Suburban grounds are footy’s bedrock
afl.com.au
By Matthew Richardson 7:01 AM Wed 01 April, 2009
I WOULD never want to play away from the MCG given a choice, but if it’s the only way clubs can make money, the AFL could do worse than look to the suburbs.
Suburban grounds are the bedrock of our great game.
They’re the grounds that almost every football player in the country plays on – kids, ammos, state leagues, you name it, they play on grounds in the suburbs.
It’s a great experience, where you play with your teammates purely for the love of the game, and learn about commitment and leadership and loyalty.
I loved it in Tasmania growing up, and they were still using them for the VFL here in Melbourne when I came to the Tigers as young kid.
Princes Park – I liked playing there, I liked the nature of it, being out in the suburbs. And I played at Waverley too, but I didn’t play at Vic Park or Moorabbin. I’m the oldest player in the league, but I’m not that old!
I played at the Junction Oval when I first came to Richmond, in 1993. We had a reserves game down there. I think it was against Melbourne, and I’ve got good memories of that ground as well.
It just felt more like where I’d come from, I guess – more like Tassie, playing on a ground with one grandstand, where you might have a few cars parked around the edge.
That’s real suburban, but we watched Coburg (Richmond’s VFL team) play the Bullants at Princes Park on the weekend, and I was thinking at the time, ‘Why couldn’t they have a smaller, boutique ground like this? It would be perfect for teams who are getting a raw deal when they’re playing, say, an interstate team and you’re not expecting more than 25-30,000’.
It makes sense to have a smaller stadium, because playing in front of 20,000 people at the MCG is a bit lifeless.
I mean, you look at the little boutique stadium they’re building for the Victory there on Swan St – they’re going to fill that up most weeks and it’s going to have a fantastic atmosphere.
For games when you are only going to get your 20,000 or 25,000 it’s a viable option.
So you wonder whether the AFL could go down that path with a third ground, for sure.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/74132/default.aspx
