Fresh start for Brisbane Roar doesn’t yet mean a change of venue
Brisbane Roar wants a smaller home ground but aren’t ready to totally cut ties with Suncorp Stadium.
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Brisbane Roar is intent on bringing fans back to Suncorp Stadium but believe a “hybrid” situation of also playing games at a boutique venue is needed to ensure the struggling club’s long-term viability.
Yet another fresh start in the club’s chequered history is taking place with the appointment of new coach Michael Valkanis and the expected mass overhaul of an underachieving playing squad ahead of the 2025-26 A-League season.
Once the most feared team in the competition, the Roar has become irrelevant to the point where they averaged only 5463 to their games this season at the 52,500-capacity Suncorp Stadium.
It’s not only embarrassing for a club that has won three A-League titles but also financially crippling for a franchise that has been forced to work on a shoestring budget despite having billionaire owners in Indonesian conglomerate the Bakrie Group.
“We believe that a boutique stadium or a tier-two stadium is the right move for Brisbane Roar … but Suncorp (Stadium) will always be our home because we genuinely believe that the day will come when the crowds will pick up here, and we’ll fill this stadium again,” Roar chairman and chief executive officer Kaz Patafta said on Wednesday.
“We know that it’s going to take a big effort from everyone on-board. We’re all committed to that journey, so we don’t want to ever leave Suncorp. We believe that for our fans, there’s a really good and really strong attachment to this place.
“The club has had a lot of success here and a lot of great memories, so if we are able to have some sort of hybrid situation in the future with our own tier-two stadium, with the ability to also continue to play at Suncorp, that’s an ideal situation for the club.”
Patafta specifically had an upgraded Perry Park, which has a capacity of 5000, in mind, while Ballymore, the home of the Queensland Rugby Union, could also be an option.
“The question is ‘how quickly can we get access to a Perry Park type of venue’?” said the Roar chief, who confirmed that the club would remain at Suncorp Stadium next season.
And that’s fine with former Adelaide United captain and ex-Socceroos defender Valkanis, who wants to turn the famous Milton venue into a fortress.
“We’re all willing to work hard, roll up our sleeves and make something special that everyone will enjoy and hopefully bring back everyone to Suncorp,” said Valkanis, who has replaced axed coach Ruben Zadkovich.
“I used to come here with Adelaide United. It was never easy because the Roar were intense, they were a great team, always playing really good attacking football and the intensity of the crowd and the passion of the crowd … it was always good to come and play here because you felt like you’re in Europe.
“We want to bring that back. It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, it takes work, and it takes a certain way of doing things, and we will do that.”
Low crowds haven’t only been a Brisbane problem, with a host of A-League clubs suffering from falling attendances.
However, Valkanis – who has held a variety of coaching roles in Europe since 2018 – was confident the competition’s future was bright and urged for a positive outlook.
“We need to back it. We need to think of all the positive things that come out of the A-League as well,” he said.
“All of us have to help it get back up there, and I’m excited about that.
“We’re all custodians of the game, and … wherever you go, leave a print, leave something behind, make it a better place in whatever way you can.”
Patafta promised that the Bakrie Group would bump up its spending to aid Valkanis’ bid to turn the Roar’s fortunes around.
“There will be more investment into the men’s team, but it will be done with diligence,” Patafta said.
“It will be done carefully, and it’s not going to be reactive.”
Originally published as Fresh start for Brisbane Roar doesn’t yet mean a change of venue
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