Melbourne Heart - Stadium/Facilities

[sunovagun]

 

It only takes 20minutes more by train to get from Geelong to Richmond as it does from Frankston to Richmond. No excuse not to make it.

 

 

ha. Obviously never made the trip yourself.  

 

Its not practical.  Some people on here need to wake up to the real world and accept not all supporters can get to every single game. 

Lol

 

He did the trip a number of times in reverse with me last year as Cats fans.

 

And TBH I dont have much sympathy for you mate because since I returned from Perth to Melbourne I only would have missed five games in seven years at KP.

 

And I know a number of Melb based PPL who have missed none.

 

Am I asking for sympathy?   Not at all. 

 

I rarely miss a heart home game, and not here to debate levels of committments to the cause. 

 

Fact is, Geelong is Vic's biggest regional centre.  And if we are forced to play a regional game, i suggest Geelong is the priority. 

It is a lot easier to convince neutrals and supporters (talking casual supporters, derby regulars) to attend if a game is 5 minutes down the road, compared to an hour in the car. 

 

We are a growing club.   And should be aiming to convert  Neutrals->Supporters   and Supporters->Members. 

[cadete]

 

 

It only takes 20minutes more by train to get from Geelong to Richmond as it does from Frankston to Richmond. No excuse not to make it.

 

 

ha. Obviously never made the trip yourself.  

 

Its not practical.  Some people on here need to wake up to the real world and accept not all supporters can get to every single game. 

Lol

 

He did the trip a number of times in reverse with me last year as Cats fans.

 

And TBH I dont have much sympathy for you mate because since I returned from Perth to Melbourne I only would have missed five games in seven years at KP.

 

And I know a number of Melb based PPL who have missed none.

 

Am I asking for sympathy?   Not at all. 

 

I rarely miss a heart home game, and not here to debate levels of committments to the cause. 

 

Fact is, Geelong is Vic's biggest regional centre.  And if we are forced to play a regional game, i suggest Geelong is the priority. 

It is a lot easier to convince neutrals and supporters (talking casual supporters, derby regulars) to attend if a game is 5 minutes down the road, compared to an hour in the car. 

 

We are a growing club.   And should be aiming to convert  Neutrals->Supporters   and Supporters->Members. 

I think you made your point that Geelong is the best location for a regional game in Victoria, I dont think too many ppl on here disagree with this statement as its a pretty logical one.

[HeartMillsy29]

I must take the wrong train, takes an hour from frankston to Richmond.

[bazzatron]

Thats the suggested times for both routes. But yeah that extra 10 minutes really ruins your day i'm sure.

[Damiano]

Visy Park would be a great option IMO

[Red or Dead]

Whilst Victory are trying to concur Tasmania we really should be trying to make inroads into Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo!

 

I'm happy to drive to any of those places to watch Heart play their regional match; they're cities compared to Morwell Town and so much better for Heart to target their growth.

[kingofhearts]

We should move out base to Olympic park if possible i reckon.

 

There has been massive redevelopment to Olympic park if i'm not mistaken, and even know the mongs use to play there surely it would be easier for players

and that to get there? I've also heard that they facilities are pretty mint too.

 

If we were going to play another home game away from aami, we should try play interstate somewhere where there is no a-league club such as Darwin or Canberra. I know we wouldn't get increased home crowds, but it could be a possibility to build a strong member base somewhere outside of Melbourne plus get an extra 500-1000 memberships a year

[MrAiDaN66]

No offence to anyone outside of Victoria, but I don't think our interstate fans really matter to many as the main objective is to build home crowds and membership base rather than our overall world support

[kingofhearts]

No offence to anyone outside of Victoria, but I don't think our interstate fans really matter to many as the main objective is to build home crowds and membership base rather than our overall world support

 

But think about this for a sec. Western bulldogs constantly get 10,000 plus when they use to play up at darwin. Thats an extra 10,000 plus possible members/fans we can get supporting the heart. I understand yes, we won't get immediately bigger crowds but if we are able to build some support up at

Darwin people might start travelling down, attending heart games at AAMI.

 

It could also shut up Scott Munn and the rest of the heart board always crying foul about how they never have any money. With the money they would

earn through this game we could actually have a bit of money to throw around at bigger players  

[HeartinHobart]

No offence to anyone outside of Victoria, but I don't think our interstate fans really matter to many as the main objective is to build home crowds and membership base rather than our overall world support

No offence taken lol. Hawthorn now have 10 000 members in Tasmania after starting their push down here about a decade ago.

Personally, I think with an A grade marquee a game in one of your 3 other cities would be a real winner. Bringing casual football fans to a game with a marquee and they could be turned into country members and watching the team a couple of times each season in Melbourne.

