News Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Propose $50M Centre of Excellence

[D- voice]

I know council owns it..just curious as to what its worth.?? Surely we have a few squillianaire supporters/club/Sponsors that can invest. Sell off Liverpool parcel of land.

Here's a realistic idea that would cost the club zero dollars...
The clubs of the Bulldogs Dragons Sharks and Tigers should lobby and demand from all politicians/governments to fund and build a rectangular shaped fifty thousands capacity stadium for the Southwest of Sydney that can be shared by all 4 clubs as well as soccer,
That stadium should be central to all clubs, IMO the original proposed location of the Oasis at Kelso Park would be ideal and accessible to all teams supporters.
Can we call it home ?

 

[GoTheDoggies]

Is there any heart or soul left in Belmore? The last 10 games we have played there have been our worst performances. Plus it's the worst venue in the league, glorified training paddock.

Realistically we can't build a proper stadium there, so I'd knock it down, leave the field as a park and build units around it. With that development and the leagues club, we would never have to worry about money again.

A home ground advantage isn’t magically going to reverse over a decade of mismanagement. We could play in Timbuktu and make teams travel by plane for hours and they’d still beat us.

Large capacity stadium builds in Australia only happen if it is a multi team venue, multi code venue.

I’d rather do a refresh like Manly have done at Brookvale. Upgrade the facilities, etc

 

[MountMontoya]

Belmore is a shit hole

 

[Squirtlevstar]

The land is council owned, designated park and recreation.
What right would the Bulldogs have to build units on it?

Not the councils land. Never was never will be.

 

[Lynchpin]

Oasis at Kelso Park

Enlighten me. I have never seen a proposal for Kelso Park.
Woodward Park. Yeah, heard of that one.

 

[Lynchpin]

We do not in any way shape or form need a 30k [plus] stadium.

Correct [FIFY]. It must be 40-50k (that's the future)...BUT, it must be built in such a way that a crowd of 20k feels like 80k (which can be done - think, not Stadium Australia; the nation's white elephant).

That means steep stand pitch and probably definitely a roof.
Furthermore, the acoustics, visuals, IT, amenities, & corporate hospitality need to be purpose-built (state-of-the-art) for concerts as well as sports to increase the stadium's utility (profitability).

The Bulldogs are the most supported team in Sydney, & draw big crowds even after producing poverty football & missing finals for the best part of a decade.

Building anything less than 40k is seeking mediocrity, and when trying to get the punters to give up their sofa and/or pub to get to a game, you'd better not be pitching a mediocre game-day experience.

In fact, if you insist on going mediocre, the Bulldogs will end up playing out of a larger stadium anyway, just probably not one in Sydney.

We need to seize the opportunity and lock-in our place in the Southwest corridor of Sydney (where we belong), or sit back and revel in the past while we let someone else do it.

This should have been done two decades ago (and it was attempted with Stardome) but now, with Southwest Sydney becoming the city's biggest growth zone (Aerotropolis, etc), we can no longer afford to wait. Someone will cut our lunch.

 

[Kempsey Dog]

Disgraceful. How can you even suggest to demolish the heart and soul at Belmore??

Belmore needs a refresh. Fans are deluding themselves, most games do not draw more than 25k during the regular season. We do not in any way shape or form need a 30k plus stadium.

When we start winning and bandwagons come out of woodwork 30k would be easy to crack on rivalries

 

[GoTheDoggies]

Correct [FIFY]. It must be 40-50k (that's the future)...BUT, it must be built in such a way that a crowd of 20k feels like 80k (which can be done - think, not Stadium Australia; the nation's white elephant).

That means steep stand pitch and probably definitely a roof.
Furthermore, the acoustics, visuals, IT, amenities, & corporate hospitality need to be purpose-built (state-of-the-art) for concerts as well as sports to increase the stadium's utility (profitability).

The Bulldogs are the most supported team in Sydney, & draw big crowds even after producing poverty football & missing finals for the best part of a decade.

Building anything less than 40k is seeking mediocrity, and when trying to get the punters to give up their sofa and/or pub to get to a game, you'd better not be pitching a mediocre game-day experience.

In fact, if you insist on going mediocre, the Bulldogs will end up playing out of a larger stadium anyway, just probably not one in Sydney.

We need to seize the opportunity and lock-in our place in the Southwest corridor of Sydney (where we belong), or sit back and revel in the past while we let someone else do it.

This should have been done two decades ago (and it was attempted with Stardome) but now, with Southwest Sydney becoming the city's biggest growth zone (Aerotropolis, etc), we can no longer afford to wait. Someone will cut our lunch.

I prefer not getting rorted at the world class 40k facilities. A day out at Belmore is cheaper than Homebush or Parra stadium.

1. Leagues club feed deals and drinks
2. Local beer is cheaper (within 10mins of BSG)
3. Local food is cheaper, coffee or kebab feed within 10mins from BSG.

 

[Lynchpin]

I prefer not getting rorted at the world class 40k facilities. A day out at Belmore is cheaper than Homebush or Parra stadium.

1. Leagues club feed deals and drinks
2. Local beer is cheaper (within 10mins of BSG)
3. Local food is cheaper, coffee or kebab feed within 10mins from BSG.

Yep. Perfect for lower grades, trials, and a couple of novelty matches per season.
Better still, it's even cheaper to just stay home if it's only about cost (and not the experience).
If you want to attract crowds of around 15k-ish (but more likely, 5-10k these days), then Belmore's your go.
That's nostalgia, not an ambition for a serious NRL Club.

