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The Home Game Experience


citypool
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i am not sure which topic to post this in so i thought i would create a new one.

 

But it really bothers me how much it costs to buy a ticket to a game at aami park especially if you want to sit on the wing.

Just think the stadium is barley full they should open up the wings more try and get the families sitting there then the  behind the goals will have the lads who want to sing and make noise.

 

I'm just wondering what others think can improve our home games. 

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yep, it has been discussed on here before.

I have no doubt the seating should be opened up, cheaper tickets etc to get the club going. The A-league really isn't a good spend of your entertainment dollar at all - in fact it is horrendous. Compare it to the BBL for example. Heck, AFL is a much better proposition and it is the elite league of the code globally.

It has to be compared to alternatives here in Melbourne, not the UK. And lets be honest, the quality seems to be deteriorating on-field. No atmosphere at stadiums or on TV (bar some games), horrific choice of stadia across the league,  too many games (for the # of clubs rendering so many useless and irrelevant) and an utter $ premium to have to the privilege to sit through it. 

But it's just gonna happen because soccer is global and big in europe etc...the attitude is killing this game in this country. Always has - doesn't know its position/role in the landscape due to arrogance creating incompetence.

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49 minutes ago, Dylan said:

Its cheap for behind the goals. But expensive for the wings. From memory I think its $70 for a Cat A adult? which is like middle wing.

I'd agree that the price differential is unhelpful. Either end behind the goals is relatively cheap, but there's plenty apparently willing to pay the premium? 

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2 minutes ago, fensaddler said:

I'd agree that the price differential is unhelpful. Either end behind the goals is relatively cheap, but there's plenty apparently willing to pay the premium? 

They would be members. If I was a casual attendee there would be no way on earth id pay 70 bucks

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Just now, Dylan said:

They would be members. If I was a casual attendee there would be no way on earth id pay 70 bucks

Indeed they are, though there appear to be a fair few willing to pay that premium for a membership. And like you, I'd never be paying $70 for a ticket. But then I've always preferred to be behind the goal anyway... 

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17 minutes ago, fensaddler said:

Indeed they are, though there appear to be a fair few willing to pay that premium for a membership. And like you, I'd never be paying $70 for a ticket. But then I've always preferred to be behind the goal anyway... 

Well the membership prices work out to be quite a bit cheaper than the 70. Plus if you pay each month its a pretty small amount and a good deal

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City Gold is far too expensive if you have to pay the full adult price. Without checking I think two seasons ago MrsJW and I had to pay $650 each to sit behind the City bench, only a couple of rows from the back so we received just a little shelter if it rained. I had always watched football from the wing, right from when I started as a lad. The main issue for us was not the cost, but that nearly every time it rained we would get wet and have to move anyway. So we took the plunge and moved to City Blue high up behind the goal. I think that's actually excellent value, and costs us less than half what we were paying.

My main issues with match day are:
- the banal half-time "entertainment,"which hasn't changed in 9 seasons.
- the poor PA system, meaning that I rarely can understand a word being said over it. For example, I personally like the annual indigenous ceremony that we have with Aunty Joy Murphy and the chap who plays the didgeridoo - to me it has far more significance than some polly getting up in Canberra and saying an amorphous "sorry," because the ceremony that we have is a connection between living people, not the past. Kudos to the club for it, but I would like to hear what Aunty Joy says and I could not hear a word last Sunday.
- I hate the way our team is announced and our screaming "announcer."
- Apart from telling us when the next home match is, the pre-match and half-time material shown on the big screen tells me nothing about what is happening in  or at the club - an opportunity missed for a connection between the club and its supporters.
- OK I'm getting on and I'm old-fashioned, but the music annoys the shit out of me.

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7 hours ago, jw1739 said:

City Gold is far too expensive if you have to pay the full adult price. Without checking I think two seasons ago MrsJW and I had to pay $650 each to sit behind the City bench, only a couple of rows from the back so we received just a little shelter if it rained. I had always watched football from the wing, right from when I started as a lad. The main issue for us was not the cost, but that nearly every time it rained we would get wet and have to move anyway. So we took the plunge and moved to City Blue high up behind the goal. I think that's actually excellent value, and costs us less than half what we were paying.

