested a Shuttle Bus to Adelaide Metro, but I doubt they will follow through. The 115-118 will just not do. Last time I caught it it was full, leaving people behind. It's not good enough. Light rail can easily be established with a small spur from the upcoming Entertainment Centre line. I would also like to see Hindmarsh expanded to the South-East, but Manton Street would have to be lowered or undercovered.

[Shuz]

I don't know if anyone knows this, but there is a road that just skirts the very undercover of the Great Southern Stand at the MCG - the same principle could be applied to Hindmarsh Stadium over Manton Street. No need for extensive roadworks, when the stands can just be built above the road.

[ricecrackers]

whats needed is a free and frequent shuttle bus to and from the CBD to and from Hindmarsh on matchdays.

I already suggested a Shuttle Bus to Adelaide Metro, but I doubt they will follow through. The 115-118 will just not do. Last time I caught it it was full, leaving people behind. It's not good enough. Light rail can easily be established with a small spur from the upcoming Entertainment Centre line. I would also like to see Hindmarsh expanded to the South-East, but Manton Street would have to be lowered or undercovered.

you're right the 115-118 does not do.

also, light rail cost a lot of $$$ and it may be years before that happens given the economy and we have no timeline from the govt.

i'd like to see 3 or 4 articulated buses running a constant circuit between CBD and Hindmarsh to deal with crowds and adjusted per take-up

[adam73837]

I don't know if anyone knows this, but there is a road that just skirts the very undercover of the Great Southern Stand at the MCG - the same principle could be applied to Hindmarsh Stadium over Manton Street. No need for extensive roadworks, when the stands can just be built above the road.

Despite the fact that what you've suggested is a good idea (don't get me wrong on that), upgrading/expanding Hindmarsh would be just as bad as upgrading/expanding AAMI. The only difference being that Hindmarsh is MUCH closer to the city than AAMI. Hence why a multi-purpose stadium that would be used all year round by both oval and rectangular sporting codes, would be far better off than us having what we have now. Now don't anyone start trying to say that 'I'm destroying my argument, because Melbourne and Gold Coast are building rectangular stadiums, and I've used them for examples of other things... blah... blah... blah...', because we need to remember that in BOTH those cities, Rugby is that much bigger, therefore meaning that for us to build a LARGE RECTANGULAR-ONLY STADIUM, would be a waste of time because it would only be used in the summer (just as AAMI is only used in the winter). Hence why we need to build a multi-purpose stadium (with a similar design to that of ANZ Stadium) to cater for both rectangular and oval sporting codes (as I said previously) and will be used ALL YEAR ROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!(as I also said previously).
NOTE: Oh and it has to be an inner-city one because of the economic benifits, convenience, etc. you get the picture.

[Norman]

Again, Adam, I ask... what happens when the A-League and AFL clash?

[Wayno]

Again, Adam, I ask... what happens when the A-League and AFL clash?

you get gaelic football?

[ricecrackers]

I don't know if anyone knows this, but there is a road that just skirts the very undercover of the Great Southern Stand at the MCG - the same principle could be applied to Hindmarsh Stadium over Manton Street. No need for extensive roadworks, when the stands can just be built above the road.

Despite the fact that what you've suggested is a good idea (don't get me wrong on that), upgrading/expanding Hindmarsh would be just as bad as upgrading/expanding AAMI. The only difference being that Hindmarsh is MUCH closer to the city than AAMI. Hence why a multi-purpose stadium that would be used all year round by both oval and rectangular sporting codes, would be far better off than us having what we have now. Now don't anyone start trying to say that 'I'm destroying my argument, because Melbourne and Gold Coast are building rectangular stadiums, and I've used them for examples of other things... blah... blah... blah...', because we need to remember that in BOTH those cities, Rugby is that much bigger, therefore meaning that for us to build a LARGE RECTANGULAR-ONLY STADIUM, would be a waste of time because it would only be used in the summer (just as AAMI is only used in the winter). Hence why we need to build a multi-purpose stadium (with a similar design to that of ANZ Stadium) to cater for both rectangular and oval sporting codes (as I said previously) and will be used ALL YEAR ROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!(as I also said previously).
NOTE: Oh and it has to be an inner-city one because of the economic benifits, convenience, etc. you get the picture.

a few points

1. the SANFL are happy at AAMI stadium and they're happy with the seating capacity. there is no business case for the SANFL to move away from AAMI stadium.
2. Adelaide United have stated they require an upgrade to Hindmarsh to cater for their corporate sponsors. Soccer is a growing sport in this country despite a dip in crowd numbers this season. AFL is not. There are also Socceroos matches that are played during the winter which Adelaide will always miss out on until a facility can be provided.
3. Rugby isnt necessarily bigger in Melbourne. The NRL and the ARU have worked on promoting the game in Melbourne for at least the last 15 years. There is a following in Adelaide, there's just nothing to go see currently.
4. a multipurpose stadium for rectangular and oval sports will cost > a billion dollars. money this state will never have to spend on such a facility.