Michael McGuire: Hindmarsh Stadium is not good enough to host World Cup
We didn’t rate Hindmarsh Stadium fit for our embarrassing men’s World Cup bid, so why should we think FIFA will settle for second-best in the women’s Cup, writes Michael McGuire.
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Ten years ago Australia made an ill-fated bid to bring the men’s World Cup to Australia.
It turned out to be a shambolic affair. The taxpayer shelled out something like $50 million in an attempt to woo the various, and occasionally fantastically corrupt, members of FIFA who made up the voting panel.
Australia managed one vote. The embarrassment followed Football Federal Australia and all involved for years.
That World Cup bid became a byword for vast incompetence.
And do you know what? As bad as that bid was, and we have established it was awful, Hindmarsh Stadium was still not of sufficient quality and standing to be included in it.
Even the people behind the farce that was that bid knew enough to know Hindmarsh was not up to holding a massive global sporting event such as the World Cup.
Yet, now we are supposed to believe Hindmarsh will somehow be fit to host women’s World Cup matches in 2023. It is a genuinely laughable proposition.
If Hindmarsh wasn’t good enough to be included in that bid 10 years ago, there’s no reason to believe it is now fit to host the women’s event, an enormous global exercise in its own right.
Ten years later, Hindmarsh is in no better state than it was in 2010.
The State Government, which has never been keen on bringing the women’s event to Adelaide, is throwing $3.3 million at Hindmarsh to try to give the illusion that it cares. That’s not a serious investment. It’s 0.6 per cent on what was spent doing up Adelaide Oval. It’s money down the back of the couch stuff. If it wasn’t so insulting, it would be funny.
There are likely to be five Australian stadiums that host games during the 2023 World Cup. Two in Sydney, then one each in Melbourne and Brisbane. That leaves one position to be fought for between Adelaide, Perth, Launceston and Newcastle.
The evaluation by FIFA of the various venues does not make pretty reading for Adelaide. Hindmarsh has the second-lowest technical score of all Australian options. FIFA also notes Hindmarsh doesn’t have the required capacity, is “challenging” for crowd and traffic management, the floodlights aren’t good enough, the digital screen is inadequate. And the pitch is too small.
Look, I’ve had many a good night at Hindmarsh. But it’s not a World Cup venue. It would be like playing the AFL grand final at Norwood Oval. Another place I love.
It’s not just about the spectators at the venue either. It’s about the millions watching all around the world. It’s about the message we send to the world about what kind of state we are.
We need to aspire to better. The women’s World Cup is potentially the biggest sporting event Australia has seen since the Sydney Olympics.
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The number-one solution would be a new rectangular stadium in Adelaide. Hindmarsh can’t be saved in its present form. If it’s demolished, it would make no sense to build a new one on the same site. A new venue should be built in the city. It doesn’t need to be the billion-dollar exercise proposed for the railyards. Something more modest would be fine.
We have almost exactly three years to get it done. Everyone seems to be scratching around for post-COVID-19 projects. This one would be perfect.
If the will isn’t there, Plan B has to be Adelaide Oval. It’s still possible to switch venues, but only if the State Government has the gumption to make it happen.
And the guts to point out to the AFL that it doesn’t own Adelaide Oval.
Adelaide Oval is not ideal for football, but it can work, as anyone who was at the 2016 A-League Grand final can attest.
In weighing up all the pros and cons, Adelaide Oval is a more compelling choice than Hindmarsh.
And if we have a decent venue, maybe we are more chance to attract high-profile teams. Adelaide may not see the Matildas but global giants such as England, France, Spain, Brazil and Italy would all pull very healthy crowds.
If we leave it at Hindmarsh, there is a strong chance the only way we will watch the World Cup will be on TV.