Adelaide has to build a NEW stadium for 2018/2022 World Cup

[adam_stuckey]

Melbourne's new rectangular stadium is too small to host World Cup matches

Melbourne new $268 million rectangular stadium, purpose-built for football and rugby, is unlikely to be part of Australia's 2018-2022 World Cup bid.

The under-construction venue on Olympic Boulevard is due to open for business early next year, but its 31,000 capacity and lack of expansion potential means it is not World Cup compliant and will not be considered for hosting games.

The new stadium, home to the Melbourne Victory, Melbourne Storm and possibly the city's new A-League team from next season, had been expected to give Victoria a strong position in the World Cup bid alongside the MCG, which is vying to host the opening game and/or final.

If the new stadium was World Cup compliant with a 40,000 minimum capacity among other requirements, the AFL would be able to use Etihad Stadium during the June-July tournament without too much disruption to the AFL schedule while allowing FIFA to have the MCG as a showpiece venue.

But it seems Football Federation Australia's hopes of having two stadia in Melbourne for the World Cup bid is more complicated and could depend on the Victoria Government funding or partially funding a new AFL venue, which had been touted previously as a way of giving AFL clubs a better stadium deal.

"It's a fantastic stadium, but our understanding is it will not be expanded," FFA spokeswoman Bonita Mersiades said of the rectangular stadium.

"But we're very fortunate that Melbourne has got so many quality venues of world-class standard."

The FFA has been in regular talks with the Victoria Government and AFL about the venue situation in Melbourne, especially, and it seems AFL scheduling in other cities may not be greatly affected given the SCG, AAMI Stadium and Subiaco Oval are unlikely to be included in the World Cup bid.

The bid needs a minimum of 12 compliant stadia, which means the FFA has much work to do to have plans in place before submitting its "bid book" to FIFA in May before the announcement of the host nations for 2018 and 2022 on December 2 next year.

The new stadium could still be used as a World Cup training venue and will be considered as a playing venue for the 2015 Asian Cup, along with Etihad Stadium.

Australia are the only bidders for the 2015 Asian Cup and need a minimum of four venues for the event, which will be held in eastern cities for two weeks in January.

Ah the luxury of having stadium after stadium to choose from in Melbourne!

And i'm not sure if its set in stone but its eastern states only for the Asian cup hopefully this is the wake up call the SA govenment needs. You can't argue about how good our facilites are when we're getting left out of bids due to our lack of them

[Hooligan]

MRS can be expnaded to 50,000 though

[adam_stuckey]

Thats what i thought! I dunno if its the two stadiums in one city issue though. But then i think SFS and Homebush would be included. You'd think they'd go MRS over Etihad to make life easier for everyone (AFL)

[Hooligan]

Melbourne may still be the only city with two stadiums. Homebush and SFS are not in the same 'city' technically

[adam_stuckey]

Melbourne may still be the only city with two stadiums. Homebush and SFS are not in the same 'city' technically

Kinda like AAMI and Adelaide Oval!

[adam_stuckey]

Government opts for $160m rectangular Members Equity Stadium

The State Government has committed to rebuild Members Equity Stadium as a rectangular dedicated rugby-soccer venue in a staged $160 million revamp.

But work will not start for at least another year while detailed plans are drawn up and negotiations are held with the Town of Vincent over the level of control the government will have.

The first step in the project that will take at least two years to complete will be to demolish the scaffold stand on the eastern side of the ground and replace it with a new state-of-the-art facility.

Change rooms and player facilities will be built into the new eastern stand with a large drive through undercroft for team buses.

The second stage will be to replace the current grandstand with the goal ends linked under one roof in the final stage.

Most of the construction work will take place out of the Super 14 season.

The government has based its plan on Skilled Park on the Gold Coast that opened in March last year and holds 27,400 spectators, has 100 open corporate boxes, 25 closed corporate suites and two 450 seat function rooms.

Short-term $2m facelift

Meanwhile the stadium will get a more immediate $2 million facelift as the home of the Western Force.

