Future of Etihad Stadium?

[BigMart]

Besides our hideous stadium deal.... Which we obviously agreed to...

What's wrong with Edihad?

It's relatively new, it's comfotable, it's easy to get to, when the roof is closed its a great place to watch footy.

Not enough traffic around the Holden centre eddie?

Firstly
Why would Tennis want to lose Hisense?
Why build two stadiums in the same spot?

The AFL actually need three stadiums in Melbourne

100k stadium
50-60k stadium
30k stadium

[St Chris]

The only reason this is really even an issue is because of the goldmine Etihad is sitting on top of. As commercial land between the CBD and a developed Docklands, Etihad is worth upwards of $1.5 billion.

Once the AFL hand over their $1 when the agreement runs out, They will sell up and find green space to develop.

Eddie can stick his "New Victoria Park" plan, it's poorly thought out and has too many holes in it. Developing Punt Rd or a stadium on Gosch's Paddock would be a better idea.

Sadly, Junction Oval or Moorabbin aren't in the conversation, and nor should they. A central location with parking and public transport links are a must.

[Jacks Back]

The only reason this is really even an issue is because of the goldmine Etihad is sitting on top of. As commercial land between the CBD and a developed Docklands, Etihad is worth upwards of $1.5 billion.

Once the AFL hand over their $1 when the agreement runs out, They will sell up and find green space to develop.

Eddie can stick his "New Victoria Park" plan, it's poorly thought out and has too many holes in it. Developing Punt Rd or a stadium on Gosch's Paddock would be a better idea.

Sadly, Junction Oval or Moorabbin aren't in the conversation, and nor should they. A central location with parking and public transport links are a must.

Just looking at Google maps and it appears there is a fair bit of green space next to the Shrine.

[the dome]

St Chris if you're right then that $1.5 B. could be on the cards for cashing in on.
Of coarse holding onto The Dome a bit longer may see the price further inflate which could also sway the emotions of the afl
to hold onto The Dome a bit longer for a fatter dividend.
I always thought that the construction of a 60.000 capacity stadium would have been a better option than the current Dome capacity
of around 50.000 but perhaps it came down to having a roof with 50.000 or no roof with 60.000 ?

With a ballooning urban population the bigger capacity is a better bet I believe if a new stadium is to be considered.
The political planners are as far as I know going along with the notion that the city of 4 million people will 'inevitably' become an 8 million
population city in the not too distant future.
Eddie's idea of two big frequented stadiums located back to back sounds a bit strange. Well maybe 60. 000 isn't that big looking forward?
...but calling it 'Victoria Park' yea right !!

Grand plans indeed but all the fans of the Saints, Dogs & Roos etc. want is a home base that actually isn't a financial liability.

[noob]

Could also consider that they are holding off so the big CEO's can get the added bonuses to their pay packet.

[saynta]

Gawd, I hate, Eddy Bighead with a passion.

[Jacks Back]

St Chris if you're right then that $1.5 B. could be on the cards for cashing in on.
Of coarse holding onto The Dome a bit longer may see the price further inflate which could also sway the emotions of the afl
to hold onto The Dome a bit longer for a fatter dividend.
I always thought that the construction of a 60.000 capacity stadium would have been a better option than the current Dome capacity
of around 50.000 but perhaps it came down to having a roof with 50.000 or no roof with 60.000 ?

With a ballooning urban population the bigger capacity is a better bet I believe if a new stadium is to be considered.
The political planners are as far as I know going along with the notion that the city of 4 million people will 'inevitably' become an 8 million
population city in the not too distant future.
Eddie's idea of two big frequented stadiums located back to back sounds a bit strange. Well maybe 60. 000 isn't that big looking forward?
...but calling it 'Victoria Park' yea right !!

Grand plans indeed but all the fans of the Saints, Dogs & Roos etc. want is a home base that actually isn't a financial liability.

Geez I hope not. The traffic lately is unbelievable and only getting worse but double what we have now will be horrendous. Thanks for that second east/west crossing Danny.

[evertonfc]

How is it that every football club in Europe has their own stadium (at worst, sharing between two clubs - Olimpico, San Siro) yet we have shoehorn our clubs into stadiums they don't want to be in?