My main issues with match day are:
- the banal half-time "entertainment,"which hasn't changed in 9 seasons.
- the poor PA system, meaning that I rarely can understand a word being said over it. For example, I personally like the annual indigenous ceremony that we have with Aunty Joy Murphy and the chap who plays the didgeridoo - to me it has far more significance than some polly getting up in Canberra and saying an amorphous "sorry," because the ceremony that we have is a connection between living people, not the past. Kudos to the club for it, but I would like to hear what Aunty Joy says and I could not hear a word last Sunday.
- I hate the way our team is announced and our screaming "announcer."
- Apart from telling us when the next home match is, the pre-match and half-time material shown on the big screen tells me nothing about what is happening in  or at the club - an opportunity missed for a connection between the club and its supporters.
- OK I'm getting on and I'm old-fashioned, but the music annoys the shit out of me.

And if you are like me hard of hearing, it gets even worse , i have hearing aids which do not help when that guy gives an announcement along with the background noise. I too have become bored of the half time so called entertainment same old same old . if you put all these together with the cost of food and drinks it's a real turn off along with the pain of watching our team in various games . Entertainment NON EXISTANT.

 

 

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12 hours ago, CityHeart said:

yep, it has been discussed on here before.

I have no doubt the seating should be opened up, cheaper tickets etc to get the club going. The A-league really isn't a good spend of your entertainment dollar at all - in fact it is horrendous. Compare it to the BBL for example. Heck, AFL is a much better proposition and it is the elite league of the code globally.

It has to be compared to alternatives here in Melbourne, not the UK. And lets be honest, the quality seems to be deteriorating on-field. No atmosphere at stadiums or on TV (bar some games), horrific choice of stadia across the league,  too many games (for the # of clubs rendering so many useless and irrelevant) and an utter $ premium to have to the privilege to sit through it. 

But it's just gonna happen because soccer is global and big in europe etc...the attitude is killing this game in this country. Always has - doesn't know its position/role in the landscape due to arrogance creating incompetence.

If city were 1/4 smart they'd relocate to the south eastern suburbs and start again. Dandenong/or transform Casey fields and base themselves out there. New/existing supporter base, growth corridor, the chance to build with the collaboration of the Casey council or Dandenong council. To even try and get AAMI Park 1/4 full is a struggle. So prices are over inflated to balance the books.

Nothing compares to European football. I was given a £220 VIP ticket at Anfield and my God. 

Paid £50 for a ticket to Wembley and virtually sitting on the roof and even that was amazing. 

I paid £40 for a main stand ticket and it's a struggle to watch A-League games without falling asleep. 

Edited by AntiScum
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I've got a general admin membership but you can pretty easily just sit on the wing. Only 1 person looks after both Aisle 27 and 26 (I think) entrances. Just wait for them to be distracted at one door then go through the other. I've done it over a dozen times over the past season and a half and never had any real problems. 

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42 minutes ago, AntiScum said:

If city were 1/4 smart they'd relocate to the south eastern suburbs and start again. Dandenong/or transform Casey fields and base themselves out there. New/existing supporter base, growth corridor, the chance to build with the collaboration of the Casey council or Dandenong council. To even try and get AAMI Park 1/4 full is a struggle. So prices are over inflated to balance the books.

Nothing compares to European football. I was given a £220 VIP ticket at Anfield and my God. 

Paid £50 for a ticket to Wembley and virtually sitting on the roof and even that was amazing. 

I paid £40 for a main stand ticket and it's a struggle to watch A-League games without falling asleep. 

Yeah, let's move a club called Melbourne City out to Dandenong...

Stupid idea.

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3 hours ago, rass said:

Lol, Bundoora isn't that far from the city. Dandenong/Casey is in a Bermuda triangle somewhere.

