ANZ Stadium vs SCG

[Big Al]

Actually it's completed selfish of you to go to ANZ. It's should be clear to all that the experiment has been a failure - the fans, the players and the general public have rejected the place.

And yet some you blindly go anywhere, for your own self serving reasons. See here


I must see the Swans. I don't care where. I want. I want. Me. Me. Me.

If all of you make the supreme sacrifice (like us real fans) of having to watch lousy TV coverage as opposed to going out to ANZ we would be back, permanently at the SCG in a flash.

But why think of the Club. Just think of yourselves and what you want to do and your own self gratification.

Most things we do in life have a selfish purpose. We support a footy club because it makes us feel good to do so. Now I hate ANZ stadium as much as you do but due to my "selfishness" I will not be boycotting Sydney home games. It's the casual footy follower that doesn't have the same emotional connection with the Swans that will in the end, decide ANZ's fate. If they stay away in droves as they have been doing the Swans will have no choice but to return home.

I also won't criticise any member who decides to boycott ANZ because that is your right.

[Go Swannies]

I'm determined to make ANZ a success even though I dislike the ground and want to be at the SCG every second of the game and I'm constantly thwarted by the ANZ evil empire.

Take last Sunday, for example. Beautiful day so I talked a South Melbourne friend who was up for a conference and a member mate who sits with me at the SCG but doesn't have an ANZ seat because he hates it that they should come to the game with us. South Melbournite catches train with another in our gang; mate and I ride motorcycles. Great ride but arrive to find the only tickets available to sit with us cost $67 each. So , with only 28,000 there the stadium was obviously almost full. "Good thing we won" both good-natured, ripped-off visitors declare at the end of the day.

Or almost the end of the day - we walked back to the bikes to find we've been slugged with $86 fine each for parking out of the way where we have parked for years. Expensive win - I could have flown to see the WA game for not much more. ANZ - what a waste of space and an accumulator of angst.

[Cheer Squad]

Actually it's completed selfish of you to go to ANZ. It's should be clear to all that the experiment has been a failure - the fans, the players and the general public have rejected the place.

And yet some you blindly go anywhere, for your own self serving reasons.


I must see the Swans. I don't care where. I want. I want. Me. Me. Me.

If all of you make the supreme sacrifice (like us real fans) of having to watch lousy TV coverage as opposed to going out to ANZ we would be back, permanently at the SCG in a flash.

But why think of the Club. Just think of yourselves and what you want to do and your own self gratification.

What a load of tosh.

[snajik]

It?s obviously a factor outside the club?s control but I?d be curious to know whether other supporters have had ?trackwork? experiences that they have needed to negotiate and has that impacted on their decision to attend games at Homebush? Fortunately my wife drove my son and I to the ground on Sunday and picked us up afterwards, otherwise it would have entailed a train to Penrith, bus to Blacktown, a second train to Lidcombe, then a third train to Olympic Park from Lidcombe. Then in reverse order on the way home. A huge deterrent. Last year when we played Collingwood at Homebush, there was also trackwork. This time a bus took you (for some unknown reason) from Penrith into the city via the Lane Cove tunnel and the Harbour Bridge, through the city to Central. Then a train to Olympic Park from there.

Not sure what the solution is, and I?m sure it happens on other lines as well, but it seems odd that it seems to happen whenever there is a Homebush game. Maybe some dialogue between the club and the SRA, or the provision of shuttle buses going to directly to the ground from where the railway buses leave.

[giant]

I'm determined to make ANZ a success even though I dislike the ground and want to be at the SCG every second of the game and I'm constantly thwarted by the ANZ evil empire.

Take last Sunday, for example. Beautiful day so I talked a South Melbourne friend who was up for a conference and a member mate who sits with me at the SCG but doesn't have an ANZ seat because he hates it that they should come to the game with us. South Melbournite catches train with another in our gang; mate and I ride motorcycles. Great ride but arrive to find the only tickets available to sit with us cost $67 each. So , with only 28,000 there the stadium was obviously almost full. "Good thing we won" both good-natured, ripped-off visitors declare at the end of the day.

