@southmelb

Why?

SFC have played games at Win. This club wil too.

They have stated they want to build a stadium. At which point one would assume they would most likely hold all matches at. That stadium won't be in Wollongong.

Wrong tv zone.

This hasn't killed their long term chance of entering.

Exactly. As much as people would like to have a Woolongong team, there are better 'TV zones', bigger markets & Woolongong were never going to be 11 or 12 team into A-League. This way they still get the A-League & long term still have the chance as maybe 14-15-16 team.
Whether people agree or not the people with the money wants a 3rd Sydney, 3rd Melbourne, 2nd SE Queensland (either Ipswich, Gold Coast or 2nd Brissy) first before looking at Woolongong, Tasmania, North Queensland & Canberra.

I have no problem with a third Sydney team representing South Sydney. It's just that MOST people from Wollongong want no part of it.
In fact a third Sydney team representing South Sydney might struggle because they will have to Cannabalise SFC's fans. I think SFC have lifted their game since WSW entered the A-league so this South Sydney bid will get more competition than they bargained for.

In truth, this bid is so strong, they didn't even need to mention the Gong and South coast.  

The bid might be strong, but are the fans willing to support it? Everything looks good on paper. 

considering they are a property group, they may want to build a stadium with adjoining shopping precinct/apartments in a certain area, as others have suggest either the old Barton park site or possibly the land the Sutherand Shire council offered the last time a Southern Sydney bid was brought up.

The Tasmania United business plan that was given to the FFA half a dozen or so years ago included extensive market research prepared by consultants that proved up the level of support for the club in each of its operating markets and I would expect that any bid that was successful now would need to do the same.  Tasmania United did an initial feasibility study that cost $30k to prepare and followed up with the business plan that cost another $80k to prepare so that is indicative of the money that should be put into professional bids.

Super clubs won't work zzzz

-PB

Why I'm a part of A-League newest expansion candidate

Michael Huguenin

Updated at 6:55 p.m. ET

Former Socceroos midfielder Craig Foster has claimed he joined the Southern Expansion A-League bid in an effort to inject some much-needed ambition into Australian football.

MORE: The South Sydney A-League bid

On Monday, Foster and long-time commentary colleague Les Murray unveiled plans for a professional club based in Sydney's southern suburbs that will be owned by Chinese property firm Jiayuan Group.

As the Head of Football for Southern Expansion's steering group, Foster will help design all aspects of the proposed club's football department, including youth development, men's and women's programmes, training infrastructure and a potential purpose-built stadium.

That opportunity was something the lifelong football zealot couldn't knock back.

"This is another opportunity now to influence the game very directly," Foster told TheWorldGame podcast on Monday.

"So I believe, very simply, that the professional game in the next 20 years will be the key driver of our success as a sport."

Southern Expansion has provided Football Federation Australia (FFA) with $12million in bank guarantees as proof of their commitment to winning one of two new A-League licences that are expected to distributed for the 2018-19 season.

There have also been reports that the group are interested in joining the W-League and National Youth League as soon as the 2017-18 campaign.

The group don't plan to use the word 'Expansion' as part of the club name but expect to retain 'Southern' in some capacity.

The southern suburbs of Sydney has long been one of FFA's preferred areas for expansion, with the governing body having reportedly investigated replacing Wellington Phoenix with a third Sydney club in 2015.

Murray, who also spoke to TheWorldGame podcast, described Southern Expansion as a potential "super-club" and claimed he has "no doubt" the existing 10 A-League chairmen will support the bid.

With the support of three local associations covering southern Sydney and the south coast of New South Wales, Foster believes the region "unquestionably" needs its own professional pathway.

Since ending his playing career in 2003, Foster has worked as a football commentator and analyst, while he has also had a long association with Professional Footballers Australia - the players' union - including a stint as interim chairman last year.

The 47-year-old is renowned as an outspoken advocate of Australian football and explained the reason he has thrown his support behind Southern Expansion is that he sees the proposed club as a future leader of the A-League and W-League.

Craig Foster 27092016

Arguing that Australian football is "at a crossroads", Foster declared the A-League and W-League need "a vision" and could learn a lot from Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States.

"In the second decade, they [MLS] found they needed to make a greater investment," he said.

"That to get from stage two to three is a significant challenge and that you need tremendous ambition and investment - not just in clubs and players but in infrastructure as well.

"So that's at the heart of this bid to take the game forward rather than we'd just like to be a part of the A-League and/or the W-League."

The Jiayuan Group, who were initially interested in buying one of Sydney's existing A-League clubs - according to Murray - have committed to building a training facility for the proposed club and are investigating what it would take to build a new stadium too.

Southern Expansion have also flagged playing home games at Cronulla's Southern Cross Group Stadium, Wollongong's WIN Stadium and Jubilee Oval in Glebe before a new venue exists.

"We believe in 10 years' time that [a football-specific stadium] will be a fundamental requirement of any new professional football club, so why not do it now?" Foster said.

Asked about how A-League and W-League expansion could work alongside a potential promotion-relegation system, Foster argued that he would increase Australia's professional competitions to their limits first.

http://www.sportingnews.com/au/football/news/southern-expansions-vision-and-commitment-enticed-craig-foster/lyzlidwcpskf1d23flxaiser4

As if Australia didn't have enough Chinese Plastic already 

Surely you're taking the piss by still misspelling Wollongong despite the amount of times it's mentioned in this thread.

Someone who lives there actually cares. If you're going to talk about a place, try to learn how to spell it before posting.

