It includes new lighting also.......so more games can be scheduled from 2013

Ta.

That southern end is pretty cramped. I visited there on a non-matchday.

I like the rebuilds at KP. The design is quality. Now for more events...

They likely to get any? Maybe a T20 team. Or a couple of North Melbourne games that draw 5000 people.

What ruled Geelong out of getting a T20 team was the fact they don't have lights. Once they go in, which should be in the near future, they should move the Renegades from Etihad Stadium to Geelong.

Personally I'm against having 2 teams in the same city so moving the Renegades to Geelong would be a good idea IMO. And personally I'd move one of the Sydney teams to either Canberra or Newcastle and bring in a team from Darwin.

But what do I know?

Why? The best advertisement for cricket at Etihad was shown on Saturday night at the MCG. They won't move a Melbourne team unless it starts drawing deplorable crowds. Which it's not just yet.

The fact Geelong get all these upgrades for part time demand puts their redevelopment in the Kogarah/Wollongong/Campbelltown category. No wonder there are a lot of negative comments in the article linked above.

The Drum website ran a piece against the SCG Northern Stand asking why so much public money has been ploughed into sporting venues. I don't know that it is a shift in public thinking. That criticism has always been around. It might mean governments become more careful about where they throw their money.

Actually, Jeffles, I would put Geelong in the same category as Newcastle. It is a sizeable provincial town. Kogorah & C/town are suburbs of Sydney & Wollongong has a team that is 50% from Sydney. The argument about developing suburban grounds in Sydney is one that the VFL left behind. I really wonder how long before the NRL copy Melbourne in that regard - tho the NRL traditionalists are against it, I observe.

You're missing my point, as usual. I wasn't comparing the localities. I was comparing the merits of their stadium redevelopments. For all the perceived similarities between the cities of Newcastle and Geelong, their stadium developments are totally different. Newcastle gets a full season of A League, a full season of NRL plus other events. Geelong gets two-thirds of an AFL season.

"as usual"
Agree that Newcastle gets A-league as well as NRL. I still don't think you can equate Geelong with Campbelltown, etc.

I don't think that has anything to do with it. The game was scheduled for the MCG. Are you saying all games should be moved to Etihad? The 2 games there the weather has been fine outside. Crowds of 10-13k are nothing to get excited about. The 2 teams are just splitting existing support. Largest crowd last year was just over 40k. Same crowd attended the derby. Largest non-derby for Stars was 30k-odd and about 13k for the Renegades. Surely Geelong would get somewhere around the 15-20k mark.

Why? Geelong only has about 150k people, and it's not going to be like the AFL club with 150-odd years of history and a huge support base outside of Geelong. I reckon 10k max, maybe a tad more if they're winning similar to Hobart. Still might be worth a team, but not at the expense of a Melbourne team.

My point on Etihad was that I think support for the Renegades won't drop, partly because people can go to games knowing that they're actually going to get a full game. Especially if they can get a Gayle or a Warne that puts bums on seats.

Took some photos on my phone of the new stand at Simonds Stadium. They unveiled it today as the "Players Stand".