It is off season, but fair enough. Good news for and future Canberra team, imo atleast. It looks like a new stadium there is going ahead and will be rather appropriately sized at around 20-24k seats because of how badly rugby has even drawing recently.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/smaller-canberra-stadium-after-raiders-brumbies-drop-in-crowds-20140805-100o4g.html

I swear there's an expansion thread somewhere around here.

A-League expansion: A Capital idea

A-League expansion has again been afforded prominence in the media over recent days, with both head of A-League Damien De Bohun and Central Coast Mariners manager Phil Moss raising the topic.
De Bohun stated this week that come the next broadcast deal, the competition will be considering expansion opportunities.
Additional teams in either Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth were mentioned as the most plausible. The notion of a second team in Brisbane is the first concern.

The Roar struggled from inception to establish itself in the Brisbane sporting landscape, and has only now begun to consolidate its position there – and it took three championships to achieve this.
Football doesn’t have an overly strong culture in Brisbane (who I support), and if the dominant code of rugby league has been unable to sustain a second club in the city, can football seriously expect to do so? Or may it just divide the support base that the Roar have battled so hard to establish, weakening both old and new clubs?
Adelaide and Perth and both relatively small marketplaces, and while richer in footballing culture, so to is Melbourne. The Heart failed to establish itself as a strong alternative to the Victory before intervention from Manchester City, so is it a risk to attempt to establish new clubs in these smaller cities?

Why aren’t alternative cities where clubs are yet to exist being seriously considered as viable options? While I do understand the argument and merits behind a club in Wollongong, I believe that one other location would provide a better opportunity for a successful expansion.

Please allow me to describe my vision for a club located in Canberra.
Darkness descends around a brightly lit stadium, as glove and long-sleeve wearing players almost dejectedly march shivering onto the pitch. A few hundred passionless public servants bitterly place their hand-warming, steaming hot tea on the empty seat beside them to applaud, cursing at opening their body to the wind as wave after wave of sleet settles layer after bone-jarring layer on their polar-fleeced overcoats.

This is the match-day which most readers picture when considering the introduction of an A-League club into Canberra. Why would you bother putting a side there? Well, while this has been my experience at the games of other codes I’ve attended since moving here, I can tell you that this picture would be very, very far from the case for an A-League club.
Yes, winter is truly hideous in the nation’s capital, but football here in Australia is not a winter sport. With an average maximum temperature just one degree below Brisbane’s over the summer, but without the humidity, Canberra’s weather would provide a platform for not just open and fast play, but an environment for a local crowd to enjoy and embrace.
‘A crowd in Canberra? It’s far too small’, I hear you chortle. Well, with a population of more than 411,000, the Canberra region is on par with greater Newcastle, is significantly larger than the Illawarra and almost two and half times larger than Townsville. This is a marketplace that can support an A-League side.

Population isn’t everything, I agree. The Gold Coast showed that a large population alone won’t guarantee adequate support to ensure a sustainable club. Such support is garnered from football culture.
An argument could be made that recently failed A-League enterprises, while having a loyal and passionate pocket of fans, were located based upon a gap on a map rather than locations rich in football history and culture. If West Sydney Wanderers have taught us one thing, it’s that a large demographic and potential marketplace is ideal, but a tradition and passion for the game is more so.

‘Well, that ends Canberra’s bid then”, you giggle. But that’s where you’re wrong. Canberra, despite having no male national league presence since the demise of the Cosmos in 2001, has produced a string of recent internationals. Names including the master of the three-yellow-card-trick, Josip Simunic, as well as Ned Zelic, Ante Juric, Carl Valeri, Nikolai Topor-Stanley and of course Tom Rogic, have been bred through Canberra’s systems.

