Reds 2023

[dru]

Yea it’s rumoured, QRU would be supporting it in the lead-up to the Olympics. It provides extra justification for picking up some of that Olympic funding for renovating the eastern stand.

Last time the Road had an agreement to train/play at Ballymore it ended up in unpaid rent and the QRU almost tipped the Roar into insolvency by taking them to court over debts.

Why on earth would we go there again?

 

[RugbyReg]

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Why on earth would we go there again?

Why risk $100k rent if it helps us get $$20m to $50M for a stadium upgrade?? Hmmm. Not sure.

 

[dillyboy]

Is it similar to South Auckland? Are they stick to rugby or switch to League?

Most of the islanders I know are league mad but will all also happily talk about the Rugby (and seem shocked when I'm only interested in the Rugby)

 

[dru]

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Why risk $100k rent if it helps us get $$20m to $50M for a stadium upgrade?? Hmmm. Not sure.

You're expecting $50M for a further upgrade at Ballymore?

 

[Adam84]

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Why risk $100k rent if it helps us get $$20m to $50M for a stadium upgrade?? Hmmm. Not sure.

Precisely..

Ballymore needs to make itself as more than just a rugby union training facility for the Reds if it wants government funding. Politicians prefer to put their names next to funding grants for projects with descriptions like ‘community facility’, ‘multi-sport’, ‘Olympic legacy’ and ‘women’s sport’.

 

[Adam84]

You're expecting $50M for a further upgrade at Ballymore?

$20million is about the minimum required to bring it up to standard necessary for hosting Hockey during Olympics.

Temporary Hockey pitches, Eastern Stand upgrade, general accessibility upgrades, crowd control, etc. There’s an opportunity to squeeze more if the project presents well enough.

 

[dru]

$20million is about what will be required to bring it up to standard necessary for hosting Hockey during Olympics. There’s any opportunity to squeeze more if the project presents well enough.

Thanks Adam.

 

[Marce]

Most of the islanders I know are league mad but will all also happily talk about the Rugby (and seem shocked when I'm only interested in the Rugby)

That's the beauty of that. They are not infected by the historical civil war between League and Union coming from England. They just wanna pick up a ball and run through the field smashing rivals. They don't care if is Union, League or 7s.

My philosophy is pretty similar. The thing is, most of the Pacific Islanders have low incomes, so League is a more accesible game to them. That's where rugby has failed in Australia. NRL is taking all the Pacific Islanders, fans and players

 

[dillyboy]

Correct!

It's been said about a million times on here but it all comes down to pathways (or lack thereof).

My kids go to the local state school & have representatives from the AFL, NRL and Brisbane Heat all visit school & run various programs.

Absolutely nothing rugby related.....

By the time they hear about Rugby it's too late

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Correct!

It's been said about a million times on here but it all comes down to pathways (or lack thereof).

My kids go to the local state school & have representatives from the AFL, NRL and Brisbane Heat all visit school & run various programs.

Absolutely nothing rugby related.....

By the time they hear about Rugby it's too late

It a failure of outreach and access. I live in a rapidly growing region of Sydney. The population has nearly doubled in the last 15 years. The number of Rugby Clubs today is the same as 20 years ago. And that's 2. And there number of players I'd wager hasn't matched the population growth. Why? Well, because they haven't made any real attempt to reach out which is largely to do with them being resource poor clubs run by volunteers. But also because the Unions that oversee the game here have failed to offer support in doing so. No school visits. No support in establishing new clubs. Nothing.

 

[Qldtragic]

I was listening to the car radio yesterday on talk back. They were making some noise about The Roar making a move to Ballymore. Smoke or fire?

I thought they had been kicked out previously as a tenant because they didnt pay their rent / share of electricity etc.

If they want back in surely they need to show some commitment to the financial arrangements made and probably clear their old debts before it is considered to give a new lease.

 

[Adam84]

$20million is about the minimum required to bring it up to standard necessary for hosting Hockey during Olympics.

Temporary Hockey pitches, Eastern Stand upgrade, general accessibility upgrades, crowd control, etc. There’s an opportunity to squeeze more if the project presents well enough.

QRU have stated $30million to upgrade Eastern Stand and get Olympic games ready

“We have two options for the next phase: we either renovate the stand as it sits, or we replicate what we’ve done with the National Rugby Training Centre on the other side,” Hanham said.