The Force will play its Super 14 games at MES from next season after leaving Subiaco Oval where crowds have fallen drastically because of appalling viewing conditions.

The club secured the $2 million, interest free loan from the State Government this week for upgraded lighting, more corporate facilities and extra general seating.

It will lift stadium capacity from 18,156 to more than 20,500. Force membership, including corporates and season ticket holders was 17,000 last season.

Upgraded lighting, particularly in the north west and south west corners on the grandstand side, is expected to cost between $300,000-$800,000.

The lighting is needed for the ``super slo-mo'' cameras used by video referees adjudicating on contentious tries.

It is not yet known what is needed but work will start next month when S14 broadcaster Fox Sports is in Perth for the Wallabies Test against South Africa at Subiaco Oval.

The stadium currently has 12 large suites catering for 240 people and seats another 240 in small open boxes.

The Force will build temporary suites at the northern end, either side of ``The Shed'' to cater for a further 180 corporate patrons.

A corporate marquee for match day functions will hold another 500 who will have seats in the eastern stand.

The final part of the make-over will be an extra 900 seats in the south east and north west corners.
The main grandstand will hold only corporate members and ``The Shed'' will remain a standing only terrace stand.

The Force has said in the past that it believes the State Government should honour a $25 million pledge to help upgrade the stadium.

The former Labor government promised the money when the Perth bid for the Super 14 side was being prepared.

A $30,000 upgrade of some player facilities was carried out by the Town of Vincent for the Glory games with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham.

The council estimates the stadium could be upgraded for $60-$70 million.

So Perth appear to be in the same boat as us but realise that the ONLY way forward is clear. The only advantage it that MES has the room to expand where Hindmarsh doesn't.

Its interesting that crowds have fallen at the Super 14 games due to the poor viewing conditions. Similar to Adelaide Oval i would suggest.

[Omicron]

The difference, of course, is that the Western Australian government has so much money it doesn't know what to do with it all. Five times the cost of Hindmarsh Stadium to achieve a capacity only twice that of Hindmarsh and remain equally as non-FIFA-World-Cup-complying? Now that's return on investment for you!

[adam_stuckey]

The difference, of course, is that the Western Australian government has so much money it doesn't know what to do with it all. Five times the cost of Hindmarsh Stadium to achieve a capacity only twice that of Hindmarsh and remain equally as non-FIFA-World-Cup-complying? Now that's return on investment for you!

Except that they plan to play more than World Cup games there

[adam_stuckey]

FFA reveals stadium shortlist for 2015 Asian Cup

Football Federation Australia has compiled a shortlist of eight stadia for the 2015 Asian Cup in anticipation that the AFC as expected awards the tournament to Australia.

Australia is the only country bidding for the biggest event in Asian football and will know next May if the continental confederation accepted the FFA’s bid to be presented in February.

Sydney and Melbourne between them have five stadiums on the shortlist: ANZ Stadium, Sydney Football Stadium, Parramatta Stadium, Etihad Stadium and the new Rectangular Stadium.

The other venues are Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Skilled Park on the Gold Coast and Canberra Stadium in Canberra.

“AFC requirements stipulate that the Asian Cup must be played in a minimum of four stadia but we could have six for the 2015 tournament if our bid is successful,” FFA head of corporate and public affairs Bonita Mersiades said.

“We had a visit by an AFC delegation last week and they had a look at our cities, stadia, infrastructure and accommodation and training facilities.

“I’m happy to say that they were very impressed with what we have to offer. Their response was very positive.

“We are the only bidders for the tournament but we still have to show the AFC that we are capable of holding their biggest event.”

The 2015 tournament will be held in January and if Australia’s bid is successful the Socceroos will qualify automatically as hosts.

The Asian Cup is contested by 16 teams. Current rules say that the host country, the first three place-getters in the previous Asian Cup and the winners of the previous two AFC Challenge Cups qualify directly, with the remaining 10 spots allocated to successful qualifiers.

