Monday Buzz: Roosters ready to quit SCG for fan-friendly venue
The surface is dangerous, seeing a match there is expensive and you couldn’t get further away from the action. With Sydney FC already set to move games from the SCG the Roosters are lining up to do the same with their own blockbuster matches.
The Sydney Cricket Ground used to be the most-loved sporting venue in the country.
She was as iconic and as special as the Harbour Bridge and Opera House with all the romance and wonderful tradition.
Sadly, the SCG is now a public relations disaster. She is overused, under siege and incapable of hosting five sporting codes all year around.
The playing surface is a disgrace and dangerous, fans are too far away from the action for the NRL, A-League and Super Rugby and the food and drink prices are of out of reach for average sporting fans.
Last Thursday night the Roosters hosted the Broncos. On paper it was a great game.
MORE NRL NEWS
Monday Bunker: Best player in the NRL bar none
Val Holmes back in Sydney, silent about future
Johns on Gutherson: ‘Lock him in a room and sign him’
The NRL premiers are at the SCG for the next three years while the $730 million Allianz Stadium is being built next door.
It cost more than $200 for a family of four to attend. A family ticket for $102 was the cheapest option for walk-up fans. Two beers cost you $19.20. Four hot dogs $28. Four soft drinks $27.20. Parking $25.
All up $202.40 (without tolls and petrol) thank you very much … and on a school night.
No wonder fewer than 10,000 fans turned up.
It’s not enough to rest on tradition because fans have much higher expectations these days.
They want better seats, a better view and more reasonable food and drink prices.
The Roosters are already talking about moving key matches from the SCG in 2020.
They want to use the magnificent new Bankwest Stadium for their “home” games against the Parramatta Eels, Penrith Panthers, Wests Tigers and Canterbury Bulldogs.
It would be a wise move.
These days it is so easy to stay at home.
For the price of taking the family to the Roosters v Broncos you could have paid for Foxtel for three months. Every game live. No ads. Coverage in 4K. So close you can see the dimples on the football.
Or Kayo for almost a year. All the NRL, all the AFL, rugby union, A-League and cricket.
It’s better value than sitting what seems half a kilometre away from the action on a cold night.
Fans want rectangular venues. They will go to the SCG for special one-off events but not every week.
Over the weekend the state of the playing surface again became a major issue.
The turf is patchy and multi-coloured from constant repair work.
Melbourne victory coach Kevin Muscat described the pitch as “disgraceful” after Saturday night’s game against Sydney FC, blaming the surface on a player suffering a serious knee injury.
“To ask players to come to work and work under those conditions is unacceptable,” Muscat said. “That surface was not conducive to a ball rolling on it. In the middle it was ridiculously hard and unsafe. First and foremost it was dangerous.”
This is not a short-term problem for the SCG.
Fans will cop short-term pain for long-term gain but three years is a long wait for the new 45,000-seater next door.
Something needs to be done now.
The old girl does not deserve to be treated in this manner. And neither do the fans.
Buzz: First look at NRL’s bumper TV campaign
The saturation coverage of the NRL Las Vegas season opener has pushed the other 13 clubs into the background – until now, writes PHIL ROTHFIELD.
Buzz: Vegas refs revealed as new goalposts create a stir
In a special Las Vegas edition of highlights and lowlights, BUZZ ROTHFIELD lifts the lid on referees for the season openers and the goalposts set to create a surprise for NRL fans.