i dont get how anyone could have come up with the reason for an eastern stand not being built as being because its on or near sand..... anyone remember this little thing from the sydney olympics?



it managed to hold 10K and this wasnt built next to or near the damnd beach it was on the bloody beach why would anyone think that putting a stand on the eastern side would cause problems ???

Get onto the F6 which will take you to Wollongong.

Eventually you'll come down Mount Ousley and go past the Univesity. Continue along the freeway for another couple of kilometres. Take the Masters Rd exit. Not long later Masters Rd ends. Turn left onto Corrimal St. A couple of kilometres later you'll be in the southern parts of central Wollongong. I usually park in the side streets to the west (left as you travel) of Corrimal St. Probably best to go up Corrimal St all the way to the Wollongong Golf Club clubhouse. Turn left there (Bank St) and then turn left again. Park somewhere around there and walk vaguely towards the north east.



Retrace your steps. That is, get back onto Corrimal St, then Masters Rd and turn onto the F6. To head to Canberra you want to be in the left lane of Masters Rd. to turn left onto the F6 and follow the signs to Nowra. Stay on the F6 until it turns back into the Princes Highway at Yallah. A couple of kilometres later there is a right turn (roundabout) onto the Illawarra Highway. Follow signs to Moss Vale.

I hope that all makes sense.

Macquarie Pass; a lovely section of national highway.

thanks Cheesie

Now that I've been to WIN, here's my opinion on the place.

It's a dump.

The northern stand is nice and modern. But has portakabins and rubbish underneath the bit stretches around to the hill. That's only a small cosmetic thing though. Overall, it's a class facility.

The hill, well it's just a hill, and it only has one set of toilets, two canteens and some weird lifesavers' observation post on it. And it can't be significantly redeveloped because its part of the coastal sand dunes. If it was any other stadium, there'd be a roofed grandstand for 5,000 - 10,000, with more and better catering and toilet facilities underneath, corporate boxes at the back. Newcastle replaced their hill with a fantastic new grandstand but Wollongong will never be able to.

The western stand is tiny and looks to have poor corporate and broadcast facilities. And it only stretches about half the length of the sideline. The road is right behind it so even if it was cantilevered and built for the full length of the pitch it would never have a particularly large capacity. That's a pity because the western stands are the best seats in the house (sideline view, no sun in eyes).

The southern stand is a decent size, but bizarrely, has support struts right in front of the corporate boxes. It's generally okay for spectators. But that's indicative of WIN's overall problem. The best facilities are at the ends and not on the sides and are likely to stay that way indefinitely.


I know that the Trust has asked for proposals on the development of the place but IMO they should start again somewhere else. The layout of the block is all wrong for a rectangular football stadium and its location is very inhibiting. A 300m x 100m long stretch of land on the beach and adjacent to the city should be worth a pretty penny.

It was a complete joke last night. Splotchy & looking as though it had some sort of disease or something.

Maybe Egan can use this as another excuse as to why Perth were so indescribably shite last night! He blamed the NSW weather for the result Then I told him it was completely fine (but freezing) in the Gong

Here is the thread on WIN on SydneyFC. People didn't like it! And didn't enjoy being blasted by a rather nasty southerly coming straight in from the Pacific Ocean.
http://www.sydneyfc-unofficial.com/inde ... pic&t=9095

JF
PS:- Would love to be in the Southern stand singing with the Cove. I reckon that would go off something mental! Wollongong singing KULCHA!

f***ing soft.

I believe I described it as "bit of a southerly" to Scoops.

Seriously, that was positively pleasant by WIN Stadium standards.

Bah. WIN has NOTHING on the wind tunnel that is Canberra Stadium.

When I was a Raiders season ticket holder back in 03, the woman who had the seat next to me used to sit in a sleeping bag in her seat.

I actually enjoyed WIN Stadium last night.

The hill was fun and the weather wasn't that bad at all. It reminded me of the NSL all over again. It was a joy to watch a game at a quaint non-boring venue for a change. Pity the actual match was a crapathon. In the second half I spent more time doing laps of the ground and making observations of the ground structures than actually watching the game.

Ahh I didn't use it as an excuse JF, I was just told and was told tonight that it was very wet in Sydney, so I assumed it to be so in the gong and knowing the winter we had in Perth, we wouldn't have been prepared.

They played crap, fine...I accept that and I did state that Sydney FC have an unstoppable side in another message and on the forums, but you seem to selectively choose what I say.

But from the brief reports I have been reading on messageboards and match reports, they played much worse this week then previous weeks.

But congratulations to the all conquering Sydney FC.

One thing about last night. They only opened Gate A, so access to the hill was via the Northern Stand. Anyone sitting in the first few rows of the northern concourse didn't see a thing for the last 5 minutes as early leavers walked by.

A bit of a design flaw of the northern stand, although it's not usually a problem as the area that path serves typically only hosts a maximum of two thousand (and usually much less than that).

Some fair assessments of the ground. I'll always maintain that the road behind the Western Stand serves little purpose and could be built over to accomodate a bigger Western Stand. My favourite part of WIN Stadium is the bar underneath that Western Stand with all the Illawarra Steelers photos. HD will have to get photos next time. The seats are all close to the action but the Western Stand needs some work.

My problem with the hill is that they have not made good use of the space. They should sacrifice the "2nd tier" of the hill in the SE corner for some more facilities. I think some small suites could be built without upsetting the dunes too much, though without a tall Western Stand the sun could be a problem. Than again there are such things as awnings and night games.

Another shortcoming of WIN is that they do not seem to take advantage of what little space they have on the NE and SE corners re: crowd control. Cheesie's comments about the NE corner are something I have also observed. The Steelers Club/WIN Entertainment Centre intersection has become too much of a focal point relative to what the venue can accept.

The question is, is it worth more money to develop, with only 6 NRL games a year and it barely selling to capacity?

I would say no, but I wouldn't be the person who would know the stadium intricately as those in NSW.

I think the ground could justify a redevelopment of the Western Stand.

6 NRL games.
A regular NRL trial that seems to be drawing good crowds.
Local Grand Final that draws good crowds.
Future opportunities for RU and soccer to have regular games there.

Not to mention all the "improving the mood of a regional town undergoing structural economic shifts" talk that gets politicians going.

Ok, if we where to spend money on redeveloping WIN Stadium, what would be your maximum amount you would think it would be worth spending on...I couldn't see anything over 10 million being viable...especially with soccer in the gong committed to Lysaght unless the rumour that WIN Stadium management are looking at funding a team at the ground is correct.

I really see WIN Stadium being a failure though for soccer.

If it was to be redeveloped for 6 games a year, I would put a budget curtail of 10 million to fund the redevelopment.