[jw1739]

We should move out base to Olympic park if possible i reckon.

 

There has been massive redevelopment to Olympic park if i'm not mistaken, and even know the mongs use to play there surely it would be easier for players

and that to get there? I've also heard that they facilities are pretty mint too.

 

If we were going to play another home game away from aami, we should try play interstate somewhere where there is no a-league club such as Darwin or Canberra. I know we wouldn't get increased home crowds, but it could be a possibility to build a strong member base somewhere outside of Melbourne plus get an extra 500-1000 memberships a year

Which stone are you under?

 

Do you mean the old Olympic Park, next door to AAMI Park? If so, it's been redeveloped as a Collingwood training ground.

[thedukeofhearts]

No offence to anyone outside of Victoria, but I don't think our interstate fans really matter to many as the main objective is to build home crowds and membership base rather than our overall world support

No offence taken lol. Hawthorn now have 10 000 members in Tasmania after starting their push down here about a decade ago.

Personally, I think with an A grade marquee a game in one of your 3 other cities would be a real winner. Bringing casual football fans to a game with a marquee and they could be turned into country members and watching the team a couple of times each season in Melbourne.

on the subject of non-victorian members, does anyone know if Sydney got many international members from italy because of ADP ?? Be interesting to know. 

They talked about fans watching over there, but I wonder if any bought international memberships to help the club where their hero went ??

[jw1739]

The regional games are FFA's idea of 'taking A-League football to the regions.' The idea started as a 'regional round', where all such games were to be played on the same weekend, but in practice the matches seem to be dotted throughout the season so it is hard to see the actual impact they are having. I suspect that this is deliberate so that the poor crowds cannot be readily seen.

 

So far we have played one match in Victoria (Morwell) and the second in Dunedin. For some reason both have been against Wellington, so it's hardly two glamour sides playing each other. Next season our regional round should be played in Victoria. Who knows who against.

 

AFAIK the venues for these regional matches are determined by FFA in conjunction with the club concerned - i.e. next season MHFC. In S2 as Cadete says, the match in Morwell was a debacle. It should be remembered that this venue was pushed hard by Munn, so that's another stuff-up from the top office. At one stage a couple of special trains were promised to take supporters to Morwell, but that promise was broken. The ticketing was a fiasco. The attendance was pitiful, and the facilities a good example of what happens when you move away from a decent stadium such as AAMI Park. Entry to these matches is not  covered by your Heart membership fee. Mrs. JW said (numerous times I might add) on the way home that she would never again attend a regional match, even if they paid her to do so.

[Bobbobbobmarley]

WSW wouldnt be half the success they were without being owned by FFA and due to the fact they were successful. 

Season one was so important for us, although we fluffed it

We could've had Viduka and Ronaldo in Season One. We went with Hoffman.

[Grimey]

The idea of a  regional match at Simonds Stadium in Geelong has grown on me..
The stand on the east of the ground holds about 6500 supporters. Just looking at Google Earth, a rectangular football pitch only extends about 2 bays either side of the edges of this stand.
Could have a pitch as close to the east side as allowed & only open that stand plus another bay or 2 depending on crowd projections. Saves the club money and would be alot easier on the eye for those at home.
~7000 capactiy could be setting the bar a bit low though
 

[Parrot]

Firstly, as a member I expect to see my home games from AAMI, not some crap stadium.

In case some folks have forgotten, after our win against Victory in round 1, we got more than 11,000 to our first home game, against Wellington - the worst drawing side we could have had.

We blew it. We played poorly against a Wellington team missing half their squad on World Cup qualification duties.

From memory Colosimo conceded a penalty and got sent off.

 

[Parrot]

The idea of a  regional match at Simonds Stadium in Geelong has grown on me..

The stand on the east of the ground holds about 6500 supporters.

~7000 capactiy could be setting the bar a bit low though

You're sure right there.  No objections playing there if that is NOT one of our 13 home games, but otherwise to play there is shit.

The club ought to find ways to attract more people to games. Not planning to just "break even" by selling our best players and playing shit on the field might be a start.

Not resigning for 2013-2014 proven underperformers is also a start.

 

[belaguttman]

WSW wouldnt be half the success they were without being owned by FFA and due to the fact they were successful. 

Season one was so important for us, although we fluffed it

We could've had Viduka and Ronaldo in Season One. We went with Hoffman.

I ws under the impression hat Viduka had firmly decided to retire. Ronaldo was still ordering in KFC long after Carlos had gone home.

[Grimey]

I think that was the game with the vpl final afterwards though wasnt it? So you cant draw too many conclusions from that figure. The eastern stand I was taking about was finished in 2006, so it'd be just as modern as aami. As long as it helps the club grow, one home match per season couldn't hurt. Especially if its only an hour away.

