Not many that I know being an ex Spirit supporter.
Most north shore line/northern beachs people couldn't be bothered going over the bridge for entertainment (unless they have to) excl me :lol: having moved to Gladesville a while back going to the SFS is easy for me.
Ah the glory Spirit days at Nth Syd oval, perfect TBH, large crowds the early days, Percy's pub just across the road for pre drinks/dinner b4 KOFF had an awesum atmosphere.

I'd say most of those Spirit supporters have just stuck by watching their local Park football with the odd venture to a SFC game.

Some of my footballing mates get to SFC games but not as often as I would.

Ozfoootball has the stats but they aren't all added up. I wander how many northern spirit supporters now follow Sydney FC

Weird, that site only counts one game per club except for the strikers for that season, but all games for other seasons.

Seems Woolongong averaged around 5k often later on, 5,567 in 97/98. Glory and Northern Spirit were averaging 14k at around that time. :shock:

http://www.worldfootball.net/zuschauer/aus-a-league-1993-1994/1/

Wollongongs crowds barely went over 5k and were mostly around 2-3k. Northern Spirits crowds were quite good though?

If cities with 2.15 million (Brisbane), 1.8 million (Perth) and 1.2 million (Adelaide) can't support a second team in the future (ie from the TV deal after this one that just got signed), then how is putting teams in cities with 250k-150k people any better?

Is that what the league is going to end up as? A handful of big city teams with supporter bases numbering in the millions, while everyone else in the league struggle with low support bases and for basic profitability the same way CCM have, even when CCM have been so successful on the pitch?

We can't ignore regional areas, but we can't ignore second and third teams in big cities. Especially on the East Coast where the majority of TV ratings come from.

As for Penrith, while it is nominally "Western Sydney" it has enough of an identity as it's own region that it should be a viable proposition for the 3rd Sydney team.

No matter where you put a 3rd team in Sydney you'll be cannibalising either WSW (Blacktown, Penrith, Campbelltown being the major choices people want for a 3rd team) or Sydney FC (Sutherland), unless you put it at Manly, which would be a massive risk.

No, they're based in gosford and gosford is not part of sydney. Sure, they can take fans from the sydney area, but even the Jets have fans making the trip up from sydney for every home game.

Well I suggest you come down for Australia Day and see a real crowd ;)

Yes I do understand that, but those examples I've mentioned have done it all with bigger stadiums in smaller spaces.

Funny, now you mention it, Bob Jane and Craven Cottage are on almost the exact same angle as this theoretic stadium.

Back in the boom years...

i dont think they should be considered the 3rd sydney team. with the mariners and if wollongong ever come into the a league i dont think there will ever need to be more than 2 teams in sydney. with teams like woolongong or canberra coming in it would mean there would be like 5 teams (wanderers,newcaslte,ccm,sydfc,woolongong and canberra) all within a day trip on the train distance from each other.

i for one want the a league to be more spread out, so yes bring in woolongong and canberra whenever it would be possible but also nth qld and tassie.

82m for the width of the pitch, 12m for railway side grandstand, 20m for Cheltenham Rd side grandstand, a space for toilets and then about 10-15 metres all around for the external concourse plus there is then landscaping requirements and mandatory off street parking for Broadcast Vans/team coaches/official cars/media and council requirements for off street fan parking etc etc. 240m x 180m is a nice size for initial planning purposes but you can squeeze them in less especially if they are in an existing park.

Casey Plans A-League Coup

Mar 7 2008

ONE of Melbourne's fastest growing regions – an area which has produced Socceroo and Celtic star Scott McDonald - wants its own A-League team.

The City of Casey in Melbourne's south-east has confirmed they have held discussions about bringing a second Victorian A-League side to their area.

Casey manager of city living Richard Amon said work was being done with Football Federation Victoria (FFV) and nearby shires to develop a regional football strategy.

“This direction will consider issues relating to both the requirements of a regional soccer facility that represents the City of Casey in soccer competitions and FFV’s own vision for a presence in the south east of Melbourne,” he told Berwick News.

Interestingly, the region was to have an AFL side based there, but when that fell through, city officials decided to pursue plans for football.

Casey encompasses an area around one hour's drive from Telstra Dome, so it's not expected to weaken the existing Victorian franchise Melbourne Victory.

Central to any A-League franchise would be Casey Fields, a 70 hectare multi-sport site in suburban Cranbourne where Celtic and Aussie star Scott McDonald hails from.

And according to Casey's own figures, an A-League franchise could be just what the rapidly growing area might want. The City of Casey has consistently been one of Victoria's fastest growing municipalities over the past 15 years.

The population is expected to reach 350,000 by 2031, making it as big as Canberra is today. This of course does not factor in football fans from across Melbourne – in particular the outer regions such as the Mornington Peninsula, the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges and the coastal parts of Westernport – who may want to also support Casey's A-League side.

What's more, with the A-League's appeal with younger people, the numbers of youth in Casey are forecast to rise over the next decade. Right now, around 40,000 students are in primary and high school in the area and the percentage of 12-24 age group is currently around 20%.

Deputy Mayor of Casey Colin Butler tells au.fourfourtwo.com that the area is struggling to keep up with demand for football pitches for its juniors.

With FFA committed to expanding the A-League, such a growing area in Melbourne located well away from the existing A-League franchise should be worth exploring.

The entire site at it's skinniest is 140m, the footprint of Hindmarsh is 135m. And it wouldn't be that big anyway, it'd surely be more like a pre-reconfigured Bob Jane Stadium, which was 125m. The entire footprints of Loftus Road and Craven Cottage are both less wide than 120m. As for NE-SE orientation there's another site across the road to the south if it's too much of an issue.

I don't think those are the biggest hurdles for a SE Melbourne team getting up.

Edited by paladisious: 29/12/2012 08:05:28 PM

That site is really too narrow for a football stadium. You could squeeze the grandstands in but it wouldn't have the space around them that is necessary for safe egress. Additionally the ground would run NW - SE which is about as bad as you can get for day time games.

Google Earth tells me that a Hindmarsh or a Loftus Road would easily fit in the spot I pointed out with all the requisite amenities.

All theory and speculation of course.

I've never been to Melbourne

Are there any decent grounds anywhere near this area of Melbourne, other than the Thunders' ground which is nowhere near what is needed?

I've never been to Melbourne so don't crucify me for being misinformed... but isn't the Frankston line considered the most dangerous and dero-filled public transport corridor in the country?

South-East Melbourne = Dandenong+Frankston+Cranbourne+Pakenham+Mornington = 735,424

It would be second only to Auckland on my list of potential unrepresented markets on the other page.

Here's an unused greenfield site right next to Dandenong station that would fit a small cheap 10-15k stadium.

if only melbourne heart made themselves useful and represented the dandenong region instead

Dumb post. The growth is through the population expansion in the Sydney basin. Plenty of people have moved up here to get away from the congestion and housing prices of Sydney while still being close enough to work there. (the hell do you think we get called Gypos?) I moved here 10 years ago and it may have been nice little holiday town then but its growing into a city unto itself.

Spot on, no room to grow. It's a little holiday town, the economy is gained by Sydney weekenders, retired couples and penny pinchers who will never support CCM. Bad location choice for a club IMO.

Great club though, would be awesome if they could uproot them to Canberra!