Given rising construction costs, that could add more than $30 million to the cost of getting Ballymore Olympic-ready. Whichever option got the green light,Hanham said the QRU aimed to have work done in time for the 2032 Games. Hanham said a new eastern stand could be built within 18 months of a decision being made.

Less is Ballymore: Capacity to be capped at 8000, short of Olympic needs

Another Games venue could end up costing more than anticipated, with revelations Brisbane 2032’s hockey ground needs more work than previously thought.

www.brisbanetimes.com.au

 

[Wilson]

QRU have stated $30million to upgrade Eastern Stand and get Olympic games ready

“We have two options for the next phase: we either renovate the stand as it sits, or we replicate what we’ve done with the National Rugby Training Centre on the other side,” Hanham said.

Given rising construction costs, that could add more than $30 million to the cost of getting Ballymore Olympic-ready. Whichever option got the green light,Hanham said the QRU aimed to have work done in time for the 2032 Games. Hanham said a new eastern stand could be built within 18 months of a decision being made.

Less is Ballymore: Capacity to be capped at 8000, short of Olympic needs

Another Games venue could end up costing more than anticipated, with revelations Brisbane 2032’s hockey ground needs more work than previously thought.

www.brisbanetimes.com.au

There have been a few Ballymore articles running in the times lately, certainly sounds like there are some very live discussions right now. The other potential benefit to come out of all of this (and the main problem beyond facilities) will be public transport upgrades for the stadium surrounds.

Still, it looks like it'll be a bit of shit fight to get any of it up, so having the Roar as a tenant adding to the value should help. Would also likely help undercut the Perry Park case that gets put up as an alternative.

 

[dillyboy]

I seem to recall years ago it be suggested they build a walk bridge across the creek for access to Wilston train station - was that actually a possibility or just discussion on here as a good idea?

Seems like a brilliant plan to me (but granted I don't live in Wilston so won't have a possibility of 20k rugby fans walking past my house after a game...)

 

[Wilson]

I seem to recall years ago it be suggested they build a walk bridge across the creek for access to Wilston train station - was that actually a possibility or just discussion on here as a good idea?

Seems like a brilliant plan to me (but granted I don't live in Wilston so won't have a possibility of 20k rugby fans walking past my house after a game...)

I think that's half the solution, My understanding was it could cut the walk from/to the station by close to half, making it only a little longer than the Milton-Suncorp one. The other part is a just better bus links on the Herston side, but better is obviously a bit more complicated than just adding more...

 

[sunnyboys]

they could replicate the Suncorp Stadium bus routes but have them go to Herston - on the proviso that they basically ban car parking in the vicinity so that buses could move through the suburb quickly and have a suitable drop off and turn around section to keep the flow moving.

coupled with a bridge over the creek, you could certainly improve things. But its the car traffic that needs to be sorted.

 

[SouthernX]

We’ve come along way since they actually hosted games at ballymore. Now they built that incredible busway that goes by hospital straight into city - I don’t think any major tweaking needs to be done out at Herston. Just gotta tell residents to toughen up when they send the BCC buses down butter field road for reds/roar fixtures

 

[Adam84]

I think that's half the solution, My understanding was it could cut the walk from/to the station by close to half, making it only a little longer than the Milton-Suncorp one. The other part is a just better bus links on the Herston side, but better is obviously a bit more complicated than just adding more...

Yeah it would only be 500m walk. But you need to ensure frequency of the services and crowd control along the route are suitable

 

[Ignoto]

I think that's half the solution, My understanding was it could cut the walk from/to the station by close to half, making it only a little longer than the Milton-Suncorp one. The other part is a just better bus links on the Herston side, but better is obviously a bit more complicated than just adding more...

The Wilston station only services one line though. So youll have thousands of people having to switch at Roma or Central to get on the proper line. This isn't a problem for places like London, but given how poor our rail infrastructure and service is, it'll cause some major headaches.

 

[Wilson]

The Wilston station only services one line though. So youll have thousands of people having to switch at Roma or Central to get on the proper line. This isn't a problem for places like London, but given how poor our rail infrastructure and service is, it'll cause some major headaches.

Sure, but that's an ongoing concern for Brisbane's rail network, not just unique to Ballymore. It also won't be the sole access and we are still talking 10-15k max capacity so were not talking about the same load as you'd see at Milton on a Suncorp game day.

Exhibition station (it's currently about the same distance walk as Wilston is right now) coming on line year round as part of Cross River Rail and a good bus service between it and the stadium on game day will likely be a key component.