$186m Redevelopment for SCG

[Beaussie]

Wish they would knock the old members and ladies stands down too. Seriously the ground looks like a mish mash of different stands. Good to hear capacity will be increased even if just slightly. A good outcome for AFL and cricket fans alike.

SCG's $186m facelift
Andrew Clennell State Political Editor
The Daily Telegraph
January 03, 201212:00AM

THE Sydney Cricket Ground will be upgraded to close to 50,000 capacity in a $186 million refurbishment - the biggest in decades.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Premier Barry O'Farrell will announce today, on the first day of the 100th Test match at the hallowed ground, that the money will be spent to replace the Monty Noble stand (constructed 1936), the Bradman Stand (1973) and the Dally Messenger stand (1986).

Work will be complete in time for the 2014 Ashes series and the Cricket World Cup the following year. It will lift the capacity of the ground from 45,000 to 48,000.

The NSW government will contribute $86 million to the project while the federal government and SCG Trust will contribute $50 million each.

Plans include the biggest video screen of any sporting ground in Australia.

The upgrade will make sure the heritage areas of the ground - Members Stand, Ladies Pavilion and Clock Tower remain intact.

"The trust has been lobbying for a long time. Things are tight but we got the money," a federal source said.

Work will start shortly after the Australia v India One Day International in February with the project scheduled to be completed before the 2014 Ashes Test match between Australia and England.

"The SCG is an iconic sporting arena in NSW and Australia," Ms Gillard said. "Today marks the beginning of the next stage of SCG's development to ensure it maintains its rightful place as a world-class sporting facility.

"This is an exciting project, not only for Sydneysiders but for all Australians, who have grown up watching the New Year's Test and relishing in the history and tradition of the ground."

Mr O'Farrell said the upgrade to the ground was a "fitting way to celebrate the SCG's 100th Test".

"The world's finest cricketers have stepped on to the hallowed turf of the SCG and it's only fitting NSW has a ground to match their exploits," he said.

"The new development will ensure spectators have fantastic facilities, while preserving the history of the Members and Ladies Stands."

"This is a win for cricket and AFL fans and the upgrade will create hundreds of jobs during its construction."

There will be "no columns" in the new seating areas to ensure sightlines are unaffected. Up to 85 per cent of seating will be undercover.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/s ... 6235103060

[TLPG]

Well it does mean that a lot of AFL games will be played at the Olympic Stadium, Beau. More than there are at present.

[cos789]

IMO A lot of money for not too much gain.
It's good for Swan's members of course, except for the construction interuptions.
I could think of any number of better uses for that money in the sporting world.

[Beaussie]

I could think of any number of better uses for that money in the sporting world.

Light rail to the stadiums, Randwich Racecourse and UNSW would have been a good start.

[TLPG]

Isn't the Showgrounds within walking distance of the Olympic Park railway station?

Nice sentiment on extending the light rail the other way but you get anyone between Central and Centennial Park to sell up to enable it.

[Beaussie]

Isn't the Showgrounds within walking distance of the Olympic Park railway station?

Yes out at Homebush next to the Olympic Park station.

Nice sentiment on extending the light rail the other way but you get anyone between Central and Centennial Park to sell up to enable it.

The old tram corridors are still there. No need for anyone to sell up to enable it. The idea is very popular from what I can tell in the press and comments from the public. Also supported by the SCG Trust, Randwick Racecourse, UNSW, Sydney and Randwick City Councils and the NSW Government. Long overdue. Traffic outside the Moore Park sports precinct is a total mess after any event and the buses to move people back to Central just don't cut it.

[TLPG]

Where is there a tram corridor between Central and Centennial Park? Especially at Hay Street which is the only place it can connect to the existing system.

[Beaussie]

Plans are being disussed by the NSW Government to return trams to the Sydney CBD along George St with a branch line from the CBD along Oxford St, Flinders St, the old tram corridor past SCG etc to Randwick Racecourse and UNSW. This would of course connect to the existing system at Hay St.

[cos789]

Plans are being disussed by the NSW Government to return trams to the Sydney CBD along George St with a branch line from the CBD along Oxford St, Flinders St, the old tram corridor past SCG etc to Randwick Racecourse and UNSW. This would of course connect to the existing system at Hay St.

That sounds fantastic. Trams are having a bit of a revival. In Europe they never really went out of fashion.
In Perth the new stadium is planned for Burswood. There is talk of a similar tram loop for not only football but for general transport and especially tourism. Tourists love trams!

[Beaussie]

Plans are being disussed by the NSW Government to return trams to the Sydney CBD along George St with a branch line from the CBD along Oxford St, Flinders St, the old tram corridor past SCG etc to Randwick Racecourse and UNSW. This would of course connect to the existing system at Hay St.