At this stage it is “way too early” to speculate on which stadium is likely to hold the final, Mersiades said.

However many would see ANZ Stadium as the favourite due its 80,000 capacity.

Australia has a battle on its hands to reach the finals of the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar.

The Socceroos are bottom of Group B with one point from two matches and must beat Oman in their next match in Melbourne on October 14 to give themselves a good chance of reaching the finals. The top two teams go through.

National coach Pim Verbeek has used A-League players in the two matches against Indonesia in Jakarta (0-0) and Kuwait in Canberra (0-1).

But Australia’s predicament has forced him to bring in the heavy artillery from Europe in a bid to get the qualifying campaign back on track.

Australia will play the Netherlands in a friendly international in Sydney on October 10 and Verbeek will retain his best available team for the must-win match against Oman four days later.

After joining the AFC in 2006, Australia took part in the 2007 Asian Cup in South-East Asia but lost to Japan on penalties in the quarter-finals.

So Canberra and Gold Coast are better equipped to host international tournaments than Adelaide and Perth. Well at least one of these cities has woken up and smelt the roses

[Splashmo]

So Canberra and Gold Coast are better equipped to host international tournaments than Adelaide and Perth. Well at least one of these cities has woken up and smelt the roses

It's obviously due to the rugby presence in these cities that they have a rectangular stadium that's compliant.

[adam_stuckey]

Bureaucracy threatens bid

The failure of State and Federal governments to agree on who will fund the construction of future stadiums threatens to frustrate Australia’s bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

At the heart of the issue is the lack of stadia that meet strict FIFA requirements for World Cup hosts.

While rival bid nation the United States has confirmed 32 stadiums that already meet FIFA requirements for its own bid, Australia is struggling to confirm it can lock in 12 venues by the December 11 “bid book” deadline.

Under FIFA’s strict criteria, stadiums must be able to accommodate a minimum of 40,000 spectators and also be able to support corporate, media and broadcast requirements.

While acknowledging construction funding was an issue for some governments, Football Federation Australia (FFA) remains confident an agreement will be made between Canberra and State governments that will see most major regions in Australia host World Cup matches.

“We are very confident with the bid,” said FFA spokesperson Bonita Mersiades. “We have been working with government to ensure we are on track.”

“The World Cup has a $5.3 billion benefit to the Australian economy, including infrastructure, and it is important to note that no expenditure by any government is required until we are successful with the bid.”

One of the major issues facing State governments is whether to build a football-specific stadium that leaves a legacy for the sport in Australia’s cities or refurbish existing stadia – like the Melbourne Cricket Ground – more often used for cricket and Australian Rules football.

One of the major criticisms of the organisation of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games was that local football did not benefit from the infrastructure afforded to venues used for Olympic Football.

“In 2000, a cricket ground was used for football in Brisbane and the sport got nothing,” said one source with knowledge of Australia’s bid. “In Melbourne, a cricket ground was used for football and the sport got nothing again.

“If Australia is to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022 it will be embarrassing if football in this country again gets nothing."

It seems pretty clear that we as a country have a lot to learn about bidding for the World Cup. You would have thought that with that $42 million they could at least get some stadium plans on paper.

The last statement in the story is pretty much where i stand on this i don't really see why any other sport should heap the benefit of a new or refurbished stadium in the city (or anywhere) if football pretty much did all the work to acquire it.

[Omicron]

Bureaucracy threatens bid

While rival bid nation the United States has confirmed 32 stadiums that already meet FIFA requirements for its own bid, Australia is struggling to confirm it can lock in 12 venues by the December 11 “bid book” deadline.

What a nonsensical comparison. A country of thirteen times our population has three times as many confirmed FIFA-eligible stadia? Hold the presses!

[Hooligan]

It is kind of sad though that Australia hasn't got it's shit together about this world cup bid though

[Shuz]

Especially given the media attention and marketing hype they've put into it. All talk and no action seems to be the way of Australians lately... :wank:

[AtD]

^^ Maybe because it's nothing but media hype?