Besides, you were also talking about AAMI Park.

Lol 👋 

Bundoora is 21km to AAMI PARK

Dandenong is 31km to AAMI Park 

My point being City can't fill AAMI Park so clearly numbers are an issue. 

Moving to the south east opens up to new support, a growth corridor and a smaller stadium with a great match day experience. 

Western Melbourne has one of the biggest growth corridors in the country with a close 2nd to the South East. The damage it's going to do to city is going to be astronomical. 

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11 hours ago, HeartLand said:

I've got a general admin membership but you can pretty easily just sit on the wing. Only 1 person looks after both Aisle 27 and 26 (I think) entrances. Just wait for them to be distracted at one door then go through the other. I've done it over a dozen times over the past season and a half and never had any real problems. 

I have City Blue. The Derby has been the only match that the attendant has looked at my membership card - and while she was doing that plenty of people walked past her. Half the time there's no attendant, and the other times I just wave the card from a distance.

IMO there's a case for a number of matches other than the Derby being "unreserved" i.e. "sit where you like." Prices, particularly City Gold and Silver, could be reduced somewhat, and it would be a lot easier to bring guests to sit with you. Certainly until - if ever - attendances build up.

Another solution is to condense the City Gold and City Silver sections to leave fewer vacant seats, and expand the City Blue and GA sections to include the ends of the wings.

However, I don't think GA or City Blue season tickets are expensive at all. An adult can pay up to A$25 for admission to a National League South match in England.

 

7 minutes ago, AntiScum said:

Lol 👋 

Bundoora is 21km to AAMI PARK

Dandenong is 31km to AAMI Park 

My point being City can't fill AAMI Park so clearly numbers are an issue. 

Moving to the south east opens up to new support, a growth corridor and a smaller stadium with a great match day experience. 

Western Melbourne has one of the biggest growth corridors in the country with a close 2nd to the South East. The damage it's going to do to city is going to be astronomical. 

It's not just where the ground is. It's getting there - and for many people getting home afterwards. Move out of the city and it will become just too hard for many people.

While I'm on that subject, the Met and V-Line could be a lot more helpful if they bothered to try.

Edited by jw1739
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19 minutes ago, AntiScum said:

Lol 👋 

Bundoora is 21km to AAMI PARK

Dandenong is 31km to AAMI Park 

My point being City can't fill AAMI Park so clearly numbers are an issue. 

Moving to the south east opens up to new support, a growth corridor and a smaller stadium with a great match day experience. 

Western Melbourne has one of the biggest growth corridors in the country with a close 2nd to the South East. The damage it's going to do to city is going to be astronomical. 

And you reckon uprooting the club and moving out to Casey, along with a new stadium will be best?

May attract a few new supporters but probably lose a bunch more.

...and match day experience? Your formula of smaller stadium = great match day experience, where the hell do you get that from? You think Casey will better current match day experiences such as meeting at Imp, Precinct or walking through Gosch's and probably one of the best sporting precincts in the world?

Bahahaha come off it man. Half filling AAMI comes back to results and playing entertainingly. Will moving to Casey fix that? You don't happen to live out that way do you? You think people will travel all that way to watch us playing the way we currently do?

Keep on clapping mate...

 

 

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On 1/8/2019 at 8:54 AM, CityHeart said:

yep, it has been discussed on here before.

I have no doubt the seating should be opened up, cheaper tickets etc to get the club going. The A-league really isn't a good spend of your entertainment dollar at all - in fact it is horrendous. Compare it to the BBL for example. Heck, AFL is a much better proposition and it is the elite league of the code globally.

It has to be compared to alternatives here in Melbourne, not the UK. And lets be honest, the quality seems to be deteriorating on-field. No atmosphere at stadiums or on TV (bar some games), horrific choice of stadia across the league,  too many games (for the # of clubs rendering so many useless and irrelevant) and an utter $ premium to have to the privilege to sit through it. 

