Author Topic: Home games at Punt Rd?  (Read 15014 times)

Offline Smokey

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Home games at Punt Rd?
« on: March 19, 2013, 06:30:11 PM »
EXCLUSIVE: AFL in push for new, third stadium

Charles Happell

Written on Tuesday, 19 March 2013 14:00

The AFL is seriously examining plans to redevelop either the Punt Rd Oval or Princes Park into a boutique, 25,000-seat stadium - to help ease the financial burden on smaller Victorian clubs hobbled by onerous Etihad Stadium deals.

Already, the league has had preliminary plans drawn up as part of a feasibility study into both the Richmond and Carlton precincts.

In the Punt Rd plans, a footbridge would be built directly from Richmond train station over Brunton Avenue and Punt Rd to the ground. The attractiveness of the ground is its proximity to public transport and ease of parking at the MCG - where the AFL would not schedule clashing fixtures.

The Princes Park option would be less expensive because there is already capacity for 15,000 at the ground. It suffers, though, from lack of public transport access, apart from tram routes, and easy parking. 

North Melbourne's Arden St ground has also been floated as an option but is even more remote, in terms of public transport and other infrastructure, than Princes Park.

Either way, the AFL sees the third-ground option as a panacea for many of its problems and is pushing hard to get a deal done.

Having been frustrated in its attempts to buy back Etihad Stadium from its owners, and continually held back by the financial problems of its smaller Victorian clubs such as the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne, the league has taken the dramatic step of exploring this proposal to help redistribute some of its gate-takings revenue.

At the moment, tenant clubs at Etihad Stadium - including St Kilda, the Bulldogs and North - need to draw crowds upwards of 20,000 to make any money at all on home matches, and upwards of 30,000 to draw any meaningful revenue. Occasionally, when an interstate club such as Gold Coast or Port Adelaide comes to town and plays in front of 10,000 or 12,000, the tenant clubs have to write the stadium owners a cheque.

The introduction of GWS and Gold Coast to the competition brings to eight the number of non-Victorian clubs, increasing the likelihood of these small attendances.

Any redevelopment of Punt Rd or Princes Park would cost between $100 million and $150 million and the finished product, like AAMI Park, would be an all-seater, all mod-cons stadium, primarily designed to cater for smaller and medium-sized Victorian clubs playing non-Victorian opposition.

The proposal was brought up at a club CEOs' conference in January and is sure to get another airing at the CEOs' and presidents' meeting tomorrow, at which the contentious subject of equalisation funding will be addressed as part of the ongoing - and increasingly fraught - rich-v-poor debate among clubs.

It is believed the Richmond board has not yet met to formally discuss the plan, but would set up a working party as soon as practicable.

One senior Richmond official said: ''This idea of a boutique stadium will become a hot topic this year, a big ticket item for the AFL. It will help solve many of the issues facing the competition because the league would own the stadium''.

The one drawback to the Punt Rd plan is the recent construction of the ME Bank Centre - home of Richmond's training and administration offices, as well as an Indigenous education centre - on the western side of the ground, and how that would fit into any redevelopment.

AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said yesterday the league was having difficulty in persuading Etihad's owner, Melbourne Stadiums Ltd, to sell the stadium ahead of the official handover date of March 8, 2025, when the AFL takes ownership of the Docklands' site.

If the league was able to broker such a deal - and it has been reported Melbourne Stadiums Ltd is asking for $250 million for the remaining 12 years of the Etihad contract - then the need for the third stadium would become redundant.

An AFL spokesman tonight said the league had no comment to make on the matter.

http://www.backpagelead.com.au/afl/8860-exclusive-afl-in-push-for-new-third-stadium

Offline yellowandback

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Re: Home games at Punt Rd?
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2013, 06:40:54 PM »
Great initiative by the AFL but overdue!
I've been thinking since the new clubs have arrived that we need a 3rd smaller ground - actually couldn't believe AAMI Park was not going to cater for AFL as well?
Thought they might also consider Junction Oval as state cricket is played there.
Perhaps the AFL can use their famous "persuasive selling skills" to do a deal where Punt Rd becomes the new home for state cricket and AFL football?
You would think that this solves any issue of return of capital employed into the venture and the MCC a perfect back up option for hosting the shield final.
 :thumbsup
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"I discussed (it) with my three daughters, my wife and my 82-year-old mum, because it has really affected me … If those comments … were made about one of my daughters, it would make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I would not have liked it at all.”

Offline Crazy_Ivan

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Re: Home games at Punt Rd?
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2013, 06:43:06 PM »
Get Stuffed AFL.Puntroad oval is our ground. >:(

Gigantor

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Re: Home games at Punt Rd?
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2013, 06:44:09 PM »
IF Benny and co can pull this one off,i will adopt him as my new saviour

Offline Phil Mrakov

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Re: Home games at Punt Rd?
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2013, 06:52:24 PM »
They'll make us move.

