Sydney Test sold out...

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 8:37 pm

Isnt it about time the SCG cretins decide to fork some cash out and upgrade the SCG?

Day1,2 and 3 all sold out,(45,000 each day)and while the barmy army helps ticket sales,it is all too common for Sydneysiders who continue to miss out on tickets not only for one dayers,but now Test matches.Its becoming standard thats its impossible to get 1 and 2nd day tickets ..doesnt matter whos playing....Now..the barmy army has made it even harder.

The SCG is becoming an embarrassment.Its time they demolish the Bradman and Noble stands and rebuild,upgrade to at least 55,000...

Its only a matter of time before we see oneday cricket at Homebush,but the traditional home (the SCG) is a sick and sorry site for the main game of test cricket..

Fact is....While Sydney has great and superior stadiums such as the SFS and Stadium Australia,the SCG will never go away.It will always be there and I cant see it any other way.

Upgrade to 55,000...now!!!

yob · Post by **yob** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 11:11 pm

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 12:10 am

the scg has lots of character about it. building new stands would ruin it.

tailz · Post by **tailz** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 12:13 am

sorry forgot to login. anyways the scg has lots of character about it. building new stands would ruin it like how the mcg isn't going to have character.

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 1:02 am

I was there and let me tell you, the atmosphere was magnificent today. I should've got tickets for tomorrow as well but I was stupid. It is usually the case for the SCG of late that each one day game with the Aussies sells out as well as the final and Day 1 of the Test. This certainly is unprecedented in my mind.

Renovation would be good but you must remember that they haven't got much else to go. To the South and East there is Fox Studios, who have a 50 year lease on the place. To the West there is Driver Avenue and to the North there is the SCG Members Tennis Courts, Pool, Gym and the Cricket Centre with the nets. The Hill/Doug Walters Stand are is the only real plae to exand. They should go two tier all the way and make the second tier covered. Even tyhen they run into the problem of relocating the old SCG scoreboard which I think is listed as "significant" by the National Trust.

Go up to 50,000. It's about all you can fit and it will keep the atmosphere fantastic.

I don't like the idea of cricket at Telstra all the time. Maybe 1 big one dayer only. Plus the Telstra dimensions aren't that good. I can confirm that the square boundaries marginally SMALLER than the Adelaide Oval. The length is OK though. The SCG field on the other hand has perfect dimensions for cricket and it is a suitable enough venue for most other matches, especially at the 50,000 capacity I pray for.

yob · Post by **yob** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 8:11 am

Although TS isn't the perfect ground for cricket, it's pure economics that if you're going to have huge demand for particular games, you play the game at a venue which can cater for it. I wouldn't want *all* games taken away from the SCG though, just the ones that are going to bust down the doors.

Multi million dollar upgrades on the SCG won't make much return, if any. The swans don't consistently pull large crowds like a team such as the Crows, where they draw 40,000 whether they're top 4 or at the bottom. If the swans are doing well you get close, if they play finals then yes, but if they don't then it goes largely unused. The only reason they'd have to upgrade the SCG is for cricket, and if they don't sell out each and every single match at a minimum you'd be struggling to justify the costs already, even before taking into consideration the fact that there's an 80,000 stadium lying around doing nothing already.

yob · Post by **yob** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 8:24 pm

Jeffles wrote:I was there and let me tell you, the atmosphere was magnificent today. I should've got tickets for tomorrow as well but I was stupid. It is usually the case for the SCG of late that each one day game with the Aussies sells out as well as the final and Day 1 of the Test. This certainly is unprecedented in my mind.

Renovation would be good but you must remember that they haven't got much else to go. To the South and East there is Fox Studios, who have a 50 year lease on the place. To the West there is Driver Avenue and to the North there is the SCG Members Tennis Courts, Pool, Gym and the Cricket Centre with the nets. The Hill/Doug Walters Stand are is the only real plae to exand. They should go two tier all the way and make the second tier covered. Even tyhen they run into the problem of relocating the old SCG scoreboard which I think is listed as "significant" by the National Trust.

Go up to 50,000. It's about all you can fit and it will keep the atmosphere fantastic.

I don't like the idea of cricket at Telstra all the time. Maybe 1 big one dayer only. Plus the Telstra dimensions aren't that good. I can confirm that the square boundaries marginally SMALLER than the Adelaide Oval. The length is OK though. The SCG field on the other hand has perfect dimensions for cricket and it is a suitable enough venue for most other matches, especially at the 50,000 capacity I pray for.

If Thursday's atmosphere was magnificent i'd love to know what today's was

How bout that last half hour. Sensational.

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 12:34 am

One of the finest days of test cricket you will ever see...Waugh...you legend!..and the SCG crowd was great too!

As I said before,I never said that test cricket should be moved from the SCG.Im talking about the lesser form of the game,One day cricket.Telstra is not all that bad and for the comparison with Adelaide.

Adelaide Oval-191x127m
Telstra Stadium-170x128m

Narrow yes,but for one day cricket...no problem.....Boundries are made shorter in one day cricket anyway,and its still an oval shape.