When you consider that without an A-League presence that could easily drive interest even further, 2012 football player registrations in Canberra (more than 17,000) easily exceeded those of Central Coast (12,500) and the Illawarra region (10,500).
Coupled with the fact a very understrength Socceroos’ Asian Cup tie versus Kuwait almost sold-out Canberra Stadium (more than 20,000), it is pretty clear that the city has a strong passion for football, and is hungry for a club to support.
Why the success of Canberra United in the W-League couldn’t be replicated in the A-League, I don’t know.
Football too, would have a monopoly on the region’s interest during summer. In winter the population is distracted by the Raiders, the Brumbies and the ski fields. In summer, there is no cricket, there is no tennis, there are no beaches. There would only be, the football.

An added bonus to including a Canberra club in the A-League is the colour and attendances that would ensue, both home and away. With easy road-trips to Sydney, Central Coast and Newcastle, as well as ample flights to Melbourne and Brisbane, you can be assured that the Capital Punishment (a popular term coined in Canberra for its active fan-base) would travel to away games in numbers. Teams visiting Canberra will also be able to heavily populate the away terraces at Canberra Stadium.
So here endeth the lesson, and why rather than the dour description of a match-day above, I close my eyes to see a bright, warm, cloudless day – a light, cool breeze blowing the blanket of green and white balloons and streamers which welcome the two teams as they march eagerly, holding the hands of ecstatic juniors, onto the pitch.

A crowd exceeding 12,000 stand as one to applaud their club and their able opponents, greeting the teams each match day not unlike Anfield’s Kop, with song. The tune? Time of Your Life, written of course, by Green Day.

http://www.theroar.com.au/2014/08/23/league-expansion-capital-idea/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theroar+%28The+Roar%29

good news, anything larger and it would feel like gcu for them

even 20-24k is too big for the Raiders, Brumbies and any A-League team. It should be no more than 18k.

I maintain, the next two expansion spots needs to be Wollongong & Canberra. And really, it shouldn't be too difficult to implement.

Canberra United- Already an existing club - albeit they only have a women's team, but the structure is there. All they need to is bring in a mens team. Shouldn't be too difficult surely.

South Coast/Illawarra Wolves - Club already exists. They have a perfect stadium smack bang on the beach in Wollongong that is FANTASTIC for viewing football. They already have a solid fan base that is clearly waiting to grow larger. There's interest in a fully professional outfit operating in and around the Illawarra, and the pre-season friendly with Sydney and Newcastle, and the A-League game that being taken down there will only further that.

Once those two have settled in the A-League, look at bringing in another Queensland team, and maybe a regional Victorian team.

My pick would be Wollongong for the 1st club in the expansion.

Whilst Canberra also have merits the article goes on about the people going to watch them in masses during summer. Well the Cosmos did play in summer and got miserable crowds. It also goes on about its participation size. Well south east Qld has and even bigger participation rate and Qld is already showing where the largest wad of young Socceroos are coming from so there should be some strong consideration for this region of the country. One team is simply not enough.

Whilst I don't know where in Qld the next team should be, it has football resources it can't afford to leave untapped from the A-League.

I maintain, the next two expansion spots needs to be Wollongong & Canberra. And really, it shouldn't be too difficult to implement.

I was actually speaking to my brother (he lives in Canberra) about this the other day, and he was saying that he doesn't reckon a team in Canberra is sustainable after living there. Reasons escape me, but I think it was because of the amount of government workers and that a lot of people in Canberra are from interstate and just there for work.

I think it will be South Coast (Wollongong) and SW Sydney.

South West Sydney is and will continue to be a population growth area, especially with Badgerys Creek going ahead. The area in particular bounded by Liverpool, Campbelltown and Badgery's Creek. The expansion of Pirtek seems to be limited by regulation and is likely to not become the 'regional' stadium. A stadium around Liverpool that could be share between Wests and a new HAL team would be ideal. In the mean time the team could begin life at Campbelltown.

Wollongong has a strong football background and with SFC , WSW and 'SWS' will have a number of local rivalries.