 

[D- voice]

Enlighten me. I have never seen a proposal for Kelso Park.
Woodward Park. Yeah, heard of that one.

Originally before Liverpool was approved there was a study done for the Oasis to be built at Kelso Park.

 

[The DoggFather]

The land is council owned, designated park and recreation.
What right would the Bulldogs have to build units on it?

We are talking about crooked councils, if they make a buck out of it you can build anything anywhere.

 

[The DoggFather]

A home ground advantage isn’t magically going to reverse over a decade of mismanagement. We could play in Timbuktu and make teams travel by plane for hours and they’d still beat us.

Large capacity stadium builds in Australia only happen if it is a multi team venue, multi code venue.

I’d rather do a refresh like Manly have done at Brookvale. Upgrade the facilities, etc

If a refresh it has to be a complete rebuild. Don't know if you have been there recently, but nothing can be salvaged from its current state.

Only thing BSG has is our precious memories.

 

[Kempsey Dog]

I think something that may not have yet been taken into consideration by fans, is if the NRL is seriously considering conference style comp in the future. This would have us play alot of Sydney teams obviously and lessen the opportunity to play teams like Cowboys, Raiders, Melbourne and Warriors at Belmore.

 

[The DoggFather]

What I'm basically trying to say is just do enough so we actually have a home where we play ALL our games in Belmore and nowhere else.

Rebuild or relocate, I just want our fkn home back.

 

[Chris Harding]

The land is council owned, designated park and recreation.
What right would the Bulldogs have to build units on it?

And the Dogs had a proposal for a multi storey apartment block above the club premises at Belmore. It was vetoed by council.
The new metro might force the council to adopt the NSW government's policy of high rise at metro stations.

 

[Chris Harding]

What I'm basically trying to say is just do enough so we actually have a home where we play ALL our games in Belmore and nowhere else.

Rebuild or relocate, I just want our fkn home back.

I suspect that any funding priority will go to Souths, for a home at a rejuvenated Redfern Oval.

The Dogs don't have the emotional pull of the heartstrings that the Bunnies have with the public - and they have a PM who supports them.

 

[Lynchpin]

Originally before Liverpool was approved there was a study done for the Oasis to be built at Kelso Park.

Well, there you go. I will need to look that up.
I was aware of Oasis (Liverpool - Woodward Park), a proposal at Haigh Avenue (Liverpool - on the other side of the Georges River), the Crest at Bass Hill, and, I think, another one further west towards Hoxton Park, but not Kelso.

 

[Lynchpin]

and they have a PM who supports them.

So, they have a 2024 deadline then. Had better get their proposal in quickly.

 

[TwinTurbo]

Yep. Perfect for lower grades, trials, and a couple of novelty matches per season.
Better still, it's even cheaper to just stay home if it's only about cost (and not the experience).
If you want to attract crowds of around 15k-ish (but more likely, 5-10k these days), then Belmore's your go.
That's nostalgia, not an ambition for a serious NRL Club.

How about some facts!

The 2 games at Belmore average was 16,754.

Our average home game attendance last season was 18,345, in what can only be described as a shit year. A few wins on the board and the attendance will easily jump up a few thousand, constant wins and 30,000 is not beyond our support base.

FWIW that's more than Parramatta 18,314, Cronulla 14,093 and Manly 16,296 with their government funded stadium upgrades and not far behind Penrith 18,865 who could hardly have had a better season.


Always a Bulldog

 

[Lynchpin]

How about some facts!

Great! Bring 'em. All for 'em. Love 'em.

You seem to be arguing about the precision of the "15k-ish" figure (for some reason). You might not agree, but 15k-ish, in my book, easily encompasses 16,754, and even 18,345, for the purpose of this discussion; but hey, argue away if you must.

The point is/was (in case it was missed): The Bulldogs, strategically, must be (way) more ambitious than that. In response to:

We do not in any way shape or form need a 30k plus stadium.

and subsequently...

I prefer not getting rorted at the world class 40k facilities. A day out at Belmore is cheaper than Homebush or Parra stadium.

1. Leagues club feed deals and drinks
2. Local beer is cheaper (within 10mins of BSG)
3. Local food is cheaper, coffee or kebab feed within 10mins from BSG.

If you didn't read back for context, that's okay, but let's not pretend we're adding anything of value to the discussion by arbitrarily increasing the precision and pretending that they're "facts" (which they are, however...) and that the broader, more general reference (although less precise) is somehow not "factual".

Back to the point. Belmore capacity in existing configuration is 19k. That's a maximum of an additional 2,246 above your Belmore average figure, and only 655 above your overall home attendance figure. (Please do let me know if those figures are not precise enough, so we can quibble on those while missing the point).

So, that's plenty missing out when the good times return, not to mention a truckload of corporate hospitality left on the table, and therefore sponsorship opportunities as well.
The Bulldogs can legitimately expect 25k-30k to show up regularly (even in the "bad times") if a purpose-built stadium, existing as our "Home Ground", is available (not a barren Stadium Australia, and not an "out-of-area" Parramatta or Moore Park facility).

Allowing for "blockbusters" & finals, the Bulldogs should have no trouble attracting 40k+ on those occasions, and that's the reason for targeting a capacity of that magnitude (in addition to increasing its multi-purpose utility/profitability).

The 5-10k figure is what one might expect if the novelty factor is taken from the equation (ie. more than two games & trials per year). How many showed up to the Sharks trial? (and yes, we had to "share" the tickets with the "double-header").

So, again, thanks for the "facts". They were "helpful", I guess. I love your enthusiasm but they added really not that much to the context, or essence, of what was being discussed.

But, do carry on.