There's no room to build that there anyway
hhhaaarrgghhh hhhhaaarrggghhh hhhhaaaarrrggghh
HHAAARRRGGGHHHH HHHHAAARRRGGGHHHH HHHHHAAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH

Offline Phil Mrakov

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Re: Home games at Punt Rd?
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2013, 07:00:11 PM »
They'd want to demolish the Jack Dyer stand too
hhhaaarrgghhh hhhhaaarrggghhh hhhhaaaarrrggghh
HHAAARRRGGGHHHH HHHHAAARRRGGGHHHH HHHHHAAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH

Gigantor

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Re: Home games at Punt Rd?
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2013, 07:03:06 PM »
We can have a new jack dyer stand and a kevin bartlett stand and a michael roach stand and maybe the dale weightman footbridge from the station..while we are at it rename the richmond station the Tommy hafey station
This will give us the opportunity to plaster our name everywhere






















Offline Smokey

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Re: Home games at Punt Rd?
« Reply #7 on: March 19, 2013, 07:04:18 PM »
Wouldn't Eddie Everywhere be jealous!   :lol

Offline yellowandback

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Re: Home games at Punt Rd?
« Reply #8 on: March 19, 2013, 07:08:38 PM »
Wouldn't Eddie Everywhere be jealous!   :lol

It would be the coup of this century.
Remember how the Lexus Centre set up Collingwood all those years ago.
This would dwarf it by comparison.
It's that simple Spud
"I discussed (it) with my three daughters, my wife and my 82-year-old mum, because it has really affected me … If those comments … were made about one of my daughters, it would make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I would not have liked it at all.”

Offline WilliamPowell

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Re: Home games at Punt Rd?
« Reply #9 on: March 19, 2013, 08:05:38 PM »
They'd want to demolish the Jack Dyer stand too

They can't it is heritage listed I believe

It's a nice idea but I cannot see it happening at Punt Road

And this is why:

"The one drawback to the Punt Rd plan is the recent construction of the ME Bank Centre - home of Richmond's training and administration offices, as well as an Indigenous education centre - on the western side of the ground, and how that would fit into any redevelopment"

Punt Road oval is "limited" space, hence why the oval reconfiguration is Etihad size rather than MCG, there isn't the room

So where do you put any new stands

IF Benny and co can pull this one off,i will adopt him as my new saviour

it will have nothing to do with Benny & the RFC IMHO, if it was to happen it will be driven by the AFL because they will need to get the funding. And that would be another good reason to avoid it - AFL control (just cal me cynical)

actually couldn't believe AAMI Park was not going to cater for AFL as well?

AAMI Park was purpose built as a rectangular stadium for soccer and rugby so places like Etihad wouldn't need to be used

Perhaps the AFL can use their famous "persuasive selling skills" to do a deal where Punt Rd becomes the new home for state cricket and AFL football?
You would think that this solves any issue of return of capital employed into the venture and the MCC a perfect back up option for hosting the shield final.
 :thumbsup

Are you suggesting that after taking years to get rid of cricket off Punt Road oval and making it footy only you want to put it back on to host State cricket ?

Junction Oval will be the home of State Cricket and I think indirectly you've actually come up with where you'd have this 3rd "boutique" stadium. Upgrade the Junction properly and you can use it for footy during winter and have it for cricket in summer 7/5 split (7 for cricket and 5 for footy)
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Offline yellowandback

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Re: Home games at Punt Rd?
« Reply #10 on: March 19, 2013, 08:16:46 PM »
No, my first point was that Junction Oval was the solution for both.
I agree that Punt Rd is unlikely but would be more pipedream and a great outcome for the tigers - good point on the state cricket we'd have nowhere to train!
It's that simple Spud
"I discussed (it) with my three daughters, my wife and my 82-year-old mum, because it has really affected me … If those comments … were made about one of my daughters, it would make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I would not have liked it at all.”

Offline torch

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Re: Home games at Punt Rd?
« Reply #11 on: March 19, 2013, 09:14:49 PM »
I thought when they built Docklands it was AFL owned?

A third stadium would solve all problems that ...

North Melbourne, St Kilda and Western Bulldogs. I would throw in Melbourne too.

Where to build?

Visy Park? Build a whole new one maybe at the suggested E-gate?


Offline Bengal

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Re: Home games at Punt Rd?
« Reply #12 on: March 19, 2013, 09:42:29 PM »
 i'm with you Mrakov i think we'd be asked to train somewhere else. i kind of like the ground how it is now. its familiar and new at the same time. it has culture and spirit while also being state of the art.  if a smaller docklands gets built we lose out as far as it being our club base with the hauntings of players past.

imagine a punt road tunnel being created to divert the traffic!!  lmao.  another disaster.

Offline WilliamPowell

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Re: Home games at Punt Rd?
« Reply #13 on: March 19, 2013, 09:47:25 PM »
I thought when they built Docklands it was AFL owned?



AFL will own it on 2025 when they have to $1 for it
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Offline bojangles17

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Re: Home games at Punt Rd?
« Reply #14 on: March 19, 2013, 10:54:27 PM »
Of all the options punt rd is actually most attractive given proximity to transport and parking, this criteria effectively ruling out any other legit option n visy or arden st. Very interesting :shh
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