That sounds fantastic. Trams are having a bit of a revival. In Europe they never really went out of fashion.
In Perth the new stadium is planned for Burswood. There is talk of a similar tram loop for not only football but for general transport and especially tourism. Tourists love trams!

Fingers crossed that the NSW Government actually proceeds with the plans.

More details here:

Should the NSW government approve the light-rail project, it would alleviate the gridlock that follows stumps. "It's very likely the O'Farrell government will build light rail, or what we called trams," said Cavalier. "The last tram to run [in 1961] was the La Perouse tram, which went past the SCG.

"The government is looking at a loop, if you like, that doesn't just go back and forth like the present [light rail from Central to Lilyfield].

"If that comes to pass, it will … take a left-hand turn along Norton Street [Leichhardt] then go along Parramatta Road past the University of Sydney and the University of Technology and then out past the SCG … all the way to the University of NSW and the Prince of Wales Hospital. It will be a brilliant innovation - and it would not be expensive, as all the roads I've described were tram corridors."

It would allow future generations to follow their forefathers' journeys to the SCG. One of the SCG's great appeals was that its charming ''feel'' remained, he said.

Cavalier said trams were once a part of that ''big day out at the SCG'' experience. "If you look at the ground today, you'll see there's still the easement that dissects Moore Park, it's a loop where the buses now come, but that used to be the tram parking place," he said. "I can show you aerial photographs from the 1930s … in my ignorance I thought 'I didn't know trams could be so long' because it's about a two-mile-long tram.

"But it was, in fact, 50 or 60 trams parked a centimetre apart and waiting to take the crowds away on one of those days when we had an event on at the cricket ground while the [Easter] Show was on at the same time."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/scg ... z1iqWG32gF

[TLPG]

I just took a look at a Sydney map, and I can't see Sydney drivers accepting either idea. Parramatta Road is a major thoroughfare from the inner west and George Street is arguably the busiest city street in the CBD. Oxford Street is one of two major thoroughfares from the eastern suburbs. As much as it's a great idea and all that, there will be too many protests.

[Beaussie]

I just took a look at a Sydney map, and I can't see Sydney drivers accepting either idea. Parramatta Road is a major thoroughfare from the inner west and George Street is arguably the busiest city street in the CBD. Oxford Street is one of two major thoroughfares from the eastern suburbs. As much as it's a great idea and all that, there will be too many protests.

Not so sure about the protests. The majority of Sydneysiders seem to be in favour of the expansion of light rail, particularly to the eastern suburbs. Here are some of the proposed routes and check out the comments from the public. Seems very favourable.

[TLPG]

Well speaking as someone who has been brought up in a city that never lost it's trams, I can tell you that protests are even made in Melbourne when lines are extended if they are in the middle of the road - which those suggestions mooted would need to be. The only reason extensions were successfully made in recent times was because it was down an existing median strip (Burwood Highway to Vermont South and Plenty Road to Bundoora - sorry if those places mean nothing to you, Beau). But every time an extension that doesn't fulfil that criteria is proposed, there's an almighty bru ha ha. Most recent example I can think of is extending North Balwyn to Doncaster Shoppingtown. Sensible given that Shoppingtown is a major eastern suburbs hub in Melbourne's east - but residents along High Street and Doncaster Road want nothing to do with it. They want the old Doncaster railway line brought back, and I can't see that happening because it's far more expensive and will require a lot of tunnelling once the Eastern Freeway swings south. Sorry - I'm talking Melbourne stuff to a Sydney sider! But the point is made I hope!

The thing about Sydney right now is that it's in the middle of an infrastructure nightmare. People want to take the train, but that's not working for a lot of people and they are going back to cars again. From the inner west and the east the number of thoroughfares are limited to the CBD as I said. Now add a tram to those thoroughfares and you'll get an even bigger nightmare!

[Beaussie]

I guess we can only go by the public feedback to date which appears mostly supportive. That said I can see from what you've described, how once construction started, the howls of protest would begin. It seems you can't win when in government. You fail to take action on public transport and you get slammed. You act and start addressing the lack of infrastructure and you also get slammed. In this case I just hope the government gets on with the job sooner rather than later. This state is a joke when it comes to delivering on public transport. That goes for both sides of politics too if you ask me. I look forward to the day I can catch a tram from Central to the SCG on gameday. Will the Coalition deliver? Hmm time will tell.

[TLPG]

Well the Coalition as a general nationwide rule has a pretty poor record for public transport. But then in NSW the last few years of the ALP government - from a distance - looked like an absolute joke and I guess it would make sense that infrastructure was neglected as a side effect to the point that even O'Farrell couldn't ignore it. I wonder what will happen when the actual amount on money needed hits him and how he responds. Down here, Bailleau is already trying to cut the funding for our rail system (which is worse than yours) improvements without making it look obvious. But he's not getting away with it like he thinks he is.