As of the 2015–16 season, there are fourteen teams playing in professional leagues in London. They've pretty much all done clever re-designs to stay modern and relevant.

Crucially, the individual stadiums of each club have helped foster individuality, identity and a sense of community.

I can't believe the clubs aren't striving to put this back on the agenda, at a time when clubs play basically identical styles of football, recruit the same kinds of players from the same pool and copy each other's game plans.

Long-term, with so little distinguishing each club from the next, I wonder if this will be a problem for the AFL going forward.

(Geelong have maintained their own ground...and look at what's happened to them.)

[Bluthy]

.
Eddie's idea of two big frequented stadiums located back to back sounds a bit strange. Well maybe 60. 000 isn't that big looking forward?
...but calling it 'Victoria Park' yea right !!

Grand plans indeed but all the fans of the Saints, Dogs & Roos etc. want is a home base that actually isn't a financial liability.

It does seem weird to have two footy stadiums right next to each like that. I think its worth looking at if this sort of "sporting ground precinct" could create an exciting area. My issues would be

1) If they sell Ethihad land, won't they just build tower blocks there which blocks off Docklands again which was the whole point of bulldozing etihad? Unless the Melbourne council buys the land I guess.
2) I'm hoping for a sweetheart deal when AFL take over Etihad so we can pull in some money. I have a horrible feeling we'd get a s*** deal again at the new stadium which would be heart breaking.

I open to all ideas. I don't mind Eddie throwing up ideas. He's obviously put some work into this. We do have to keep looking forward and be bold.

[SaintPav]

Eddie has all the right credentials and no conflict of interest whatsoever.

Eddie the urban planner.

Spare me.

[SaintPav]

The hoi polloi love the idea of new and big sporting stadiums.

The ruling class led by Mr diappointment Daniel Andrews know this.

It's a distraction and silly idea.

[BigMart]

Not sure who the hell Eddie Maguire thinks he is....

He's the Collingwood president, he's on a quiz show

And he's outlining the future of Melbourne infrastructure....

Seriously, what a ****

[the dome]

HEY Jacks Back i HAVE TO PUT MY HAND UP FOR A SERIOUS RAMPING UP OF MUCH BETTER PUBLIC TRANSPORT FOR GOOD OL' MELBOURNE.
I hope the city numbers plateau out at the current level. It feels big enough already. In the worst case scenario I'm picturing a doubling of all sorts of cars and associated vehicles cramming the roadways and laneways of Melbourne. I can't even see the inclusion of more tunnels (at very significant prices) as a strategy for saving the day on this one.

I can feel Bluthy's dread of what the afl may do next. I wouldn't be surprised if they presided over an 'initiative' that did indeed result in the Saints and probably Bulldogs, North etc. getting destabilised and of coarse ripped off. So much for equalization and a better functioning competition. I envy Geelong with their Kardinia Park and its' space to comfortably absorb a rebuild and position themselves into a stronger financial position as we all move into the future. I remember back to the grant Thomas era when I think I heard Grant state that we can learn a lot from Geelong, we still can. Also can't say I'm a big fan of the free agency project just yet as the out in front financial giants of the afl appear to be landing the best talent.

[Jacks Back]

HEY Jacks Back i HAVE TO PUT MY HAND UP FOR A SERIOUS RAMPING UP OF MUCH BETTER PUBLIC TRANSPORT FOR GOOD OL' MELBOURNE.
I hope the city numbers plateau out at the current level. It feels big enough already. In the worst case scenario I'm picturing a doubling of all sorts of cars and associated vehicles cramming the roadways and laneways of Melbourne. I can't even see the inclusion of more tunnels (at very significant prices) as a strategy for saving the day on this one.

I can feel Bluthy's dread of what the afl may do next. I wouldn't be surprised if they presided over an 'initiative' that did indeed result in the Saints and probably Bulldogs, North etc. getting destabilised and of coarse ripped off. So much for equalization and a better functioning competition. I envy Geelong with their Kardinia Park and its' space to comfortably absorb a rebuild and position themselves into a stronger financial position as we all move into the future. I remember back to the grant Thomas era when I think I heard Grant state that we can learn a lot from Geelong, we still can. Also can't say I'm a big fan of the free agency project just yet as the out in front financial giants of the afl appear to be landing the best talent.

