Lang Park - Hype Gives Way To Inadequacy and Frustration
Austadiums • Monday 2nd June 2003
Despite the saturation coverage given to a big block of concrete and glass with a patch of grass in the middle this week, Suncorp-Metway Stadium failed dismally in its first real test.
While Broncos officials asked fans for patience in what they described was the venue's dress rehearsal for State of Origin, there were a string of incidents and difficulties getting in, sitting in and getting out of the ground which is supposedly one of the best football venues in the world.
It's only fair to start from the beginning. Getting to the venue - if you leave early enough - is relatively smooth. Trains and buses combine with walkways and tunnels to make getting to the place a simple task for even the most public transportation illiterate patron.
However, Milton Railway Station showed glimpses of its inadequacies on the first test. On arrival at the platform, there was a major bottleneck getting up the platform steps onto the walkway. Given that there was only one train load of passengers at the time, it raised alarm bells for what was to come after full time.
Arriving at the attractive southern plaza, the real acid test was coming - and in reality we knew what to expect. Could we get our flags in? For those in Brisbane or with Pay TV, you may have seen when promoting Broncos games regular shots of a section of the crowd with two big flags in the middle of a series of other banners. One flag a maroon and gold flag with the pre-2000 logo, and the second white, blue, maroon and gold with the new logo and Bronco Power emblazoned on the top and bottom sections.
The flags, which were created more than four years ago an were let in without fail at ANZ Stadium, are supported by collapsable flag poles which are easy to transport, and are very compact. The material is very lightweight, ensuring they are easy to wave and, most importantly, provide minimal disruption if they do happen to come in contact with other people. In four years of using them at ANZ Stadium, we have had not one skerrick of drama.
However, deep down - or actually, not that deep down - I knew that Suncorp-Metway Stadium security - or Cap Security Services to name the vendor (appropriately named to enable the insertion of a single letter to praise their performance) - would be on a power trip on their first examination and cause us troubles. I was right.
"What's in the bag?" the highly intelligent inspector asked, not able to interpret what the maroon and gold material might be.
"Flags," I replied.
"Um, I don't think you're allowed to have flags," was their response. He turned uncertainly to his colleague who stepped forward.
"Are there any poles?" At this point I resisted the urge to tell him that I used a complex method of anti-gravity combined with high powered air from an invisible device powered by pixie dust to lift and wave the flags and answered honestly.
"Yes, see?" I showed him our poles, which were each less than a metre long.
"Sorry, you can't have poles," he said, motioning me to the bin. Given that we'd spent hours 4 years ago devising our flag pole system, I was going to be damned if I was going to let them throw them out.
"Well, can I at least cloak them?" I asked incredulously.
"Oh yes! Follow me," he said, leading me inside the stadium to the office. We took the flags out and handed over the bag of poles. "You can get them after the game, no dramas." He almost expected me to be happy about the situation - my wife was less than impressed. It was only in her current building rage that those poles were potential weapons, but they were now safely behind locked doors.
And thus killed the Broncos' much repeated claim that the return to Lang Park would increase atmosphere and allow them to play at a venue that intimidates their opposition. Sorry fans, you're allowed to support your team, but don't you dare bring in a visual display of your support.
And the dramas with Cap Security Services didn't end there. With our seats located in the front row of the stadium, and our group consisting of 16 people, just about all of whom held flags and banners sans-poles, we decided we'd arrange them on the fence.
As if attracted by the scent of power, security guards descended on us once more. "You can't cover the advertising signs," they said. At which point we cruelly dobbed in another Broncos fan with - shock, horror - a flag pole attached to his flag! Their reaction? "That doesn't seem fair, if you want you can talk to the security manager."
We obliged. We discussed our plight and their response was to take us through the stadium conditions, particularly the one about "flags and flag poles may be refused entry at the stadium's discretion." Straight away, the condition itself promotes conflict, because some fans will be able to bring their flags in and others won't, and their fate decided by which power hungry, intellectually derelict capped crusader they come across on entry.
The issue will be taken up with the relevant authorities, and if a sufficient resolution is not received we will take action - whether that be to demand a refund on our season tickets or worse.
The stadium itself, to be fair, is good. It's a bit ugly in its size and obsession with concrete and glass, but the view even from the front row is great, the two screens at either end are clear, and the number of eating and drinking facilities are plentiful.
However, for all the wonderful technology, for some reason one entire block of toilets was off limits. One wonders which of the food outlets caused the gastronomic disaster that has amounted to the closest thing to discovering weapons of mass destruction since the Iraq war began, or whether in flushing all toilets in the venue on Saturday they realised they hadn't plugged the pipes in on that level. Who knows, but when you have 46000 fans at a 52000 seat stadium and you shut one entire block of toilets, you're creating problems.
