canberra stadium

[Poida]

i would like to see the stadium upgraded so it can accomodate origin and tests. after all its the nations capital.
what do you think?

[Capital_Shark]

As much as I'd love the convenience of having tests and origins held a 10 minute drive from my house, I think they're better off being played in Sydney and Brisbane, with Melbourne here and there.

At present I think Canberra Stadium holds around 25,000, but they made some changes to the bowl section earlier in the year so it could be more now. The upgrades that would need to be made to justify taking a test or origin there would be wasted for every other week of the year. The upgrades would have to be pretty big too, considering they ran out of full strength beer the other weekend and only 21,000 were there.

Becaue the Raiders couldn't possible get close to filling an upgraded Canberra Stadium week from week they would suffer as costs to run a game would greatly increase. The only winners from an upgrade would probably be the Brumbies cause they get some pretty hefty crowds, they used to when they won all the time anyway.

[Darren Lockyer]

No to much of a waste of money and if they are going to hold a state of origin there it will be a bigger blow up than having it melbourne

[DeeGan]

No, I would not like to see Tests or Origin football held there today or after an upgrade.

The Canberra rugby league public are a hard sell. The Raiders exceeded all expectations this season and made the top eight where they were a tough team to beat at home ... the Canberra Raiders home crowd average was 10,601 before their last home game, it ended up as 11,489 after the bumper crowd last round. Do they deserve to host such a high quality game? No.

[Hindyscrack]

When i was living in Canberra (95-97) League was still king and the brumbies were still in their infancy...

The region only encompasses 300,000 odd people with no other large regional areas close. 25,000 is large enough...

The ground was upgraded for the Olympics and is of international standard already, I beleive it can host the odd Test Match but there is no need to host origins there... Sydney is only a short trip (3 hours) to go see quality football...

The option to expand is not feasible

[Poida]

No to much of a waste of money and if they are going to hold a state of origin there it will be a bigger blow up than having it melbourne

fair enough but no blow ups should be made about melbourne. melbournes a great place to have origin in my opinion. telstra dome for origin 3 was a success . lots turned out even afl fans wouldve too

[Dakink]

I would love to see it upgraded but realistically it would need alot better attendance than currently.

[DIEHARD]

I'd never say no to an upgrade, but the Canberra public are fickle and need to be won over again. The Raiders unfortunately don't need the upgrade.

I'd be delighted to see Test Matches in Canberra and maybe against France and PNG. I am surprised the ARL hasnt hosted a match there over the last 8 years. Especially during their period of Test Match modesty, which is now hopefully dead and buried.

I can see the Raiders coming good and pushing the limited of capacity again though.

[Capital_Shark]

I'd never say no to an upgrade, but the Canberra public are fickle and need to be won over again. The Raiders unfortunately don't need the upgrade.

I'd be delighted to see Test Matches in Canberra and maybe against France and PNG. I am surprised the ARL hasnt hosted a match there over the last 8 years. Especially during their period of Test Match modesty, which is now hopefully dead and buried.

I can see the Raiders coming good and pushing the limited of capacity again though.

haha we are a fickle bunch, but its bloody cold down here!

Maybe a lower rated test like you spoke of against France and PNG, see if the crowds will come out, test the waters.

I agree about the Raiders coming good, a lot of young blokes who are fairly unknown and can slip under the radar, the coach is in the same boat to some extent as well. The 'experts' said Raiders would be LAST this year, and they'll say it again for '07, and the green machine will hopefully keep performing above expectations and soon the glory days will return to the nations capital.

[DIEHARD]

Good point, I know the weather and scheduling is a big factor with crowds.

[Social Loafer]

The weather ain't THAT cold down here, sometimes though it isn't the most pleasent conditions for people to take a young family out..

There is no need for an upgrade, we already have prob the 2nd rd best stadium in the league, only behind Suncorp. Telstra is a "better" stadium, but not for crowds of 10,000... The stadium is very modern and clean, seats are nice and close to the action when when there is a 15,000+ crowd the atmosphere is really buzzing... (Aussie stadium is good, but some of the facilities inside are pretty average)

Hopefully crowds will be good again next year, a lot of people who "came back" for ther Storm match will hopefully be back to see one of the most exciting young stars in the league go around..

People down here and known about Todd Carney for a few years, it is only now that the media is finally taken notice of what a talent he is..

Keep your eyes out for William Zillman and Bronx Goodwin to really make an impression next year..

As for expectations, to Canberra fans we are not surprised by this season at all.. We all knew that there is some great talent in the squad and that they had the ability to give any side a real shake...

p.s.-
Canberra average 11k in a city with 330k, + surrounding areas= 400k
Brisbane average 30k in a city of 1.6 Million people...

Do the maths...

[Capital_Shark]

Canberra average 11k in a city with 330k, + surrounding areas= 400k
Brisbane average 30k in a city of 1.6 Million people...

Do the maths...

The man makes a good point!

Your point about a 15,000 strong crowd and the atmosphere is right. I think its the perfect sized stadium for Canberra. Anymore room and the atmosphere from week to week would be lost.

[DIEHARD]

p.s.-
Canberra average 11k in a city with 330k, + surrounding areas= 400k
Brisbane average 30k in a city of 1.6 Million people...

Do the maths...

Always a fair point. And should be considered when looking at crowd averages and especially those of Super League teams.

[DeeGan]

Good point Schifty though the Brumbies averaged 22,707 in 2005 and whilst they have dropped in numbers, their average in 2006 was thereabouts 18,000 from memory.

[Social Loafer]

Good point Schifty though the Brumbies averaged 22,707 in 2005 and whilst they have dropped in numbers, their average in 2006 was thereabouts 18,000 from memory.

Brumbies have a very large corporate support.. Some of the people at the game would probably struggle to tell you what sport their actually watching.. Anyway you have to take thigns into consideration when comparing Brumbies and Raiders Crowds..

* Brumbies compete in an international competition, the Raiders are in a domestic (Pretty much Easern States) comp..

* Raiders are one of (as of next year) 16 teams.. There are only 4 Rugby Union teams in the super 14.. The Brumbies have less clubs to share the talent pool with.. Therefore the chances of them having Australian reps or "big name" players in their side is much higher..

* Brumbies only play 5 or 6 games a year in Canberra, therefore some people will feel "they don't have as many chances" to see the team in action... With the raiders playing 12 home games a season "casual fans" can pick and choose much more...


* Brumbies have won (recent) Premierships, that will bring back the crowds to any clubs, when the Brumbies were struggling their crowds were very average... The Brumbies are coming to the end of an era, we will see how their crowds are when their current crop of internationals retire..

Anyway, IMO the Raiders are slowly gaining ground on the Brumbies. The Raiders are Canberra's team, all they players live here and are part of the community, they don't just come to live in furnished apartments for the season then p!ss back off to Sydney.. I will refrain from giving my undited full thoughts on the Brumbies