But it's just gonna happen because soccer is global and big in europe etc...the attitude is killing this game in this country. Always has - doesn't know its position/role in the landscape due to arrogance creating incompetence.

Say what?

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27 minutes ago, rass said:

And you reckon uprooting the club and moving out to Casey, along with a new stadium will be best?

May attract a few new supporters but probably lose a bunch more.

...and match day experience? Your formula of smaller stadium = great match day experience, where the hell do you get that from? You think Casey will better current match day experiences such as meeting at Imp, Precinct or walking through Gosch's and probably one of the best sporting precincts in the world?

Bahahaha come off it man. Half filling AAMI comes back to results and playing entertainingly. Will moving to Casey fix that? You don't happen to live out that way do you? You think people will travel all that way to watch us playing the way we currently do?

Keep on clapping mate...

 

 

I meant out that way doesn't have to be those exact locations. 

Well I get that formula from the numbers city currently get. 32k stadium with crowds of 7k 🤔😲 no atmosphere what so ever so if you throw 7k into a 15k ground it's only half empty as where the 7k into a 32k stadium is dismal. 

So your saying btw the heart days and city days you've had a great match day experience 🤔 with an average crowd of around 7k? You need a trip to Europe if that's the case. 

I'm not trying to be a smart arse about what I've said it's all about growing the game. It's rapid decline due to incompetent management has left it struggling with no where to go. 

I've been following your comments for quite a while and you're pretty switched on in regards to football so I'm sure you know what angle I'm coming from. 

One last question, do you honestly think city will grow its support base after being around for so long? 

And no I don't live up that way at all, inner west actually. 

Wasn't a clap it was a wave 👋

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1 minute ago, AntiScum said:

I meant out that way doesn't have to be those exact locations. 

Well I get that formula from the numbers city currently get. 32k stadium with crowds of 7k 🤔😲 no atmosphere what so ever so if you throw 7k into a 15k ground it's only half empty as where the 7k into a 32k stadium is dismal. 

So your saying btw the heart days and city days you've had a great match day experience 🤔 with an average crowd of under 7k? You need a trip to Europe if that's the case. 

And no I don't live up that way at all, inner west actually. 

Wasn't a clap it was a wave 👋

Ok. I still don't get how you think out that way will work. Let's look at the below, extremely realistic scenario:

- You work or live in the city/inner suburbs. City are playing a home game on a Friday night. Your only way of getting out there is via the monash or dandy rd. You leave work/home around 5:30pm and crawl onto the Monash....

You see where I am going with this?

My point is there is so much more to the experience than the location.

Lol, by your statement I can assume you have not had a single match day experience in all of our existence. Ummm ok, you must be pretty hard to please. But then again, given by your comments, I gather you are the classic example of what is known as a Eurosnob..

Seriously mate, because I have had plenty of wonderful match day experiences so far, it means I need to go to Europe????

Congratulations on perhaps one of the most ignorant comments I've seen on here.

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8 minutes ago, rass said:

Ok. I still don't get how you think out that way will work. Let's look at the below, extremely realistic scenario:

- You work or live in the city/inner suburbs. City are playing a home game on a Friday night. Your only way of getting out there is via the monash or dandy rd. You leave work/home around 5:30pm and crawl onto the Monash....

You see where I am going with this?

My point is there is so much more to the experience than the location.

Lol, by your statement I can assume you have not had a single match day experience in all of our existence. Ummm ok, you must be pretty hard to please. But then again, given by your comments, I gather you are the classic example of what is known as a Eurosnob..

Seriously mate, because I have had plenty of wonderful match day experiences so far, it means I need to go to Europe????

Congratulations on perhaps one of the most ignorant comments I've seen on here.

There is always Saturday day/night, Sunday day/night. 

Very far from a Eurosnob I've been around football in this country for 30+ years. Seen its great good bad and ugly. Have a look at the recent south east bid and if city are struggling may as well take advantage of that and relocate rather than bringing out another team out that way and city are finished. See what I'm trying to get at? 

