Lindommer
Steve Williams (59)
Surely BOCOG would be happy to do a relay of the turf when the games are over? If the ground underneath's somewhat compacted that's a challenge a good groundsman should be able to handle.
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Ballymore Redevelopment
- Thread starter Karl
- Start date
Surely BOCOG would be happy to do a relay of the turf when the games are over? If the ground underneath's somewhat compacted that's a challenge a good groundsman should be able to handle.
Wilson
Peter Sullivan (51)
You'd have to think that's the plan. There's no shortage of good rugby facilities around Brisbane if the Reds then need to relocate while it's going on.
Adam84
Mark Ella (57)
Olympics will be held in 23 Jul - 8 Aug so Super Rugby(Indo-Pacific) should be done by then.
With 3 fields at Ballymore under the new development the Reds could give up 2 for Olympic preparation and still use the 3rd anyway.
If the turf is damaged it’s not really an issue, that would all be included as part of the leasing costs for BOCOG to rent out the facilities.
With 3 fields at Ballymore under the new development the Reds could give up 2 for Olympic preparation and still use the 3rd anyway.
If the turf is damaged it’s not really an issue, that would all be included as part of the leasing costs for BOCOG to rent out the facilities.
KevinO
Greg Davis (50)
I was meaning effects on the hockey surface towards the end of comp, if the ground underneath does any type of shifting the hockey surface could become dangerous and unplayable.
KevinO
Greg Davis (50)
I'd expect they will be similar dates to Sydney? (15 Sept 2000 – 1 Oct 2000) Summer Olympics in winter months?
Nup. All in the same window regardless of hemisphere. It won’t be that late. Adam’s timing is pretty accurate
Wilson
Peter Sullivan (51)
Dates have already been set as 23 July to 8 August, I believe it's to best integrate with NBC's broadcast schedule in the US.
KevinO
Greg Davis (50)
Did not expect that, at least Brisbane does not have cold winters. But it's still a bit of a cop out by the IOC to have a summer games in the middle of winter.
Wilson
Peter Sullivan (51)
I guess that's what 7-8 billion buys you.
Ignoto
Ken Catchpole (46)
87%ish percent of the worlds population lives in the Northern Hemisphere, so sounds fine to me?
Looking back, the Sydney games were held 15 Sept - 1 Oct. Doing a quick Google search suggests, the average day-time temperatures in Brisbane in July are identical to Sydney's September average. It's also a similar temperature average to the London when they held their games in 2012.
spikhaza
John Solomon (38)
Is there a final decision on whether the Reds will plan any games at Ballymore once the redevelopment is complete? Surely it would be an ideal facility to host some of the smaller games at? Get some school bands playing and some food trucks with good beer and it would be absolutely fantastic.
Wilson
Peter Sullivan (51)
Way too small given the membership numbers, even in the lean years. It's absolutely perfect for the return of the NRC though. Hopefully that's not just wishful thinking on my part.
RugbyM
Bob McCowan (2)
Given Rugby Australia's financial position I think you'll find the Reds are the ones who would be shoring up Rugby Australia...
You're right on the financial security though. Ballymore costs about $1m a year to mow the grass (and keep everything else running, but you get the point). Even halving that figure means the QRU could employ another 10 development officers throughout the State.
As far as a return of the Reds, QRU makes more money at Suncorp than they would at Ballymore with a similar crowd (55 odd corporate boxes helps out!). So moving back to Ballymore full time would potentially mean LESS money for those development officers. And that's without considering how much they would need to spend to bring the Eastern Stand and precinct up to scratch, which would have to be paid off as well....
The whole Reds back to Ballymore push was just the QRU's worst-ever chairman Peter Lewis trying to paper over the $14m they lost under his watch by blaming it on the original move to Suncorp.
spikhaza
John Solomon (38)
Good analysis, thanks for that. Similar situation with the Rabbitohs in the NRL making more money out of ANZ stadium home games, makes sense. Hopefully our crowds build again this year so that we're regularly exceeding capacity at Ballymore and it's all a moot point. Bring on the season
RugbyM
Bob McCowan (2)
Reds average crowd last year was about 14,500*, not including the final, with crowds against the Brumbies, Crusaders and Auckland I think exceeding that. You wouldn't have been able to fit 14,500 into the old Ballymore - Northern Stand was condemned and McLean Stand could only seat about 3000 - and you certainly couldn't put the 20,000 who showed up for the Brumbies home game in there let alone the final. (Actually the McLean Stand could only hold 3000 back in the late 90s - the work the old QRU did on it then - press boxes/corporate boxes - stuffed up the fire exits and legally it could only hold about 1700...).
So with those crowds you'd end up having to take matches back to Suncorp anyway on a regular basis. Now think about whether the stadium would want to give the Reds the same deal for two or three one-off matches that they do for 7-8 regular matches. So - you'd end up paying more for those one-offs that didn't fit into Ballymore. Sure, you'd still make more money from those one-offs than you would have at Ballymore, but you'd be making less money than you should be had you just done a deal for all the games.
Doesn't mean you can't go the other way of having the odd one-off match at Ballymore, or even non-Super Rugby rep matches (ie, Reds v touring internationals/touring clubs).
The whole "Reds back to Ballymore" nonsense was being put around by a couple of disgruntled old guard types (led by the former chairman) who want to shrink to greatness. The same people who tried the pretty disgraceful - and cowardly - tactic of putting in a heritage application to stop the demolition of the old McLean Stand. The reason Ballymore got in the state it did was because of the neglect of these people...
* Perhaps we should say: "Reds average crowd was 14,500 and they were all able to get a beer...".
Adam84
Mark Ella (57)
Stadium negotiations in NSW are a bit more complex with different Stadiums offering different hiring agreements based on who owns them.
Queenslands major stadiums are all clean stadiums, so the hirer pays a fee for use and then retains all profits for ticket sales, food/beverage, signage and corporate.
In NSW they have a mix of clean venues and fixed price. Stadium Australia for example offers a fixed price guarantee to teams, but then retains ticket sales and food/beverage etc.
Queenslands major stadiums are all clean stadiums, so the hirer pays a fee for use and then retains all profits for ticket sales, food/beverage, signage and corporate.
In NSW they have a mix of clean venues and fixed price. Stadium Australia for example offers a fixed price guarantee to teams, but then retains ticket sales and food/beverage etc.