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 7:22 pm

If Thursday's atmosphere was magnificent i'd love to know what today's was How bout that last half hour. Sensational.

Like I said in my post before, stupid me couldn't get a ticket. Probably the greatest single day of an SCG Test in my memory and I wasn't there. Who cares if I saw Warne's 300th wicket, Darren Gough's hat-trick, VVS Laxman's century or Mark Taylor's "soccer" catch. I missed this. It wasn't just the Ton. It was a great all round day. DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN

argee · Post by **argee** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:55 pm

Tailz, I completely disagree that redevelopment takes away a stadium's character. They redeveloped the Gabba and it has a great deal of character which is continuing to grow. And as for the MCG....Have you seen the plans? Its going to be the most magnificent sports arena the world has ever seen. Just for its sheer size it will have character. I believe that having a bunch of older unattractive stands next to the existing Southern Stand made the MCG lose some character, even if they are of significant historical value. Remember, these stands were once new and had no heritage, so give it time to build historical character at least.
Tradition and heritage are good things, I'll give you that. But, if the SCG is redeveloped into a more uniform style of stand it will look much more complete and add to its appeal as a cricket venue. Higgledy-piggledy styles of stands make the SCG look a little strange. I hate the idea of cricket at Telstra Stadium. The playing surface that is at the sides that are usually under the stands in normal configuration always looks really crappy when AFL is played there, so it will probably be the same for cricket. Keep it at the SCG.

yob · Post by **yob** » Sun Jan 05, 2003 8:16 am

You're quite possibly the first person i've ever seen that thinks the new gabba has character

marcus · Post by **marcus** » Sun Jan 05, 2003 7:53 pm

Egan · Post by **Egan** » Sun Jan 05, 2003 10:43 pm

I totally agree, i have been critical of the Gabbas character, it is just another huge concrete jungle, just the way the Gabbas seating is planned out, is not beneficial for the game of cricket. The GABBA has turned into a ground for AFL rather then cricket. Yet unlike the WACA the mistake is permanent and will have to waityear before the ground is out dated to turn it back to a ground that is conclusive to cricket.

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Sun Jan 05, 2003 11:25 pm

The Hill area will probably be earmarked for the next redevlopment. 2 years ago the reconfigured the concourse and replaced all seats outside the Members area to become that current green colour that it is. But the Hill did not get any of this treatment. I think it is because the Trust may have plans for it. I heard about the motel plan but I think that is silly. Behind the Hill is Fox studios. But it is a huge drop to the ground level of Fox in that South east corner (something like 4-6 storeys). This is because there is a big hill running down southwards on the east side of the complex.

My idea would be for a proper grandstand (2-3 tier like the Churchill) all the way round the Hill. Then put the scoreboard in place of the Dally Messenger Stand (still in great view for the Members). But like I said, the old scoreboard is a hurdle. There was a proposal to relocate it behin the Members Stand and put it there as a new building with Trust offices or spectator services etc.

I went to the Test today and will be going tomorrow. For the record, we need 34,000 on Day 5 to get the all time attedance record for an SCG Test. It is already a record aggregate crowd for the current SCG configruration (past 3 years) and a record aggregate attendance since the SCG became an all seater venue (the 1993 World Cup).

I love that ground. It is my favourite stadium in NSW. I want to be buried there.

PS. It is up to the fans to make the atmosphere. Yes concrete can be a barrier. But it is up us the fans to change that. Good times and great memories can bring a place into the elte class. Give the GABBA and WACA time. They'll grow on you

argee · Post by **argee** » Sun Jan 05, 2003 11:26 pm

Of course the Gabba would be configured in an AFL friendly way as there are more events of that variety held there. The Gabba hosts one test match a year on average and a relatively small number of Pura Cup games (a large number are held at the more intimate Allan Border Field), so of course it has to be seen as an AFL ground.
Having been to the Gabba for Lions games I would say that it has a great deal of character. While it may look more modern and less jumbled (read 'tidier') than the SCG, the atmosphere that is provided by the enclosed setting when the crowd roars another Lions win (and there are alot of wins these days) is truly electrifying and on par with anything that may emanate out of the picturesque yet cramped Members Stand at the SCG when the inane Steve Waugh wows us yet again with his ever rarer brilliance.

Its time that those who are living in the past with the SCG authorities looked at the example that the Gabba and more spectacularly the MCG (now thats a lot of concrete jungle- more than the Gabba at least) for the way to do things in this era of spectators desiring comfort as well as tradition- something that the Gabba and MCG provide in many ways.
I think that if tradition is so important to the SCG and its admirers it should look to the recent spate of retro baseball stadia in the United States (PacBell Park in San Francisco, Minute Maid Park in Houston, Coors Field in Denver). Using classic brick and glass designs from the early to mid twentieth century, such stadia step into the future while also remaining in the past. Its a clever way to appease as many interest groups as possible.
So, in conclusion: Leave the Gabba alone and give its character time to grow on you....