Cbf checking if it's been mentioned in this thread before, but really interested to find out where the want to build this supposed stadium.

Woolengong?

-PB

Goolagong ?

Yep and all of those options look a lot more interesting to watch even from a neutral perspective. 

Wollongong Wolves will have a chance to get in the future, but there are easily way better options at present. Hands down.

I for one would be for any bidders coming in to pay their way for the first few years. That would automatically divide the men from the boys, and the gong dont seem like the type of clubs that would be happy to fork out $10m up front like other bids would. It would seriously be the quickest way to bring in expansion too.

Yeah I think building a 6-10k stadium would be very short sighted if they want to be seen as a "mega club"

You would think they would be looking at building something in the range of 20k+ with option to go to 35k+ in decades to come. 

Campbelltown IMO is the next logical place to put the next Sydney team... massive growth area and the Wests Tigers play only 4 games a year .. a nice stadium next to a railway station and close to major roads... 

The Southern bid will effect SFC and to deny this by the bid folk is well I think outright lying ...

the south western corridor is set for massive population numbers as is just as close to the gong as  in fact according to google maps ... the gong to Cronulla is 1 hr 1 mim .. the gong to Campbelltown is 47 mins...

For me the answer is obvious where the next Sydney team should go.

Right so the next two expansion clubs are sorted:
11. South Sydney Steelers
12. Brisbane Red Bulls

Now get a move on FFA and make it happen!

As with most people - yes to a South Sydney team, definite no to it being associated with Wollongong. They are a different city with a different identity - they won't support a south Sydney team (just like I wouldn't have supported the Sydney Rovers).

Just get it over and done with and add South Sydney and Wolves one year, then South Melbourne and Geelong a year or two later. Each expansion adds numerous local derbies, guaranteeing a certain level of crowd support and media exposure. Then we can start thinking of adding Bris2, and any regional teams like Canberra, GC, Hobart or NthQld, as well as South West Sydney once the new airport is done and all the new suburbs built.

Define "Super Club".

Perhaps a club that wins or challenges for the title each season and produces top players. It doesn't mean they need 20-35000 people at games.

Imo this is the mentality clubs should have. "We are the best" not "We are the biggest".

"We are the biggest" is stuff my club says when average the most fans and memberships but we are nowhere near the best. We are not a Super club.

I don't think Sydney needs to be too concerned, the area around Moore Park is set to become the most densely populated in Australia, supposedly with a density similar to Hong Kong, and with the cosmopolitan nature of the city it will be more the quality of the football effecting the attendance rather than expansion teams in the suburbs.

Which is odd because the quality is good now and yet attendances are still low.

Maybe your theory will hold true.

-PB

Personally, I don't think Geelong will/can get a team off the ground before 2030! Even with their close proximity to Melbourne, it's a regional city with an AFL mad population, unlike Wollongong who have double the population and a proud footballing history. Best case scenario for Geelong now is that Victory play more matches at Simonds Stadium since they have already played a few games there, they wear navy blue and white (like Geelong Cats) and represent 'V'ictoria! Eventually a "Western Victoria" club based out of Geelong may be viable so then all you need is South Melbourne to be re-branded to South East United or something like that and there you have it. By 2030 we could easily have the following 16 clubs in the A-League:

VICTORIAN TEAMS by 2030
1. Melbourne City
2. Victory
3. South East Melbourne United
4. Western Patriots

NSW TEAMS by 2030
1. Newcastle Jets
2. Central Coast (inc. North Shore?)
3. Sydney FC
4. Western Sydney
5. South Sydney
6. Wollongong

QLD TEAMS by 2030
1. Brisbane Roar
2. Brisbane Red Bulls

OTHER TEAMS by 2030
1. Perth Glory
2. Adelaide United
3. FC Tasmania
4. Canberra United
5. Wellington Phoenix (They'd have been kicked out after their 10 year licence runs out or NZ will have started their own pro-league by then where Phoenix will move to ;-) )

Good compared to what though?

The thing with International cities is there is a lot of competition for your leisure dollars and a lot of expectations on comparative quality. 

Personally I think the crowds of 15-20k isn't too bad for the quality we have now, maybe 25k would be more pleasing, but realistically you have the population to attract much bigger crowds if they perceive it to be a higher quality.

There has been some discussion and articles in this thread, Cbf showing you where though. 

Living on planet 'Ideal' for a moment, I'd say that the best location south of Botany Bay should be as close to Miranda Westfield & Train Station as physically possible - I can't help but think the Lowys have missed a trick here by potentially funnelling thousands of patrons through their doors on match/event days.

However as previously mentioned, the site for the proposed new St.George Saints Stadium is most likely for this SE consortium.

Like it or hate it, Sydney FC is a bling club. It relies on the star power to get media traction and fan support. People here keep saying that marquees don't do much and that if Sydney played winning football then the fans would flock. But that isn't holding true.

A combination of star talent and winning football will make Sydney FC buz. Unfortunately we've never really had both at the same time since season 1.

@davo

That is where your club has its wires crossed. They want to be "bling" and say publicly they are "the biggest" .

Imo SFC should focus on the bling, exclusive angle. You can't be the everymans club if you are exclusive.

Strange you club doesn't want a smaller more appropriate stadium. There was actually talk of increasing capacity.

The wires seem crossed because you want to be exclusive but would go down punching at the idea that Wanderers play at a bigger stadium.

Is Glebe in Southern Sydney?