Ramping up public transport is fine however not everyone works in the city or close to a railway station. I'm in the outer east and drive around for work as I'm sure many, many people do. I wouldn't have a clue about numbers at all but I reckon it would at least be 10 to 1 that more people work out of the city than they do in it. In fact I would say that any increase in public transport would not help the drivers one iota.

Victoria needs an east west crossing between the eastern freeway and the Tullamarine freeway but also an outer ring road that joins the Greensborough bypass to the eastern or eastlink. You then have three ways of getting around the city (depending on your destination) rather than all crowding on city link or trying to get around Carlton and the zoo. I mean one lane coming from the Bolte Bridge going through the tunnel heading east is absurd!

How will ramping up public transport help an already crowded city when there are finite jobs in the city?

[saintspremiers]

The Einsteins have finally decided to build a second ramp off the Bolte.

But it's hard to get things going road wise with Clown Andrews in charge. His master stroke of cancelling the EW link says it all.

We also need to make "P"unt road a Clearway 24/7 NOW and stop talking about doing it. Just change a few friggin street signs. Is it that hard??

[saintsRrising]

How is it that every football club in Europe has their own stadium (at worst, sharing between two clubs - Olimpico, San Siro) yet we have shoehorn our clubs into stadiums they don't want to be in?

For the pretty obvious reason that most clubs in the AFL are in the one city and so it is very easy to share and for fans of each club to get to Docklands/MCG.

The issue is not sharing grounds, which actually makes huge sense, but rather that StKilda and all Dockland tentants apart from Essendon are on ridiculous deals.

[St Chris]

The jungle drums continue to beat re: Etihad's future....

The Chinese are cashed up and looking for some prime real estate.

The development of Punt Rd into an AFL ground has been mooted (a much better alternative than Eddie's Vic Park scenario), but probably needs to be 40k-50k capacity than 30k-40k.

What I don't understand is how this affects the ownership structure? Does the AFL buy out the stadium early, then sell up shop?? Do the current owners (investors/fund managers) sell up and pay the AFL compensation?? Do the AFL sit on their hands until the changeover happens, then put it to market??

Either way, there's no doubt our rubbish stadium deal is going to account for not much in the end. The silver lining to our deal always was "things will be better when the AFL take over", but if they cash in we'll have made a lot of people a lot of money, paid out the nose for that privilege, and then have to shift home grounds and start paying someone else's bills again.

[bigred]

A smaller boutique stadium only assists us when we suck on field.

Give us consistent winning seasons and we outgrow the Docklands stadium. Recent history proves that.

And of course we should be pushed to the MCG which historically we have not been able to move due to Etihad contractual arrangements.

This is a big white elephant in my opinion. Unless they upgrade Punt Road or similar. In the big picture scope of things, the least important thing that Melbourne needs is another stadium. State or federal government should NOT be funding this.

We need appropriate public transport desperately. Our roads are rooted and obsolete before they are even constructed.

Plus other fundamental infrastructure to actually stand up to the demands of our out of control population growth.

[Saints43]

Besides our hideous stadium deal.... Which we obviously agreed to...

It was pretty difficult not to agree to it when we announced that we would be negotiating with the MCG and Docklands and the AFL told us that they wouldn't be scheduling us at the MCG.

Rod Butterss said that the numbers didn't add up when we moved there.

[saintbrat]

Etihad Stadium's burgeoning coffers could help clubs be given a better deal should the AFL take ownership of the venue this year.
The financial accounts for the stadium's parent company Stadium Operations Limited, for the year to December 31, 2015 and recently lodged with the corporate regulator, show an operating profit of $6.1 million from revenue of $79 million.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/a ... z4AWExgQMm
Follow us: @theage on Twitter | theageAustralia on Facebook

[Con Gorozidis]

I might be cynical saying this but I could see after the saints and bulldogs have paid off Etihad it will be sold and monies distributed evenly (screwing the teams that paid it off), and a new stadium built somewhere where the saints would have to again get a raw deal to pay it off, I have thought this for a while now as well, due to the inequality in the stadium deals and the little action by the afl on the issue

We just need a big jar of lube to make it as painless as possible...