And then, ignoring the disastrous performance of the Broncos, getting out was the biggest drama of all. After a 10 minute wait in the aisle just to get into the fabled 360 degree concourse, the hoardes of frustrated fans made their way for the exits. We, of course, detoured to retrieve our confiscated flag poles, which added just five minutes to our exit.
We then proceeded to the grey-concrete road - the Milton Railway walkway. We now understand how cattle feel when they're forced through pen gates that are painfully narrow. After joining the walkway queue at 5pm, we eventually completed the 500 metre walk to the station platform by 5:45pm. Looking back, there were now at least 5000 other fans stuck on the walkway at a standstill.
Two platforms full of patrons stood with varying levels of patience waiting for an Ipswich-bound train. In the 30 minutes we stood on the platform, no less than five Caboolture bound trains came from Ipswich through the station - all were less than 10% full and less than a dozen Lang Park patrons got on board.
Eventually, an Ipswich-bound train arrived, to the cheers and jeers of the waiting travellers - with the snooty, quietly arrogant and sexually ambiguous Queensland Rail staffer condescendingly mocking our frustration. As a matter of interest, the other platform - which had been waiting at least 10 mintues longer than us - still didn't have a train.
Our journey - just four stops - took in total, from the time we left our seats to the time we arrived at our car, 90 minutes.
The lesson learnt is not to catch a train, but not having investigated the bus platform post-game it's difficult to judge whether that indeed would have presented a better option or if Lang Park simply is still the most poorly placed sporting venue in the world.
Some may say that this frustration has merely been heightened by the fact the Broncos were beaten. However, having been an ANZ Stadium regular over the past seven years - including crowds of up to 60000 at times - the comparison is, well, incomparable. The average travel time from ANZ Stadium to our home in Indooroopilly is less than 60 minutes - despite being across town.
Stadium Australia at the 2000 Grand Final had more than 90000 fans on hand. There was a 40 minute wait to get onto the trains there as well, but given almost double the attendance that was understandable.
If you're willing to sacrifice your entire day and evening, your sanity, and your supporter paraphernalia for a good seat, then Lang Park will certainly live up to its hype. If you want an all round enjoyable experience as a day out, brace yourself - Lang Park won't provide.
By Chris Cox
While Broncos officials asked fans for patience in what they described was the venue's dress rehearsal for State of Origin, there were a string of incidents and difficulties getting in, sitting in and getting out of the ground which is supposedly one of the best football venues in the world.
It's only fair to start from the beginning. Getting to the venue - if you leave early enough - is relatively smooth. Trains and buses combine with walkways and tunnels to make getting to the place a simple task for even the most public transportation illiterate patron.
However, Milton Railway Station showed glimpses of its inadequacies on the first test. On arrival at the platform, there was a major bottleneck getting up the platform steps onto the walkway. Given that there was only one train load of passengers at the time, it raised alarm bells for what was to come after full time.
Arriving at the attractive southern plaza, the real acid test was coming - and in reality we knew what to expect. Could we get our flags in? For those in Brisbane or with Pay TV, you may have seen when promoting Broncos games regular shots of a section of the crowd with two big flags in the middle of a series of other banners. One flag a maroon and gold flag with the pre-2000 logo, and the second white, blue, maroon and gold with the new logo and Bronco Power emblazoned on the top and bottom sections.
The flags, which were created more than four years ago an were let in without fail at ANZ Stadium, are supported by collapsable flag poles which are easy to transport, and are very compact. The material is very lightweight, ensuring they are easy to wave and, most importantly, provide minimal disruption if they do happen to come in contact with other people. In four years of using them at ANZ Stadium, we have had not one skerrick of drama.
However, deep down - or actually, not that deep down - I knew that Suncorp-Metway Stadium security - or Cap Security Services to name the vendor (appropriately named to enable the insertion of a single letter to praise their performance) - would be on a power trip on their first examination and cause us troubles. I was right.
"What's in the bag?" the highly intelligent inspector asked, not able to interpret what the maroon and gold material might be.
"Flags," I replied.
"Um, I don't think you're allowed to have flags," was their response. He turned uncertainly to his colleague who stepped forward.
"Are there any poles?" At this point I resisted the urge to tell him that I used a complex method of anti-gravity combined with high powered air from an invisible device powered by pixie dust to lift and wave the flags and answered honestly.
"Yes, see?" I showed him our poles, which were each less than a metre long.
