The West- "Rugby Fans promised much better viewing at new stadium"

[Jehna]

Jehna it is an improvement on the current situation- Subis about 30m apparently

Ok. Fair point. Thanks Swee. But Jargan is still correct. A distance of approx 15m is a lot further than Suncorp.

And with all due respect Mr Huges, yes people go a long way way to creating an atmosphere but firstly, what incentive are you giving fans to come to games and support their team if they (as Exile correctly put it) are reaching for their telescopes to see play. Secondly, when a stadium is only a quarter full AND those fans are so far back from the play then what is likelihood of those fans being heard and the sound being trapped so as to create a good atmosphere?

[Jehna]

Dave, if you've had a chance to check out the "We Need Corners" campaign, you'd know governance is one of our chief concerns- although a far greater concern than preferred dates, is that the WAFC will ride roughshod over the management and the stadium will only end up going to rectangular configuration for test matches if we're lucky. AFL is so intrisicly linked with the government in this state it is very hard for an outsider like myself to even comprehend it and harder to understand how that is suddenly going to evaporate once the new stadium is built. Is it fair to imagine that RugbyWA is going to be expected to cover the cost of weekly reconfiguration?
As an venue for playing test matches, the new Stadium will most likely be a suitable venue, and regardless it'll be an improvement on Subi. I just don't see moving the stands on a week by week basis as a long term solution, and we all know whos going to lose out because of it.

We've already seen what happens if there is a timetable clash at the first home game this season which was rescheduled to accommodate the AFL.

[jargan83]

I was at ANZ stadium on saturday night for the Dragons vs Bulldogs game, after flying down from Brisbane. The crowd was about 18,000 and the atmosphere was crap. Could have been due to the one naturedness of the game but it sucked pretty bad

[Thequeerone]

Dave - thank you VERY MUCH for coming on here - I was incredibly worried when I read your article this morning - not because of what it contained but because of what it missed -

a: Governance ( do not want RugbyWA to suffer financially because of the move) - they got shafted with 2 fixtures this year and the rent for this new stadium sounds extraordinary.

b: And this is the BIG one here - we do not see the AFL allowing the retractable seating on a weekly basis - cannot imagine how the hell you would roll a structure like the seating across an AFL pitch without thrashing it - the cost to fix it up for an AFL game 12 hours later (that seems to be the turnaround at the minute) just seems like complete Bunkcom and a complete waste of everyones time to even entertain the idea.

If we got assurances from RugbyWA and a reasonable explanation of how this really would be managed - we would be much happier bunnies on this site.

PS - In general love your work and now buy the paper every day - would love more of your stuff to be on the internet prehaps a day late - to share with some of our interstate/overseas members and those that go on holidays.

[jargan83]

It was rescheduled on the POSSIBILTY that one of the local AFL teams had a home final

[brokendown gunfighter]

It was rescheduled on the POSSIBILTY that one of the local AFL teams had a home final

thats right,they invoked the flying pig clause

[beige]

thats right,they invoked the flying pig clause

Hey, crap teams win the pre-season tournament all the time

[Elf1]

Elephants is now the official word I use when swearing would be inappropriate... for example "This article is a steaming pile of elephants"
Or for a one word expletive... PHWOMP!

Excellent use of vocabulary Swee

[jargan83]

More elephants..............

[BLR]

Dave,

I know what your trying to say but this is not really the forum to do it in. Unfortunately most rugby fans in Perth have gone through lifetimes of having to live with thier beloved sport being marginalised by the fanatical AFL obsessed media/government/supporters. Now we have our own representation and originally a promise to get an upgrade to Members Equity so finally we would have a place to call home, where we could grow out of the reach of the WAFC.

Now we fast forward to today and the WAFC have been charging us huge rents, complaining about the lines on the pitch, the quality of the field after we play there and have forced us to move dates so as to cater for an entirely hypothetical situation that never eventuated, despite the fact we had booked the venue far before that. Not only this they have hijacked our upgrade and have used it as a vehicle to get thier own upgrade. Now seeing as the government have had people like Neil Fong with a clear conflict of interest involved in the stadium issue I think you can now understand why us as Force fans just want to get as far away from the WAFC as possible.

AFL is administered as a somewhat belligerent organisation and that is why they have succeeded around Australia, attacked rugby league heartlands such as NSW and Queensland via teams and the AusKick program and they will continue to do so until they are the only sport in Australia. Rugby starts at a significant disadvantage in Perth as AFL has been the top dog for a hundred odd years so it is very possible if WAFC gets its way they will continue to kick up a fuss and try to kill off the Force until we end up like the rugby league team, the Reds. All we ask for is to start on a clean slate, it will be a small percentage of which the government have granted the WAFC over the years and will help add flavour to Perth so we are no longer the monotonous Australian-centric AFL supporting state.

Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, English and the list goes on support the Force as thier own and it gets global recognition. Imagine a person in Argentina watching the Force play on our new rectangular stadium while wearing thier Force jersey they had shipping over from Perth. It won't happen if supporters are leaving in droves because of the dogs breakfast that is Subi and this new stadium, we need something that is made for those large (and will continue to grow as immigration continues) amounts of people who couldn't give a stuff about AFL.

Give us our own rectangular stadium so we aren't marginalised by the WAFC and are able to promote Perth on a world wide stage.

Anyway, huge rant but that is basically why, with any argument rugby fans with never be satisfied until they have a home of thier own, we have gone through too much pain throughout our lifetimes with the lack of a team and the predatory nature of AFL.

[slomo]

when i saw the paper this morning my first thoughts were, this is the start of the hard sell.......

[Elf1]

To add to BLR's 'rant' it will also benefit any other sport that requires a rectangular stadium.
As well as being used as a prime concert venue.

[AndyS]

...As for the suggestion Subi be converted to rectangular, it won't go for two reasons:first, the Government needs rugby to make the business model work and, second, new and old stadiums overlap.

Welcome Dave - apologies for calling your article a puff piece when it wasn't and it is appreciated that you are prepared to come here and say so. Curious about the snippet on the Sharks problems with forced relocation though...was the juxtaposition intentional or coincidence?

On the idea of reconfiguring Subi, my corresponding observations are:
1/ The business model would not be significantly different, as it would be a single facility with two fields operated under common management. The business model just requires the money to accrue to the facility, not the same specific piece of turf.
2/ My understanding is that the stadia only overlap on the eastern stand, which is why Subi can stay in use right up to the point of transition. If the football can continue and then switch to a functional new stadium with 40,000 seats already installed, there must be a considerable amount of Subi remaining and plenty for the smaller rectangular ground.

[NTT]

But its a government promise. How can you not trust it?

[GIGS20]

As an loosely related aside, I was at the Eagles game last weekend. Naturally had plenty of time to think and look around, and redeveloping Subi into a rectangular ground would be so easy. If RugbyWA could somehow get that onto the table...

Vote Liberal....Barry House asked me without prompting what I thought of this as an option.