If they did what you say it would be a lay down misere for the World Cup Final but would have a slightly smaller capacity than the MCG.dibo wrote:I'd like them to bring the bottom tier in to surround a newly defined 85m x 130m turf surface that would be perfect for the codes that use the stadium most.gyfox wrote:I had a good look at Stadium Australia last week. With the ground set up in rectangular mode the width of the grassed area is less than Olympia Stadion in Berlin. Row 20 in the moveable stands was a great view but it is at the drip line of the roof. The rake of the bottom bowl is fairly flat, probably a C of 60 mm. I couldn't see the sideline because of the portable advertising boards. I am not sure that they were the FIFA standard 900 mm high, they looked taller. If they could replicate the top tier at the northern end at the southern end then capacity could be increased by about 3,500 seats. I didn't check the structure externally but the inside is identical so I assume it can be done. Reworking the roof at both ends and putting in another tier would be a big job and would gain something of the order of 8,000 seats. While bringing the stadium to 95,000 seats would be great for the WC I wonder whether the cost would be too great.
Apparently the last redevelopment to take out the end stands, reshape the end of the seating bowl, set up the retractable tiers and build the end rooves cost $80 million.
Assuming even that reshaping the bottom tier would cost twice or three times that, we would convert a stadium that is capable of many things but excellent at none to a stadium that is capable of one less thing (that usually yields 3 match days a year) but excellent at hosting the events that are there for tens of days per year, all for about the cost of one of the ikeadomes.
If FIFA had the choice of a 95,000 capacity large format oval or a 90,000 rectangular stadium the G would not get a second look.