[jw1739]

Firstly, as a member I expect to see my home games from AAMI, not some crap stadium.

Endorsed. Leave home games alone.

 

Regional match, one in Victoria every second year? Play where the FFA likes - it's their idea.

 

I'd like to see the real stats on regional match attendances.

[Peter]

Regional matches should only be used for pre-season warm ups, friendlies against local sides etc.

We have our home ground and should play all our home matches there.

[Red or Dead]

The thing is that the regional match isn't a home game, it's an "extra game" hence why it's played on (semi)neutral ground.

 

You see 1 team will play 9 other teams 3 times, that's 9 x 3 = 27 games. We have 13 home games, 13 away games and 1 extra match, the regional match.

 

I'm happy for that 1 extra match to be played somewhere else in Victoria every second season if it means we can grow Heart's reach and our core support.

[Tommykins]

I'd suggest the long term thinking of FFA involves a team in Geelong, unlikely they'd want someone down there in the interim. Football is huge in Gippsland for some reason, I can understand the push to get there.

[Damiano]

Whilst Victory are trying to concur Tasmania we really should be trying to make inroads into Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo! I'm happy to drive to any of those places to watch Heart play their regional match; they're cities compared to Morwell Town and so much better for Heart to target their growth. Red or dead makes an excellent point - I would love Heart to become the "regional" Victorian team while keeping its roots here in Melbourne. Id be happy for them to play 4-5 games in those regional towns to build exposure of the club while still playing the bulk of the games at AAMI. Great suggestion

[Ando]

Are you people not already entertained?

[Ando]

Whilst Victory are trying to concur Tasmania we really should be trying to make inroads into Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo! I'm happy to drive to any of those places to watch Heart play their regional match; they're cities compared to Morwell Town and so much better for Heart to target their growth. Red or dead makes an excellent point - I would love Heart to become the "regional" Victorian team while keeping its roots here in Melbourne. Id be happy for them to play 4-5 games in those regional towns to build exposure of the club while still playing the bulk of the games at AAMI. Great suggestion

 

 

Yes, brilliant idea. Let's play in some shitty backwater 'stadium' in front of maybe 2000 each time. As if our season hasn't already been shit enough, you're suggesting we make next season even worse by alienating a large portion of the support the club has in Melbourne. What we would gain, we would lose fivefold. 

 

Your logic is flawed, I hope you don't work in marketing or PR. 

[Murfy1]

One of the best things Heart has done, and should continue to do, is make AAMI Park apart of the club's identity. If I recall correctly, the pamphlet about membership leading into this season said things like 'home sweet home' about AAMI Park, and we should continue to hammer home the message that we play a lot of games at this world class stadium. Especially whilst Victory will continue to play a handful of games at Etihad for the next few seasons (due to a ridiculously long contract they signed), Heart should continue to identify heavily with AAMI.

 

I don't know why we'd even bother to think about another stadium when we have AAMI.

 

Also, on regional games, if the FFA keeps promoting a regional round then I reckon one or so matches a season at Ballarat, Geelong or Bendigo might be fine. But Heart should focus on getting its fundamentals right: a quality squad (with youth and maybe some Victorian players), good and successful football and good management (i.e., good PR, good sponsors/partnerships, good finances etc). Heart should only think about doing what Victory has done, that is, expand to another location, when our fundamentals are solid. 

Edited April 6, 2013 by Murfy1

[thedukeofhearts]

I would play friendlies up here in bendigo, but no way a season fixture.

[Joel21]

We have the best ground in the league, in a great location that is easy to get to. No need to have any games in regional VIC.

 

We should play practice games in areas like box hill, and springvale where there are plenty of teams that the predominate part of their players

support euro based clubs and never get into the a league.

[dazman]

Because every year 5 teams have an 'extra home' match, those games are always, always going to be scheduled in neutralish regional areas.  Primarily this ensures fairness so some teams don't get extra home matches and, if done properly, it's actually a good way to get others involved with football as a side effect.  As long as there is an odd number of rounds in the a-league these matches will always take place, so there's no point being for or against them - they're a fact of the a-league.

 

However, it does annoy me and clearly many others that these games often seem to be in pointless locations.  Morwell? Bathurst? Seriously?

These games should all be played in places that have significant populations and could be future expansion regions.  Tasmania, Townsville, Wollongong, Auckland, Darwin, Canberra, Geelong and SE Melbourne (it's not regional, but it's too far away from the city to be properly covered by Heart or Victory, thus it doesn't really have an accessable team yet) are the only places these games should ever be played

[jw1739]

... and SE Melbourne (it's not regional, but it's too far away from the city to be properly covered by Heart or Victory, thus it doesn't really have an accessable team yet) ...