City though it's pulling power being an EPL club was greater than it actually is, but city in the UK and Europe is a nobody. City actually regrets buying out heart now as it hasn't gone the way they wanted it to go. 

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4 minutes ago, AntiScum said:

There is always Saturday day/night, Sunday day/night. 

Very far from a Eurosnob I've been around football in this country for 30+ years. Seen its great good bad and ugly. Have a look at the recent south east bid and if city are struggling may as well take advantage of that and relocate rather than bringing out another team out that way and city are finished. See what I'm trying to get at? 

So how long do you think before Melbourne gets a fourth team then?

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Just to get the facts straight:
The non-corporate capacity of AAMI Park is 28,483.
Our average regular A-League non-Derby attendance since inception is 7,741.
Our average A-League Derby attendance is 24,834.

I don't think it's worthwhile debating the stadium capacity issue. The whole A-League has this issue to deal with - probably Adelaide and Victory are the only two clubs that currently play in stadiums suitable for their routine matches. IMO there's a risk that the new Wanderers stadium will prove unnecessarily large. The stadium capacity issue is going to become even more contentious if ever relegation is introduced.

City have rarely exceeded 12,000 for a regular season A-league match. If we were starting again, there was no cash limit, no RoI concern, and no NIMBY, a 12k capacity stadium is probably all we need - we could debate that number, but it's not worth it because our own stadium is unlikely to eventuate.

IMO what we should focus on is making it more attractive to become a City season-ticket holder. And IMO this is going to have to start with the club making a commitment to improving the dialogue it has with both current season-ticket holders and potential new ones. Once the dialogue starts, exchange of ideas and implementation can happen.

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9 minutes ago, rass said:

So how long do you think before Melbourne gets a fourth team then?

That depends on if the clubs form a break away league which will be the best thing for the game in the country. It's all about football fans first clubs second and the incompetent FFA a very distant last. 

Where as it stands right now it's in the reverse order of the incompetent FFA first, clubs second and the fans last. 

No fans, no game ...... Simples!!! 

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7 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

Just to get the facts straight:
The non-corporate capacity of AAMI Park is 28,483.
Our average regular A-League non-Derby attendance since inception is 7,741.
Our average A-League Derby attendance is 24,834.

I don't think it's worthwhile debating the stadium capacity issue. The whole A-League has this issue to deal with - probably Adelaide and Victory are the only two clubs that currently play in stadiums suitable for their routine matches. IMO there's a risk that the new Wanderers stadium will prove unnecessarily large. The stadium capacity issue is going to become even more contentious if ever relegation is introduced.

City have rarely exceeded 12,000 for a regular season A-league match. If we were starting again, there was no cash limit, no RoI concern, and no NIMBY, a 12k capacity stadium is probably all we need - we could debate that number, but it's not worth it because our own stadium is unlikely to eventuate.

IMO what we should focus on is making it more attractive to become a City season-ticket holder. And IMO this is going to have to start with the club making a commitment to improving the dialogue it has with both current season-ticket holders and potential new ones. Once the dialogue starts, exchange of ideas and implementation can happen.

If you were on the fence about signing up with all the shit that's gone would you waste your time and money? 

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41 minutes ago, AntiScum said:

Have a look at the recent south east bid and if city are struggling may as well take advantage of that and relocate rather than bringing out another team out that way and city are finished. See what I'm trying to get at? 

The Team11 bid had so much support because Matt Windley was constantly out and about engaging with the clubs and the footballing community getting them to support a club that they would truly be invested in if it got up, pretty much the opposite of the CFG template.

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57 minutes ago, AntiScum said:

If you were on the fence about signing up with all the shit that's gone would you waste your time and money? 

The answer is "yes." But that's because I'm a rusted-on season-ticket holder since Day 0. What we're talking about - or I was - is those on the fringe - "casuals" if you like. The numbers suggest that their answer is currently "no."

