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2023-24 Big Bash League
- Thread starter GoodAreasShane
- Start date
ashley bach
Cricketer Of The Year
Just had an evening in the bars and bistro of the magnificent Kingston Hotel. Little did we realise until half-way through the evening the game we were
watching was directly across the road. Tried to pop in for the second half but was very surprised to find it a sell-out.
watching was directly across the road. Tried to pop in for the second half but was very surprised to find it a sell-out.
Spark
Global Moderator
Thunder have always drawn very good crowds in Canberra. If they ever get around to expanding the ground then Manuka would have no trouble drawing 15-18k for big games and internationals IMO.
ashley bach
Cricketer Of The Year
It's hard to believe so many could turn up for a dead rubber and a team who have strung together one win all season.
Spark
Global Moderator
Easier to believe when it's one of the very few games of cricket you'll get to watch all summer. A lot of those tickets would have been purchased weeks ago.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
It's hard to believe anyone describing the Kingston Hotel as 'magnificent'
Spikey
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the smaller BBL is overall good but the reduced opportunities for Canberra, Coffs, Albury etc is a big shame. For this season they just had the Stars be the home team for the Albury game while the Gades kept their Geelong game, but now it means Alice Springs is out (although I don't really know why the Stars had the Alice connection instead of the Strikers?)
ashley bach
Cricketer Of The Year
Superlative.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
I say this as someone who was a western Sydney kid and nominally supports the Thunder for that reason, but I think Canberra should be the primary location for the team and it should change its name.
Even putting crowds aside, the team is much more beloved in Canberra. Lots of people in Sydney tend to just support whichever of the teams is better, which is rarely the Thunder. Obviously that's not unbiquous but the team loyalty and rivalry hasn't really developed here like it did in Melbourne.
Spark
Global Moderator
Yeah 100%. People genuinely treat the Thunder as their local team and are loyal to them in Canberra.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
I'm more of a King O'Malleys guy on my visits to Canberra. Great meatlovers pizza, especially if you ask them to put some chill on it.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
Yeah, and this would be even more true if they actually owned it instead of calling themselves Sydney Thunder and giving them a couple of scraps every year.
Burgey
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It’s Canberra after dark mate. What else is there to do?
Jarquis
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Fabian Allen’s ODI record is pretty impressive for a bowler
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
You'd need to completely re-build the ground to get it to a capacity of 15k for cricket. Even replacing the 'temporary' stands and spots where the VIP tents are with permanent stands wouldn't do it.
Spark
Global Moderator
Eh I don't think you'd need to rebuild the whole ground, just build a proper grandstand on the north and east sides opposite the Bradman Stand. Parking and transport would be issues though.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Last night had 11,173 and it looked like there were a few empty seats, so the 12k capacity estimate is probably correct.
The orange stands hold about 1500 with 9 2/3 rows. Complete the stands in the same manner as the rest of the ground (9 upper rows) around to the scoreboard probably adds an extra thousand. That area is a little wider so you probably fit at least an extra row there. Conversely the area north of the scoreboard where a tent usually is could only hold a couple of hundred without building over the roadway. If you converted the hill to seats that would lose capacity.
I'd say you might squeeze an extra 17-1800k in the current footprint, still short of 15-18k. You'd need to be careful to not obscure the scoreboard too. Of course there is the option of building a stand outside the current footprint, but that gets more expensive. I think one thing we can agree on is that the toilet facilities desperately need an upgrade and expansion.
Spark
Global Moderator
Generous calling them "facilities".
ashley bach
Cricketer Of The Year
Early in the 2nd session when the guy at the gate said it was sold out, I asked him what the capacity was and he said 15k.
Then asked him if we could stand anywhere to watch and he said nah. You'd think they'd do anything to get all comers in, especially late in the game.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
They'd be barely adequate for a ground the quarter of the size.
FTR, that unsolicited GWS/Grocon proposal from a few years ago that would have rebuilt the ground into a hideous monstrosity with a drop in pitch surrounded by horrible flats for a cool $800 million that would have added an extra 4750 seats in total, replacing the hill and temporary stands. So I think my estimate is fairly close. If they were willing to build out over the access ramp and sacrifice the hedges and part of the roadway between the two light towers I think they might be able to get an extra 2.5k in, but getting beyond there would be pretty difficult. The Hawke and Menzies stands are getting pretty dilapidated, but I doubt you'd get more than couple hundred extra with the sightlines.