I never realised that I lived so far away.

[Jimmy]

Half of our games MUST be played at the Harris St reserve in Warrnambool

[biancorosso7]

Has the idea of sharing resources with another large established Melbourne Club been floated. Teams that come to mind would be Melbourne Storm, Collingwood, Hawthorn, or Richmond. Not only the occassional training session, but also the physios and recovery methods (e.g. Polenz tweeted he worked in rehab with the Canterbury Bulldogs). The other positive is that Eddie McGuire has recently come out and said that Collingwood is willing to work with other sporting clubs in Melbourne on these kinds of areas, particularly IP sharing.

 

The further leap from all of this would be to be "paired" or even sponsored by an AFL club. Which I HIGHLY DOUBT MOST SEASON TICKET HOLDERS WOULD WANT TO SEE.

[cadete]

Has the idea of sharing resources with another large established Melbourne Club been floated. Teams that come to mind would be Melbourne Storm, Collingwood, Hawthorn, or Richmond. Not only the occassional training session, but also the physios and recovery methods (e.g. Polenz tweeted he worked in rehab with the Canterbury Bulldogs). The other positive is that Eddie McGuire has recently come out and said that Collingwood is willing to work with other sporting clubs in Melbourne on these kinds of areas, particularly IP sharing.

 

The further leap from all of this would be to be "paired" or even sponsored by an AFL club. Which I HIGHLY DOUBT MOST SEASON TICKET HOLDERS WOULD WANT TO SEE.

Do you honestly think it is a possibility that a Professional Sporting Club has not already discussed or explored such an idea?

[Red or Dead]

If we can move into the Westpac centre and train on Collingwood's newly finished Olympic Park right next door to AAMI Park then that would be awesome! We don't have to have to be "backed by" Collingwood, we'll use their training grounds in return for our expertise in areas that Collingwood may be lacking (Hopefully they don't see our bluff! lol). I just hope working with one AFL club doesn't alienate an potential new Heart fans who support a different AFL club.

 

In the end, I doubt Eddie sees any benefit in being "affiliated" with Heart...plus, I'm pretty sure he's more of a Victory fan than Heart.

[MrAiDaN66]

BUT WE HAVE JOFFA

[Ando]

Pretty sure Latrobe is about to receive significant funding to upgrade its facilities and the club is happy with this state of affairs.

That being said, being based out of the Westpac centre would kind of make sense.

Westpac centre.

Latrobe Uni.

Dental plan

Lisa needs braces.

[biancorosso7]

Has the idea of sharing resources with another large established Melbourne Club been floated. Teams that come to mind would be Melbourne Storm, Collingwood, Hawthorn, or Richmond. Not only the occassional training session, but also the physios and recovery methods (e.g. Polenz tweeted he worked in rehab with the Canterbury Bulldogs). The other positive is that Eddie McGuire has recently come out and said that Collingwood is willing to work with other sporting clubs in Melbourne on these kinds of areas, particularly IP sharing.

 

The further leap from all of this would be to be "paired" or even sponsored by an AFL club. Which I HIGHLY DOUBT MOST SEASON TICKET HOLDERS WOULD WANT TO SEE.

Do you honestly think it is a possibility that a Professional Sporting Club has not already discussed or explored such an idea?

 

I'm not sure to be honest. The same goes with working out a Foreign Sister Club arrangement.

[cadete]

 

Has the idea of sharing resources with another large established Melbourne Club been floated. Teams that come to mind would be Melbourne Storm, Collingwood, Hawthorn, or Richmond. Not only the occassional training session, but also the physios and recovery methods (e.g. Polenz tweeted he worked in rehab with the Canterbury Bulldogs). The other positive is that Eddie McGuire has recently come out and said that Collingwood is willing to work with other sporting clubs in Melbourne on these kinds of areas, particularly IP sharing.

 

The further leap from all of this would be to be "paired" or even sponsored by an AFL club. Which I HIGHLY DOUBT MOST SEASON TICKET HOLDERS WOULD WANT TO SEE.

Do you honestly think it is a possibility that a Professional Sporting Club has not already discussed or explored such an idea?

 

I'm not sure to be honest. The same goes with working out a Foreign Sister Club arrangement.

1. Peter Sidwell is a smart and successful Business Man, I am sure he has explored resource partnerships with other teams.

 

2. Why would we a Foreign Sister Club arrangement?   

[HeartinHobart]

I must say as a Geelong member and a collingwood hater I'd have no issues if we moved into westpac centre. One big benefit I see is really might help in recruiting high level players to the club. Must be much more enticing having facilities much closer to the CBD