Stadium puts fans in the action

Austadiums • Monday 7th April 2003

You will sit as little as 6m from the touch-line, cradled in your own bucket seat knowing you're closer to the on-field action than any sports fan in Australia.

Back in the cheap seats the farthest fan will be less than 50m behind you, still close enough to see the sweat.

If you miss the action that planners guarantee you'll be able to see it again no matter where you're sitting, via two 60sq m videos screening replays.

Around you, enough people to fill a medium Queensland city will be either watching the game, eating at one of the 2020 dining spaces or lounging at one of the outdoor bars, watching the game while drinking a beer.

Amid the industrial strife and anxiety about completion dates, the reality is that when the Suncorp Stadium opens in June Queenslanders will have a world- class stadium bringing fans closer to the playing field than any stadium in Australia.

More than half the seats at Suncorp will be closer to the action than any of the seats currently available at the ANZ Stadium, where the closest you will get to the touch line is 32m.

At ANZ you can be left 81m from the touchline compared with a maximum of 55m at Suncorp. And in Sydney, at Telstra Stadium the closest you can get is 12m to the touch line, Telstra Dome 15m and Aussie Stadium 14m.

Peter Skinner, head of the architectural department at University of Queensland, initially skeptical, has given the Suncorp stadium his seal of approval.

After an inspection this week he cited close crowd involvement as a key ingredient. "I was really quite pleasantly surprised, and I didn't expect to be," he said.

"The rectangular configuration will give all the seats a very good sense of the play and the roofing is quite low giving a sense of containment. That should allow for good acoustic effects with sound building up to give a sense of excitement."

Some seat have views to the William Jolly Bridge, Red Hill and out to the mountains.

"One of the debates, especially about cricket fields, is that they become too internalised and cut off from the city," Mr Skinner said. "Here you will have a sense of the action as well as a feeling of connection to the city."

Architects behind the project say they set out to create the "Cardiff Arms Park of the south".

Architect Alastair Richardson, principal of HOK Sport Venue Event Pty Ltd and Suncorp design director, says there are also uniquely Queensland touches.

"We've incorporated these large outdoor restaurants because Queenslanders love to eat outdoors," he said. "And we've got bars where you'll actually be able to drink a beer while watching the game."

Mr Richardson said the crowd capacity of 52,500 seats was in keeping with international trends.

A crowd of 25,000 at a 100,000 capacity stadium destroyed the intimacy, he said.

"You want atmosphere. If you get a 25,000 strong crowd at Suncorp the stadium is going to be half full."

Deputy Premier Terry Mackenroth says Suncorp will provide enough services to keep a small city moving. With more than 70 per cent of the crowd under cover, the stadium will have a 900-seat restaurant and two 400-seat restaurants as well as about 300 more dining places.

There will be 31 bars, 30 food and beverages outlets, 14 lifts, 320 televisions, and two television studios.

Enough concrete will go into the stadium to fill 20 Olympic swimming pools. There's 10,000 sq m of glass and 11,000 sq m of carpet.

But for all this, the fan is going to pay more. The cheapest Bronco ticket will rise by $3.50 to $19.50.

Family season passes have jumped from $530 last season to $810 and a single pensioner pass has nearly tripled.

Pensioner seats in the eastern stand of ANZ Stadium last season sold for $84. At Suncorp Stadium, a similar seat will cost $235.

Mr Mackenroth says crowds will happily pay more to get closer proximity to the players. "You are going to feel the tackles," he said.

Suncorp Stadium

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You will sit as little as 6m from the touch-line, cradled in your own bucket seat knowing you're closer to the on-field action than any sports fan in Australia.
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