I tend to agree with this. We pay off the mortgage and then the proceeds of the sale will be evenly distributed meaning we get screwed. I dont like it at all.
The clubs who did the heavy lifting (us, doggies, bombers) should get some kind of extra dividend to use on stadiums. I reckon the afl will announce $ to spend on Princess Park in the near future for use by Dogs, Norf, Blues, Bombers.

Imagine the JO with us and the Demons using it for 5 games per year each. And for cricket to use in the summer.

One little correction Con (I nearly typed three different letters )... the Drug Squadron haven't been doing any 'heavy lifting'... at least not re Dockedlands. Their sweetheart deal is very much performance enhanced in their favour.

As for the Dreamons on our JO. As unpalatable as that is, as long as we're based/training there, and they are just scum tenants, then I guess I could cope. But we'd need to play more games there than them, which shouldn't be hard to manage.

For mine, and looking at the current playing arrangements of clubs, a dream fixture for us every year would be something like...

Home games:
JO
(Choose from: Shockers, E-girls, Teddies, SonofBeaches, Wogans, Swines, Crones, Teal Turkeys, Dreamons, Poodles, Nuff Nuff, and if having a bad year... any of the other Victorian teams except the Skunks. The old VFL-era proviso could alway exist, in that a match turned out to be a blockbuster, then it could be shifted to the MCG or Dockedlands)
8
MCG
1
Dockedlands
0
NZ: Dorkland (subject to them ever building a stadium larger than their GDP), or even still Wellington.
2

Away
Dorks in Lonny.
Nuff Nuff in Hobart.
Alice Springs. It's time! Time to give back to our Desert Saint!
As long as we get a few at the 'G so we can practice for the lap of honour at the end of September, then I don't care about the rest.

Although 'away' games, we could easily end-up muscling in on the Tassie market by stealth. Especially re Nuff Nuff.


(It's such a shame Pluggsy has been banned. But he's asked me to pass on to all his mates at SS, that he simply loves that fixture, and can't wait to buy everyone a beer at half time down at JO. )

Love the nicknames!

[IanRush]

Etihad Stadium's burgeoning coffers could help clubs be given a better deal should the AFL take ownership of the venue this year.
The financial accounts for the stadium's parent company Stadium Operations Limited, for the year to December 31, 2015 and recently lodged with the corporate regulator, show an operating profit of $6.1 million from revenue of $79 million.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/a ... z4AWExgQMm
Follow us: @theage on Twitter | theageAustralia on Facebook

Big dependency issue... If the AFL buys the stadium this year, it will be sold to Mirvac in 5 minutes flat for residential development.

[Darth Vader]

Etihad Stadium's burgeoning coffers could help clubs be given a better deal should the AFL take ownership of the venue this year.
The financial accounts for the stadium's parent company Stadium Operations Limited, for the year to December 31, 2015 and recently lodged with the corporate regulator, show an operating profit of $6.1 million from revenue of $79 million.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/a ... z4AWExgQMm
Follow us: @theage on Twitter | theageAustralia on Facebook

Big dependency issue... If the AFL buys the stadium this year, it will be sold to Mirvac in 5 minutes flat for residential development.

Presume it's just a numbers game. If they can get more from selling it than the cost of replacing it they should do it.

[IanRush]

The scam from Government by the AFaiL is on. Get West Baltimore's finest (the extraordinary Clayton Davis), BigCARLOS and ToT immediately to this thread!

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/t ... 07f3f5385e

EDDIE McGuire’s $1 billion stadium dream is a step closer to reality after the formation of a State Government taskforce to decide the future of Melbourne’s sporting stadiums and precincts.

The Cabinet committee, led by Premier Daniel Andrews also will explore the AFL’s plans for a $300 million revamp of Etihad Stadium.

Commercial real estate experts estimate the sale of Etihad Stadium to developers could reap the AFL a massive $1.3 billion payday.

But the league is determined to upgrade the Docklands ground, which it will take ownership of for just $30 in March 2025 under the terms of the deal struck by the Kennett government in the 1990s.

The AFL’s proposed Docklands redevelopment includes a new waterside stadium gateway, open-air bars, restaurants, parks and a running track.

[saintspremiers]

$1.3B = a buyout and sell off by the end of 2017