Swans Membership Tops 30,000!!!

[JF_Bay22_SCG]

Originally posted by Big Al
Fitting them into the SCG would be be interesting. Two to a seat maybe.

Not wanting to dampenen the positivity around here or anything. But the small capacity & overall lack of attention in seriously doing something about the SCG is going to prove our short to mid-term detractor Number 1 in getting more and more members & supporters.

We should have the long term long of being the biggest membership-numbering club in the country. Despite our flag we still have the biggest potential growth market for prospective supporters in the league hands down.

Playing at the SCG year after year will eventually prove to be a noose around our necks. SCG Trust, get off your high horses & seriously look at redeveloping & increasing the capacity of the ground. They can re-develop Aussie Stadium to a capacity of 46000 for tenants like the Roosters who get as long as 9000. Yet the club with the biggest supporter base & membership in the city gets insulted with a substandard under-sized playing surface & a ground where we simply cannot grow.

I simply do NOT care how much or how annoying it is to get to Homebush. At present I can only see Homebush as the way to develop this club into the future.

We have won a flag. But if anyone thinks that we should rest on our laurels for one minute (in arguably the most competitive market in the world for sport) they have rocks in their heads. As I said to Beaussie one day, the flag has only meant that the goalposts get bigger for Season 2006 & beyond.

Luckily I have a great deal of faith in Myles & co to try and generate greater & greater exposure for our club. Myles is a tough ruthless aggressive customer & does not take no for an answer.

JF

[Zlatorog]

Hear, hear! I totally agree with you on this one.
IMO, the Swans are holding back moving more games to Telstra stadium, because it might be very expensive exercise, especially if AFL doesn't cover the costs.

[hammo]

Well said JF.

The "old lady" has quickly become a decrepid old lady compared the the MCG, Telstra Dome and Telstra Stadium, the Gabba.

I know many people have attachment to the heritage and history of the place but is this attachment to any part of the ground apart from the Members and Ladies stand??

I'd happy see the rest of the ground demolished to boost capacity to 50-60 thousand.

There has been talk of redevelopment for a long time and I thought the recent fight over the cricket would have forced the Trusts' hand. Apparently not.

[DST]

Originally posted by JF_Bay22_SCG
Not wanting to dampenen the positivity around here or anything. But the small capacity & overall lack of attention in seriously doing something about the SCG is going to prove our short to mid-term detractor Number 1 in getting more and more members & supporters.

We should have the long term long of being the biggest membership-numbering club in the country. Despite our flag we still have the biggest potential growth market for prospective supporters in the league hands down.

Playing at the SCG year after year will eventually prove to be a noose around our necks. SCG Trust, get off your high horses & seriously look at redeveloping & increasing the capacity of the ground. They can re-develop Aussie Stadium to a capacity of 46000 for tenants like the Roosters who get as long as 9000. Yet the club with the biggest supporter base & membership in the city gets insulted with a substandard under-sized playing surface & a ground where we simply cannot grow.

I simply do NOT care how much or how annoying it is to get to Homebush. At present I can only see Homebush as the way to develop this club into the future.

We have won a flag. But if anyone thinks that we should rest on our laurels for one minute (in arguably the most competitive market in the world for sport) they have rocks in their heads. As I said to Beaussie one day, the flag has only meant that the goalposts get bigger for Season 2006 & beyond.

Luckily I have a great deal of faith in Myles & co to try and generate greater & greater exposure for our club. Myles is a tough ruthless aggressive customer & does not take no for an answer.

JF

Well said JF, as unpalatable as it may sound if the SCG Trust does not do something about the ground very soon then Telstra Stadium maybe the only option for the majority of our games in the future.

In order to compete with the wealthy clubs we are going to have to grow our membership to somewhere between 40,000 & 50,000 and also provide more and better corporate entertainment facilities as well. Something which cannot be accomodated at the SCG at present. The new facilities for home teams at the new MCG for corporate entertainment are just amazing.

It will be interesting to see this year with the membership and interest from corporates so high how the SCG copes and whether the club starts to make some serious noises about moving more games to Telstra Stadium to force a decesion from the SCG Trust.

DST

[j s]

Originally posted by hammo
Well said JF.

The "old lady" has quickly become a decrepid old lady compared the the MCG, Telstra Dome and Telstra Stadium, the Gabba.

I know many people have attachment to the heritage and history of the place but is this attachment to any part of the ground apart from the Members and Ladies stand??

I'd happy see the rest of the ground demolished to boost capacity to 50-60 thousand.

There has been talk of redevelopment for a long time and I thought the recent fight over the cricket would have forced the Trusts' hand. Apparently not.

The Brewongle/Churchill is pretty good as is and I doubt any redevelopment could fit more seats in. I doubt the club would be happy about their new facilities being demolished either.

But the rest is overdue for rebuilding.