After that, the 2021 deal, Canberra and Brisbane 2. By that time the new 20,000 - 24,000 Civic stadium in Canberra and proposed stadium around Springfield, between Logan and Ipswich will have been built.

The HAL needs to broaden its reach across the country to gain maximum commercial value.

Also, the more derby matches, the more you dilute the importance of those matches. Just adding more teams for more derby match-ups can be counterproductive.

Having 2 clubs added from NSW in one expansion phase? Just don't see that stacking up.

The HAL needs to broaden its reach across the country to gain maximum commercial value.

If that was true NQF and GCU would still be going, instead of havijng 2 burnt holes in the map



Even if that was provable, Fox and the FFA don't give a flying about "dilution".

Saturation level that maximises income is all that matters

A new Perth or Fremantle side will need to bee looked at by FFA and deemed a good option or not. If not, Melbourne knights or south instead?.

:lol: :oops:

would much rather Fremantle :p

From an FFA Cup perspective, let’s also note that Football Federation of Victoria’s 2012 showpiece, the Victorian Premier League grand final between the Dandenong Thunder (Albanian community) and Oakleigh Cannons (Greek community) was remembered by the Victorian press for two spectators being injured by flares and firecrackers, and not because Dandenong won their first ever VPL title 2-1.

Dandenong have had three points deducted this season and have to play the majority of their first round games in front of no spectators as punishment. The Dandenong club members are also required to undertake and complete an anger management course and an FFV Respect and Responsibility Course. They can’t get into any VPL games until they show proof of completion.

Also of note for future FFA Cup games was the report that the Oakleigh Cannons (Greek community) forfeited their FFV Victorian State Knockout Cup tie against arch-rivals South Melbourne (Greek community) on a Saturday night because it clashed with Greek orthodox Easter celebrations.

Both clubs have historically strong Greek ties, but the Cannons’ committee had requested the match be moved to another date as many of their volunteers and supporters had family and religious events to attend. But the two clubs weren’t able to find a new time, so the Cannons forfeited the match, handing South Melbourne a passage to the fifth round of the competition with a 3-0 imagined victory.

I respect the Oakleigh Cannons’ decision to forfeit, but how would the commercial press report on that if it was an FFA Cup match?

There will be enormous scrutiny of the behaviour of clubs in the FFA Cup, and if there is repeated bad behaviour and crowd trouble, the FFA says they will be expelled from the cup, or at worst it could mean the end of the FFA Cup.

There is a risk about the FFA Cup and what it will do to the image of the A-League and football in general. For sure and certain, if you get two rival or historically-opposed teams from ethnic communities playing each other, there will be trouble.

I can't believe people still don't rate Wollongong... Their last three attendances have been 6,540 for a preseason game for SFC v Newcastle last year, 7,000 for an all stars muck around v the young roos, and over 6k to the Wolves match the other night. Coming up they also have a trial on the 19th for SFC v Wellington which will likely pull about the same, then in January a full a league match for which 10k plus is likely.

So there's a good 6k core demonstrated, much more than anywhere else. They've got the history with the wolves and 2 NSL titles. They've got what would be one of the best grounds in the league- I've been to most and trust me its absolutely fantastic and right in the middle of town easy to get to with a 10min downhill walk from the station. Its the only area with literally no competition from other sports. Corporate support therefore wouldn't be as difficult to garner as people think because if the fans turn up local businesses really don't have much choice. They have a strong local league and pathway for juniors, plenty of players to draw on, and 4big home derbies that could get 15k plus without too much trouble plus some rivalry games with Perth, ccm and Newcastle. If a Canberra team is added then bam there's another near rival.

I really can't see it as a bad move, so much going for them and I think the 6k core is as much as can really be expected to be pushing for a club. They would really get the whole region behind them and would take off if done right IMO.

Wollongong.

Just saw this beautiful photo on Facey:

That stand has 5,783 seats.