Gold Coast to host first test match...and other QLD Test hosting news..

[Army_Gav]

Gav, I like seeing games in Melbourne as much as the next non-Melbourne resident, but the crowd numbers and interest in Rugby Union in Queensland at the moment is too good to pass up. If they didn't put more action in Queensland they'd be looking a gift horse in the chompers.

Granted you would provide matches to Brisbane and to Sydney, they're the "strongholds" after all. However I don't believe in locking in particular fixtures for X amount of years. Melbourne has the biggest capacity venue in Australia (and don't give them the oval BS arugment). A packed MCG trumps the atmosphere of all.

 

[Slim 293]

Rugby at the MCG friggin sucks...

The atmosphere of 15,000 people at a SupeRugby match at AAMI park was way better than the Bledisloe I went to at the MCG... which the Wallabies won...

The fact is that watching rugby at an oval shaped ground where you're miles back from the action is no fun at all...

 

[Army_Gav]

Rugby at the MCG friggin sucks...

The atmosphere of 15,000 people at a SupeRugby match at AAMI park was way better than the Bledisloe I went to at the MCG... which the Wallabies won...

The fact is that watching rugby at an oval shaped ground where you're miles back from the action is no fun at all...

AAMI Park has been designed with atmosphere in mind, not capacity (blame Le Fuse for that). Most Victorians I speak to, big the differ regarding the G. Most people would prefer the MCG over Etihad.

 

[Slim 293]

MCG is great for AFL... terrible for rugby...

 

[redsfanatic]

this is awesome!
Being a Brisbanite (lol) I hate seeing Sydney have so many tests. I believe Brisbane can have as many people going to their games, and good on the ARU for doing this.

 

[redsfanatic]

Granted you would provide matches to Brisbane and to Sydney, they're the "strongholds" after all. However I don't believe in locking in particular fixtures for X amount of years. Melbourne has the biggest capacity venue in Australia (and don't give them the oval BS arugment). A packed MCG trumps the atmosphere of all.

But for a rugby game the MCG is NEVER packed. Face it, MCG is for cricket and AFL, not rugby.

 

[Army_Gav]

[video=youtube;ayX9jY0l18Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayX9jY0l18Q[/video]

[video=youtube;_NMFbUvRifE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NMFbUvRifE&feature=related[/video]

 

[TOCC]

Granted you would provide matches to Brisbane and to Sydney, they're the "strongholds" after all. However I don't believe in locking in particular fixtures for X amount of years. Melbourne has the biggest capacity venue in Australia (and don't give them the oval BS arugment). A packed MCG trumps the atmosphere of all.

The opportunity to lock in a steady revenue stream over a extended period is the principle aim of any good business, this is a smart decision by the ARU.

 

[Slim 293]

I was at that Bledisloe at the MCG in 2007...

The crowd was around 78,000 which is poor for MCG standards... and it was mostly a Kiwi crowd...

It was a great game, but it wasn't built for rugby and it's not great watching a match there...

 

[Army_Gav]

The opportunity to lock in a steady revenue stream over a extended period is the principle aim of any good business, this is a smart decision by the ARU.

What about unforseen growth/popularity? Eg. Hypothetically crowds in Melbourne surpass that of other cities?

The ARU agreeing to 3 Bledisloes over a 10 year period at the MCG from 1997-2007, was a good idea.

You can't disagree with the fact that the ARU have really stuffed us around for the better part of the professional area. Handing us mediocre tests, overlooking us in pronvinicial and club aspects. Yet we still turn out in numbers.

 

[Army_Gav]

I was at that Bledisloe at the MCG in 2007...

The crowd was around 78,000 which is poor for MCG standards... and it was mostly a Kiwi crowd...

It was a great game, but it wasn't built for rugby and it's not great watching a match there...

I was at the test in Sydney against England in 2010. 48,000 is poor.

 

[TOCC]

Come on mate, Melbourne has had just as many Bledisloes as Brisbane the past decade, Tri-Nations tests at least every second year, they were given it's fair share of RWC03 matches, hosted the Lions in 2001, not to mention crowd pulling English a couple of times as well.. and they were just granted a super rugby side by the ARU

Considering the playing numbers in Victoria, Melbourne has proportionately speaking hosted more Tests then any other Australian city in the past decade.

 

[Joe Mac]

Army Gav,

Now that you have JOC (James O'Connor) and Gilbert heading South I agree they should play the games at the G. Only they should play the game on the whole oval. Those two would score so many tries in the open space they would win next years Super 15 and force JON to rethink his current strategy.

Until then, i agree with striking while the iron is hot and capturing as much mungo interest in QLD while they can...

 

[Slim 293]

I was at the test in Sydney against England in 2010. 48,000 is poor.

But England is not a Bledisloe...

Rugby at the MCG: