Adelaide has to build a NEW stadium for 2018/2022 World Cup

[monotonehell]

Ok so I am all for this going ahead but it just blows my mind reading on Adelaide now how many people have a crazy view, and think that thats what the majority of the state feels! I just did a litle research to find the numbers of participants in sporting activities in Australia as of 2007 out of the winter ball sports the numbers read...
AFL - 308,700
Basket ball - 496,800
Football - 683,000
Hockey - 100,300
NRL - 175,200
Rugby Union - 127,900

So just on those stats only football deserves repect but i think that it needs to work harder on getting those people to games more before a stadium is truely justified.

It's interesting that those who play these sports don't seem to turn up to the league games. Less than 2% of the people who participate in (round)football turn up to AU's games?

[adam_stuckey]

It's interesting that those who play these sports don't seem to turn up to the league games. Less than 2% of the people who participate in (round)football turn up to AU's games?

Those figures are all of Australia i can't imagine them all turning up either

[monotonehell]

It's interesting that those who play these sports don't seem to turn up to the league games. Less than 2% of the people who participate in (round)football turn up to AU's games?

Those figures are all of Australia i can't imagine them all turning up either

Oh sorry I missed that, so your figures are completely irrelevant to the conversation then?

[adam_stuckey]

It's interesting that those who play these sports don't seem to turn up to the league games. Less than 2% of the people who participate in (round)football turn up to AU's games?

Those figures are all of Australia i can't imagine them all turning up either

Oh sorry I missed that, so your figures are completely irrelevant to the conversation then?

Um no not at all. I'm saying that football is the most played sport in Australia so it deserves more respect (ie stadiums and world cup bids) but the challenge that i already stated is that football needs to get more of those people to games Australia wide first.

I think that the best compliment you can pay a sport is not how many people watch but how many people play it.

[Cruise]

So does that mean basketball will need a huge stadium to?

[adam73837]

It depends Cruise. It'd be better for the 36ers to be in the city like in the Opposition's plan once Basketball has been given a soccer-style revamp, but until then, I personally don't know.
Adam, when I saw your statistics, I was not very surprised. Soccer and Basketball are probably the two biggest 'pee-wee sports' in Australia, but when it comes to the professional status, they just don't reel in the big bucks like AFL and Rugby League. If anyone goes down to the parklands on a Sunday or Saturday morning, they're bound to see hundreds (maybe thousands) of young kids playing club soccer. Meanwhile, at any school, you're bound to find several kids participating in both Basketball and Soccer. I guess as this generation grows older, their interest in these two sports (and of course AFL) will remain and the sports will (hopefully) grow in popularity.
And if I could e-mail that Glenn fellow from AdelaideNow, I'd ask him if the prominent number of Asian, African and South American migrants watching soccer are insignificant through his eyes, because according to him, Only Europeans living in Australia watch/ follow soccer.

[peas_and_corn]

Um no not at all. I'm saying that football is the most played sport in Australia so it deserves more respect (ie stadiums and world cup bids) but the challenge that i already stated is that football needs to get more of those people to games Australia wide first.

I think that the best compliment you can pay a sport is not how many people watch but how many people play it.

In that light, I demand a world class Netball stadium!

[rhino]

The fact that there are a lot of people playing a sport is not a reason to build a world class stadium if the numbers paying to go and watch that same sport at a professional level are not there. You say it demands more respect - from whom? If the people who say they are interested in the sport are not turning up to watch games at the professional level, how can those people demand respect for their sport to the point where they should be built a world class stadium?

[Cruise]

The fact that there are a lot of people playing a sport is not a reason to build a world class stadium if the numbers paying to go and watch that same sport at a professional level are not there. You say it demands more respect - from whom? If the people who say they are interested in the sport are not turning up to watch games at the professional level, how can those people demand respect for their sport to the point where they should be built a world class stadium?

Because if you build it, they will come!!!