Or almost the end of the day - we walked back to the bikes to find we've been slugged with $86 fine each for parking out of the way where we have parked for years. Expensive win - I could have flown to see the WA game for not much more. ANZ - what a waste of space and an accumulator of angst.

An almost perfectly designed experience to ensure you never go back to Homebush again. Excruciating even to read...

[Swansongster]

I come to Sydney 2-3 times a year with the family to see the Swans play and have to say that both venues have pros and cons for me. When in town, I stay with my folks at Chatswood. Getting to the SCG is a bit of a drag. Bad traffic and exhorbitant parking fees (not to mention the nightmare getting away after the game) if I drive. It is a long, pretty awkward and expensive walk-train-bus combo if I elect to use PT. Keep in mind, I will generally have 2-3 kids with me on these exploits.

However, once we get to the hallowed turf it is magic. We love the place and we love the colour and passion of the fans. It creates a tremendous atmosphere.

If we venture to Homebush, getting there is a breeze. I can stroll three blocks and jump on a special events bus at no cost and enjoy afooty chats with Swans fans all the way to the game. Then, I can be back at Chatswood within 35-40 minutes of the Swansong's third rendition. The atmosphere is not as good at Homebush and is a far cry from the beuaty of the SCG but i don't mind going there and the kids seem to enjoy it.

Watching the Swans here in Melbourne is easy. Both Docklands and the G are easily accessed by PT.

Anyway, my point is that both grounds have their merits and drawbacks. I know a lot of us Melbourne fans like going to either venue and don't make travel decisions based on where they are playing. We just want to see more of the Swans games and work it to see either preferred opponents or when convenient.

Nothing like a win over Geelong at the SCG for mine so see you in a couple of weeks. Can we bring Nick Davis out of retirement for the night?

[Cheer Squad]

It's the casual footy follower that doesn't have the same emotional connection with the Swans that will in the end, decide ANZ's fate. If they stay away in droves as they have been doing the Swans will have no choice but to return home.

Well, in the case of the Essendon match, it wasn't the casual footy followers who were staying away in droves:-

Swans still not in league's league

"Swans chief executive Andrew Ireland said a smaller than expected turn-up by club and stadium members was responsible for the shortfall".

[top40]

I am not sure that you can describe Homebush as a complete failure. The reality is that since its first game against the Bombers back in 2002, Stadium Australia has averaged 44,297 in 35 games, compared with an average for the SCG for the same period of 26,624 in 77 games. It's a big difference.

And I am not saying that on balance and overall the Olympic Stadium is better, but there are some things I really like about attending Olympic Park:

1. Better atmosphere outside the ground, with lots of food stores and usually a band playing.

2. Much, much traffic conditions to get there. (I am from the southern suburbs of Sydney, driving into the SCG in that Moore Park area can be hell).

3. Better public transport to the ground. Its right next to the railway station, with pre-arranged buses coming to it directly from all parts of the Sydney metropolitan area.

4. Closer parking availabilty. For ANZ games, I park at Parking station number 1, just fifty metres from the stadium.

[Matt79]

Actually it's completed selfish of you to go to ANZ. It's should be clear to all that the experiment has been a failure - the fans, the players and the general public have rejected the place.

And yet some you blindly go anywhere, for your own self serving reasons. See here


I must see the Swans. I don't care where. I want. I want. Me. Me. Me.

If all of you make the supreme sacrifice (like us real fans) of having to watch lousy TV coverage as opposed to going out to ANZ we would be back, permanently at the SCG in a flash.

But why think of the Club. Just think of yourselves and what you want to do and your own self gratification.

Well, what I complete over reaction your lovely post was!

I am not sure how we are 'selfish' and it is about 'me, me', me'by saying that I would go and watch the Swannies anywhere? I would have thought that my attitude was the opposite to being selfish? In any case, if you choose not to go to ANZ that is your choice, I was not criticising anyone for not going I was just stating that I would follow the footy team anywhere.