"Sorry, you can't have poles," he said, motioning me to the bin. Given that we'd spent hours 4 years ago devising our flag pole system, I was going to be damned if I was going to let them throw them out.
"Well, can I at least cloak them?" I asked incredulously.
"Oh yes! Follow me," he said, leading me inside the stadium to the office. We took the flags out and handed over the bag of poles. "You can get them after the game, no dramas." He almost expected me to be happy about the situation - my wife was less than impressed. It was only in her current building rage that those poles were potential weapons, but they were now safely behind locked doors.
And thus killed the Broncos' much repeated claim that the return to Lang Park would increase atmosphere and allow them to play at a venue that intimidates their opposition. Sorry fans, you're allowed to support your team, but don't you dare bring in a visual display of your support.
And the dramas with Cap Security Services didn't end there. With our seats located in the front row of the stadium, and our group consisting of 16 people, just about all of whom held flags and banners sans-poles, we decided we'd arrange them on the fence.
As if attracted by the scent of power, security guards descended on us once more. "You can't cover the advertising signs," they said. At which point we cruelly dobbed in another Broncos fan with - shock, horror - a flag pole attached to his flag! Their reaction? "That doesn't seem fair, if you want you can talk to the security manager."
We obliged. We discussed our plight and their response was to take us through the stadium conditions, particularly the one about "flags and flag poles may be refused entry at the stadium's discretion." Straight away, the condition itself promotes conflict, because some fans will be able to bring their flags in and others won't, and their fate decided by which power hungry, intellectually derelict capped crusader they come across on entry.
The issue will be taken up with the relevant authorities, and if a sufficient resolution is not received we will take action - whether that be to demand a refund on our season tickets or worse.
The stadium itself, to be fair, is good. It's a bit ugly in its size and obsession with concrete and glass, but the view even from the front row is great, the two screens at either end are clear, and the number of eating and drinking facilities are plentiful.
However, for all the wonderful technology, for some reason one entire block of toilets was off limits. One wonders which of the food outlets caused the gastronomic disaster that has amounted to the closest thing to discovering weapons of mass destruction since the Iraq war began, or whether in flushing all toilets in the venue on Saturday they realised they hadn't plugged the pipes in on that level. Who knows, but when you have 46000 fans at a 52000 seat stadium and you shut one entire block of toilets, you're creating problems.
And then, ignoring the disastrous performance of the Broncos, getting out was the biggest drama of all. After a 10 minute wait in the aisle just to get into the fabled 360 degree concourse, the hoardes of frustrated fans made their way for the exits. We, of course, detoured to retrieve our confiscated flag poles, which added just five minutes to our exit.
We then proceeded to the grey-concrete road - the Milton Railway walkway. We now understand how cattle feel when they're forced through pen gates that are painfully narrow. After joining the walkway queue at 5pm, we eventually completed the 500 metre walk to the station platform by 5:45pm. Looking back, there were now at least 5000 other fans stuck on the walkway at a standstill.
Two platforms full of patrons stood with varying levels of patience waiting for an Ipswich-bound train. In the 30 minutes we stood on the platform, no less than five Caboolture bound trains came from Ipswich through the station - all were less than 10% full and less than a dozen Lang Park patrons got on board.
Eventually, an Ipswich-bound train arrived, to the cheers and jeers of the waiting travellers - with the snooty, quietly arrogant and sexually ambiguous Queensland Rail staffer condescendingly mocking our frustration. As a matter of interest, the other platform - which had been waiting at least 10 mintues longer than us - still didn't have a train.
Our journey - just four stops - took in total, from the time we left our seats to the time we arrived at our car, 90 minutes.
The lesson learnt is not to catch a train, but not having investigated the bus platform post-game it's difficult to judge whether that indeed would have presented a better option or if Lang Park simply is still the most poorly placed sporting venue in the world.
Some may say that this frustration has merely been heightened by the fact the Broncos were beaten. However, having been an ANZ Stadium regular over the past seven years - including crowds of up to 60000 at times - the comparison is, well, incomparable. The average travel time from ANZ Stadium to our home in Indooroopilly is less than 60 minutes - despite being across town.
Stadium Australia at the 2000 Grand Final had more than 90000 fans on hand. There was a 40 minute wait to get onto the trains there as well, but given almost double the attendance that was understandable.
If you're willing to sacrifice your entire day and evening, your sanity, and your supporter paraphernalia for a good seat, then Lang Park will certainly live up to its hype. If you want an all round enjoyable experience as a day out, brace yourself - Lang Park won't provide.
By Chris Cox