[adam_stuckey]

The fact that there are a lot of people playing a sport is not a reason to build a world class stadium if the numbers paying to go and watch that same sport at a professional level are not there. You say it demands more respect - from whom? If the people who say they are interested in the sport are not turning up to watch games at the professional level, how can those people demand respect for their sport to the point where they should be built a world class stadium?

Because if you build it, they will come!!!

If you listen to what Mike Rann said about the proposed WC stadium the FFA want, at no point did he actually say no he just said that we need to be hosting it before they'd approve anything which is fair enough, but we need to show some sort of plan and design to wat we would do if we won it. I really believe if the state govenment came up with a design for a stadium and said to the FFA "the balls in your court win us the WC" it would take all the pressure off of them so then if it doesn't happen (which is highly possible) they don't look like the bad guys.

[adam_stuckey]

Just another reason why this should go ahead

vAdelaide now
Build a proper venue says promoter

VAL MIGLIACCIO
May 20, 2009 12:30am
ADELAIDE will never get an opportunity to host any of soccer's super clubs - such as Glasgow Celtic - unless the state overcomes its present stadium crisis, says FIFA match agent Lou Sticca.

Sticca has secured a match for the Scottish giant against Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium in July - and ensured David Beckham was available to Australian fans in an LA Galaxy shirt against Sydney FC at Sydney's ANZ Stadium in 2007.

Hindmarsh Stadium's 16,500 capacity was too small, said Sticca, while AAMI Stadium and Adelaide Oval needed to be reconfigured to earn the hosting rights for some of Europe's finest clubs.

"Football fans these days want to see their heroes on a rectangular football pitch," Sticca said.

"It's a shame because Adelaide has such a good football market with Adelaide United, but we can't bring sides there.

"If Hindmarsh was a 40,000-seat stadium, then a Celtic, AC Milan or a Barcelona becomes more viable."

Sticca said hosting international matches at AAMI Stadium, which has a capacity of 51,515, or Adelaide Oval, which currently holds 33,596, would be akin to hoodwinking the public because both were not configured for soccer. "The problem is in the past that international games have been put on at AFL-type grounds and it left the fans feeling disillusioned, far away from the action," he said.

"I recall in the 1980s we had AC Milan playing at (Melbourne's) Princes Park and it was a disaster.

"The fans were disillusioned.

"Football has come a long way in Australia and fans deserve and demand stadiums which are football friendly.

"Supporters see the best football on TV every day of the week now.

"They can see their idols play in magnificent stadiums across the world and they don't deserve any less when a team comes here to play."

But Sticca said potential 2018 FIFA World Cup venue Adelaide Oval would work for five-star matches provided the state's home of cricket was upgraded to suit FIFA's stringent stadium criteria.

"If you've got a stadium and it can be configured to recreate what football fans want it would work and I would urge South Australians to move to that scenario," he said.

It's understood Galaxy and Celtic commanded more than $5 million in fees to tour Australia.

Beckham's Galaxy drew 80,295 fans to the clash in Sydney, while Celtic - featuring Socceroo Scott McDonald - is expected to be a 52,500 sellout, making Sticca's investments viable propositions.

Galaxy's mini Australian tour injected $31 million into Sydney's economy, Sticca said.

One other thing is that when's the last time the Socceroos have played in Adaide? If we get a decent stadium we will get Socceroos games every year and those games will be important World cup qualifiers not B/S friendlies for Asian Cup qualifier games against millionth worst country in the world which Canberra gets ahead of us anyway! Also then i won't have to keep on going to Sydney and stay with my in-laws to see them play!

[Tyler_Durden]

2. Adelaide United should need a larger stadium within 5 - 10 years and this is the perfect excuse for one.

5-10 years? People were saying that 5 years ago when the A-League started. Adelaide's crowds have not grown at all since then. In fact, they have dropped slightly. They are struggling financially as it is in their budget priced stadium. The last thing they can afford is a shiny, big new stadium. Can anyone even guarantee Adelaide United will still be around in 5 years, let alone be financially viable enough to play out of a bigger stadium?

[Tyler_Durden]

One other thing is that when's the last time the Socceroos have played in Adaide?