[Refried Noodle]

I remember hearing on the cricket a few years back. Greiggy was wafffling on about a new stand/hotel??! being built over the current hill (removing the Walters stand). But then again we've all heard about redevelopment proposals.

The hill and walters stand is the obvious choice for redevelpment. The hill is an absolute mess with all its weird angles and stupid seating locations. Get rid of the scoreboard, flatten the hill out and build a stand over the top like in the Brewongle and we'll get capacity up to about 50,000, which is plenty.

Stupid members.

[Missy]

I remember reading about SCG improvements last week (dont know where) and it said that the visiting coasches box was getting a refurb before the first home game. And that it had been demanded by the AFL.

[goswannie14]

Originally posted by Refried Noodle
I remember hearing on the cricket a few years back. Greiggy was wafffling on about a new stand/hotel??! being built over the current hill (removing the Walters stand). But then again we've all heard about redevelopment proposals.

The hill and walters stand is the obvious choice for redevelpment. The hill is an absolute mess with all its weird angles and stupid seating locations. Get rid of the scoreboard, flatten the hill out and build a stand over the top like in the Brewongle and we'll get capacity up to about 50,000, which is plenty.

Stupid members.

Wouldn't that only be an increase of seating capacity of about 6,000. If they are going to build, they should be aiming at 55,000capacity at least. Or if half the stands were bulldozed the capacity could be increased and so could the size of the playing arena.

[Thunder Shaker]

Originally posted by JF_Bay22_SCG
Not wanting to dampenen the positivity around here or anything. But the small capacity & overall lack of attention in seriously doing something about the SCG is going to prove our short to mid-term detractor Number 1 in getting more and more members & supporters.

You raise good points which I won't quote in full here to save space.

The Swans CAN fill the larger Homebush ground. For proof, one only has to look back to the Collingwood game in 2003 where the 70,000+ ground attendance was the largest of any home and away AFL fixture that year.

It is appealing to think of a Swans side filling Homebush as regularly as Collingwood pack out the MCG. The Swans have the potential of being the most powerful club in the country, but that is only possible if the Swans have the long term goal of moving permanently to Homebush.

The good Sydneysiders of this board can help encourage that push to the 'Bush. Whenever the Swans are scheduled to play at Homebush, consider taking a friend who does not follow AFL to the game. Every time this happens, more likely than not we will have another convert to Australian football, the AFL, and the Swans. If the convert is from the Dark Side of League, so much the better; it may not stop them following League but it will give them another sport to appreciate. This will increase the Homebush crowds, and make it more likly that the Swans' management will consider a permanent move to the larger-capacity ground.

There is only one downside to a move to Homebush. JF_Bay22_SCG will have to change his nick.

[goswannie14]

Originally posted by Thunder Shaker

The good Sydneysiders of this board can help encourage that push to the 'Bush. Whenever the Swans are scheduled to play at Homebush, consider taking a friend who does not follow AFL to the game. Every time this happens, more likely than not we will have another convert to Australian football, the AFL, and the Swans. If the convert is from the Dark Side of League, so much the better; it may not stop them following League but it will give them another sport to appreciate. This will increase the Homebush crowds, and make it more likly that the Swans' management will consider a permanent move to the larger-capacity ground.

Those of us from south of the border could also aim at getting to some of the Telstra Stadium games. In my Full Vic membership we get entry to 3 games in Sydney. Obviusly this year round 2 is one that we are going to, Telstra Stadium might have to be the other 2.

[Lucky Knickers]

A move to Homebush makes the task of training for the players tough. Sydney traffic and heading out there a couple of days a week for training would not go down well.

I can't see the boys trading Coogee/Bronte beachside for the Homebush Bay toxic waste dump?

Maybe homegames at Telstra/Training at the SCG?

I'd prefer an SCG redevelopment incorporating expanded ground and a light rail to and from Central.

[goswannie14]

Originally posted by Lucky Knickers
A move to Homebush makes the task of training for the players tough. Sydney traffic and heading out there a couple of days a week for training would not go down well.

I can't see the boys trading Coogee/Bronte beachside for the Homebush Bay toxic waste dump?

Maybe homegames at Telstra/Training at the SCG?

I'd prefer an SCG redevelopment incorporating expanded ground and a light rail to and from Central.

I don't see that the team would have to train at Homebush if it was their home ground. None of the Melbourne clubs train regularly at the "G" or the phone dome.

[Pommie Swannie]

I absolutely agree the Swans need a home ground with increased capacity and better facilities if they are to progress financially etc. But I would far rather that be through the expansion of the SCG.

Moving to Telstra would mean we share the ground with umpteen league teams, union internationals etc. I would rather the Swans were identified with a home ground in the way of the Lions up at the Gabba.

However, if SCG cannot provide the basis that is needed to grow the club and guarantee its long term viability and stability, it will have to be out at Telstra.

[airpoe]

According to SMH today.

30,700 members.