[Big Al]

I am not sure that you can describe Homebush as a complete failure. The reality is that since its first game against the Bombers back in 2002, Stadium Australia has averaged 44,297 in 35 games, compared with an average for the SCG for the same period of 26,624 in 77 games. It's a big difference.

And I am not saying that on balance and overall the Olympic Stadium is better, but there are some things I really like about attending Olympic Park:

1. Better atmosphere outside the ground, with lots of food stores and usually a band playing.

2. Much, much traffic conditions to get there. (I am from the southern suburbs of Sydney, driving into the SCG in that Moore Park area can be hell).

3. Better public transport to the ground. Its right next to the railway station, with pre-arranged buses coming to it directly from all parts of the Sydney metropolitan area.

4. Closer parking availabilty. For ANZ games, I park at Parking station number 1, just fifty metres from the stadium.

The food and music you mention had to be put there because the place is a ghost town without it. There is a reason the SCG doesn't need these things.

Agree on the parking and transport. It's the only positive I see that ANZ has over the SCG. I get around this by coming in to see the reserves and parking at Sydney Boys High. No traffic at that time and when I leave Sydney Boys is pretty easy to get out of.

I refuse to catch public transport on a weekend so I'll leave that for others to judge.

[laughingnome]

In terms of Public Transport Only, going to ANZ I catch a train to Concord West (no through services to Olympic Park so early to catch reserves) and enjoy the walk through Bicentennial Park to the ground. At the SCG, I'll take the train to Central and walk up Foveaux St.

For a bloke in his mid-twenties who's reasonably fit both those walks are a cakewalk. ANZ rates slightly higher in PT because if I'm running late there are through services to Olympic Park (cramped, yes but, c'mon, what do you expect?) and the PT is free, unlike the SCG which involves charges for the train as well as the exorbitant prices for the event buses running from Central to the game. There was a time they were free, at least from Goulburn Street. I cannot understand why ANZ transport is free and SCG is not.

[erica]

In terms of Public Transport Only, going to ANZ I catch a train to Concord West (no through services to Olympic Park so early to catch reserves) and enjoy the walk through Bicentennial Park to the ground. At the SCG, I'll take the train to Central and walk up Foveaux St.

For a bloke in his mid-twenties who's reasonably fit both those walks are a cakewalk. ANZ rates slightly higher in PT because if I'm running late there are through services to Olympic Park (cramped, yes but, c'mon, what do you expect?) and the PT is free, unlike the SCG which involves charges for the train as well as the exorbitant prices for the event buses running from Central to the game. There was a time they were free, at least from Goulburn Street. I cannot understand why ANZ transport is free and SCG is not.

It's bribery to get people there? :-)

[Triple B]

In terms of Public Transport Only, going to ANZ I catch a train to Concord West (no through services to Olympic Park so early to catch reserves)...

The train runs every 10 minutes from Lidcombe to ANZ from 6am to almost midnight every weekend. If you're coming from the north, Concord West avoids changing at Strathfield and again at Lidcombe I guess, but you can certainly get to ANZ in time for any game via Lidcombe.

As for the walk up Foveaux, when I was your age I couldn't trust myself to get past the corner of Riley St without popping in...

[laughingnome]

The train runs every 10 minutes from Lidcombe to ANZ from 6am to almost midnight every weekend. If you're coming from the north, Concord West avoids changing at Strathfield and again at Lidcombe I guess, but you can certainly get to ANZ in time for any game via Lidcombe.

While this is true, given the option of sitting on trains/platforms for 30 minutes or enjoying a 30 minute walk (2.2km according to Google) through the park I'd know which option I'd take everytime. Without the through service from Strathfield there is no time gained by training it to Lidcombe.

As for Forrester's (assuming you didn't mean the convenience store ), well, after that climb who wouldn't need a little refreshment?

[Triple B]

As for Forrester's (assuming you didn't mean the convenience store ), well, after that climb who wouldn't need a little refreshment?

I was leaving it to the imagination. Just knowing whats on that corner speaks volumes...lol