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8 minutes ago, playmaker said:

It's not necessary to build a new stadium IMO, why not just relocate to an existing one and increase its capacity.

Most old NSL stadiums are close to transport and could easily manage 15k attendances.

If you were to choose a ground to have redeveloped other than lakeside which one would it be? 

Just now, Tony999 said:

Here is the solution; consistently perform on the park and the supporters will slowly but surely come. Simples!

It's not purely the winning aspect it's the whole transparency of the club. No communication, no information, no stability. 

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6 minutes ago, AntiScum said:

It's not purely the winning aspect it's the whole transparency of the club. No communication, no information, no stability. 

Disagree! Me being a foundation member I am suprised I stayed on for that long with ZERO success. And in all honesty, who has decent crowds in the A-league apart from MV?

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11 minutes ago, Tony999 said:

Disagree! Me being a foundation member I am suprised I stayed on for that long with ZERO success. And in all honesty, who has decent crowds in the A-league apart from MV?

Wasn't the whole point of the a league to break away from the ethnic groups and build the game/crowd? Why hasn't that happened? Melbourne from inception should of had 3 teams central, West/North (ie:Geelong/Tarniet, South/East (ie:Dandenong/or slightly closer). Anything the FFA touches they royally fuk. The sooner clubs breaker away the better. 

 

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51 minutes ago, playmaker said:

It's not necessary to build a new stadium IMO, why not just relocate to an existing one and increase its capacity.

Most old NSL stadiums are close to transport and could easily manage 15k attendances.

What former stadiums are there in Melbourne that are near a railway station within the distance from Richmond Station to AAMI Park for starters? And you're forgetting that the beauty of AAMI is that it's central, thus minimising the travelling time. And people do have to get home after a match.

And we're always up against the same old issues - money and NIMBY. 

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2 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

What former stadiums are there in Melbourne that are near a railway station within the distance from Richmond Station to AAMI Park for starters? And you're forgetting that the beauty of AAMI is that it's central, thus minimising the travelling time. And people do have to get home after a match.

And we're always up against the same old issues - money and NIMBY. 

One thing that you are missing is that most people live in the outer suburbs and have to come in to the city. 

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7 minutes ago, AntiScum said:

One thing that you are missing is that most people live in the outer suburbs and have to come in to the city. 

No I'm not. It's one of the key points that I'm making. Move the ground to the suburbs - e.g. Dandenong - do you think people are going to come from the other side of town, or the country, to the match on a Sunday evening?

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9 minutes ago, AntiScum said:

One thing that you are missing is that most people live in the outer suburbs and have to come in to the city. 

Huh? So your solution is to choose a remote outer suburb as the home (including playing games), relocate a club called Melbourne City (that even carries its crest) to that outer suburb and in the process associate it with an area that the majority of people living in all of Melbourne have absolutely nothing to do with.

That makes sense.

Why did you have to re-engage me again????

Oh and before you go on about the FFA and how we 'should' gave been setup from the start, remember you started this argument based on the Home Game Experience.

5 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

No I'm not. It's one of the key points that I'm making. Move the ground to the suburbs - e.g. Dandenong - do you think people are going to come from the other side of town, or the country, to the match on a Sunday evening?

Exactly, but said in a much nicer way than i did.

...ad jumping on that shithole freeway in Friday evening peak hour also...

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4 minutes ago, rass said:

Huh? So your solution is to choose a remote outer suburb as the home (including playing games), relocate a club called Melbourne City (that even carries its crest) to that outer suburb and in the process associate it with an area that the majority of people living in all of Melbourne have absolutely nothing to do with.

That makes sense.

Why did you have to re-engage me again????

Oh and before you go on about the FFA and how we 'should' gave been setup from the start, remember you started this argument based on the Home Game Experience.

Remote suburb? It's the second biggest growth corridor in the state. 

Your argument about being "Melbourne City" is a joke as you know good and well the club is based out in Bundoora 20km out of Melbourne!! 

Exactly home game experience with an atmosphere and a stadium to suit. 

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