2004. Adelaide hosted World Cup Qualifiers. Despite players the calibre of Kalac, Cahill, Breciano, Emerton, Grella, Skoko, Chipperfield the crowds were embarrassingly low. One Socceroos game had a crowd of only 1,200. Most were in the vicinity of 2,000-4,000, most being giveaways. The game against New Zealand drew a relatively massive crowd of 12,000.

I don't care what excuses you make about the quality of opposition, if we wanted to see the Socceroos we had our chance. Needless to say the FFA weren't impressed and have been understandably reluctant to give us games since.

Adelaide don't miss out on Socceroos games because of the venue, it's because of disinterest.

A-League games, World Cup Qualifiers, whatever. Time and time again we blow it.

[Benski81]

One other thing is that when's the last time the Socceroos have played in Adaide?

2004. Adelaide hosted World Cup Qualifiers. Despite players the calibre of Kalac, Cahill, Breciano, Emerton, Grella, Skoko, Chipperfield the crowds were embarrassingly low. One Socceroos game had a crowd of only 1,200. Most were in the vicinity of 2,000-4,000, most being giveaways. The game against New Zealand drew a relatively massive crowd of 12,000.

I don't care what excuses you make about the quality of opposition, if we wanted to see the Socceroos we had our chance. Needless to say the FFA weren't impressed and have been understandably reluctant to give us games since.

Adelaide don't miss out on Socceroos games because of the venue, it's because of disinterest.

A-League games, World Cup Qualifiers, whatever. Time and time again we blow it.

With all due respect I don't agree. You're quoting figures from 2004 and it's easy to pick statistics that distort things to justify what you're saying. That was over 5 years ago and a lot has changed since. I've been to Adelaide united games where there has been over 16,000 people, on more than one occasion, and sat on the torrens with thousands of people watching Adelaide united play in the Asian Champions league. The change in 5 years renders those figures largely redundant as football has really started gaining traction in this country and with a greater involvement in Asia this trend will only continue. I don't believe it's an interest issue now and IMO I think we could support a venue of 20K plus here in Adelaide no problems at all.

Venue is important if it wasn't wouldn't they allow Port to play at Alberton in the case of the AFL?

[Tyler_Durden]

quote:Benski81
With all due respect I don't agree. You're quoting figures from 2004 and it's easy to pick statistics that distort things to justify what you're saying.

Rubbish. I haven't distorted anything. That was the last time the Socceroos played in Adelaide which is exactly what Adam asked. Five years ago isn't that long ago. It is certainly very clear in the memories of FFA officials. Feel free to quote some more appropriate figures if you wish.

That was over 5 years ago and a lot has changed since.

Has it? I've been a member of Adelaide United since the A-League started in 2005 and nothing has changed at all from where I sit. A-League crowds still average around 12,000 per game, which is fine from my perspective, but let's not pretend.

I've been to Adelaide united games where there has been over 16,000 people, on more than one occasion,

So have I, on the only three occasions that Adelaide United have ever had more than 16,000 to a home game. And two of those were the biggest two rounds of the Asian Champions League, and best case scenario is we'll get those games once every ten years, and that's being optimistic. I have also been to Hindmarsh on many occasions where the attendance has been less than 10,000, including the most recent match played there, the Preliminary Final against Queensland which drew only 8,000 people to the second biggest game of the A-League season.

The change in 5 years renders those figures largely redundant

Based on what? As all the key performance indicators published by the FFA point out, the A-League has remained fairly stangant over five years, with a drop in interest last season.

What do you base your assertion on? Other than wishful thinking, that is.

I don't believe it's an interest issue now and IMO I think we could support a venue of 20K plus here in Adelaide no problems at all.

If a new soccer stadium was financially viable then the private sector would jump at the chance to pay for it. Likewise, AUFC would have buyers lining up. Unfortunately AUFC is purely a very expensive hobby for someone who can afford to lose a lot of money. It's easy for you to talk the talk on an internet forum when you don't have anything invested in it, but those that do have the money won't go near such a stadium. It's obvious why.