The new SFS opening game report:
We (daughter & myself) arrived just as the NRLW kicked off. The first hurdle was getting in. The mobile direction signs were pointing the wrong way and so we walked around the stadium until we came to our gate which was basically 20 mtrs away from where we started. Once at our gate getting in is straight forward. Usual bag checks and ticket barcode turnstiles to enter.
This is my opinion and viewed from where we were sitting, other areas my be different.
Seats were easy to find and the inside concourse is well signed. We were on the second tier (there are three) just to the left of the goal post in the last row directly under one of the big screens. The walk up the stairs is fine, not a lot of effort needed, and rows are clearly marked. Seating space is similar to the Western Sydney Stadium (WSS) in that I have to stand to let anyone pass. The seats are adequate with sufficient space between them. Even for my big frame I didn’t feel I was constantly bumping into the person next to me. We had a very clear and unrestricted view of the ground. The rise between rows is good and you are not looking into the back of the head of the person in front, even if they are tall. There was a slight drizzle as we arrived and although all seats are supposed to be under cover you could see that on the first tier, the first one or two rows in certain area, mainly the corners, were getting wet. If the rain was torrential with a strong wind you could envision that extending back several rows. From our seats there was a definite chilling breeze and we were glad we were rugged up for the evening. This dissipated somewhat as the ground filled.
We did arrive to watch the women’s game as I wanted to see what the atmosphere was like with only a few thousand people there. I have to say it was great. Even with small numbers there was a definite buzz around the ground. The oos, ahs, chanting and cheering were loud. This continued of course as the ground filled to 41,903 (a ground record lol). My conclusion is you won’t have a problem with atmosphere even with just 5K to 10K present.
One of the first things we noticed from our seats was that with the sound system used, the announcements we unintelligible. Hopefully this is just teething problems. It was muffled and all bass and we could not really tell what the announcer was saying.
The view during the game is fantastic. We didn’t feel that far away. We did stroll down to tier one and from there you are definitely very close to the game. I felt it was just a smidge further away than WSS, this could be just my perception and not reality, and of course heaps closer than Stadium Australia.
At half time during the woman’s game we decided it was time for dinner. Walked down to the main concourse and there is a wide variety of choice. Normal footy food such as pies, hotdogs, burgers and chips but also a wide variety of other food outlets. Sushi, falafel, healthy salads and even a specialty pie shop, I did think our late friend @Geo and he would have loved that. The one thing I did think of, even though we had no problem, is that the outlets were rather small and this was borne out during half time of the main game when we checked them out again and the queues to some outlets were very long.
Toilet facilities were good but not great. Clean and fresh and all but again at full capacity queues for the mens were long. Women’s not so much. Here I feel that they were a little inadequate. They would be OK for say a 30K crowd but not 42K. They also felt a little smallish for such a large crowd but that could be just where we were located or my perception. The recommendation here is if it is a large crowd go before the main game starts, don’t wait until half-time.
Apart from a few small niggles the ground is fantastic to watch footy. Is it better than Stadium Australia? - Yes. Is it better than Western Sydney Stadium? Yes. Is it better than Suncorp? Yes. In my opinion definitely the best ground to watch Rugby League.
On a side note as I brought tickets to a Roosters home game I am now getting all their membership info. $500 or $50 for 10 months for full season Gold reserved seating for all home games in tier one around the halfway mark at the best ground to watch footy. We pay similar monies to watch at the worst grounds in Australia. We need to be smarter.
Food for thought Mike, thank you for the review.
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The other thing I forgot to mention plenty of alcohol on sale, Rooster supporters are the worst drunks. Privilege much… lol. Also all soft drinks were sold in cans and not plastic bottles which I thought was interesting.
@mike Thanks for the time you put in to give us this review sounds like a great stadium .Definitely will be getting along there to check it out , I watched the Dogs game at Accor and the stadium just looks so dated and dead as the new stadiums in themselves pump with lighting ect it was a major mistake the Government not upgrading.
It is unfortunate that our club lives in the past and seems unable to break the shackles of the past , the clubs that will succeed will be the ones playing out of modern stadia , you play out of outdated park footy grounds that’s the perception where you are as a professional organisation .The club needs to galvanise the supporter base .. for the club to grow it needs to have one home ground that will allow growth in corporate and supporter facilities and this will only be achieved in playing out of one of the three stadiums on offer this is the cold facts .
@mike My biggest gripe with CommBank is the fact the Western side is completely for the corporates, is this the case with Alliance as well?
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
@mike My biggest gripe with CommBank is the fact the Western side is completely for the corporates, is this the case with Alliance as well?
Didn’t appear to be. The corporates look like they on the 2nd tier. There seemed to be fans on tier one. I temper that in that I wasn’t close to that area and I didn’t check it out.
Looking at the Rooster member packs there appears to be Gold seating on both sides of the ground. On the player (western) side on either side of the player tunnel is where the members sit.
@mike My biggest gripe with CommBank is the fact the Western side is completely for the corporates, is this the case with Alliance as well?
Didn’t appear to be. The corporates look like they on the 2nd tier. There seemed to be fans on tier one. I temper that in that I wasn’t close to that area and I didn’t check it out.
Looking at the Rooster member packs there appears to be Gold seating on both sides of the ground. On the player (western) side on either side of the player tunnel is where the members sit.
That is really important to me when choosing a home ground and may be enough to get it above CommBank for me.
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
@mike Did you happen to notice if there was parking on the park opposite as the council was going to stop it … that’s where I always parked if driving . When the M4 extension is finished it will be very quick from the west from Parra etc.
@mike Did you happen to notice if there was parking on the park opposite as the council was going to stop it … that’s where I always parked if driving . When the M4 extension is finished it will be very quick from the west from Parra etc.
Yes there was ample parking there, I didn’t notice the price. Also you have the Entertainment Quarter $30, Sydney Boys and Sydney Girls off Cleveland Street @ $20
@mike My biggest gripe with CommBank is the fact the Western side is completely for the corporates, is this the case with Alliance as well?
Yeah I have been a member out at Commbank since we started playing there and it can be almost unbearable in the sun. At the dragons game I had to move the whole family up to the top of the grandstand to get out of the baking heat.
@mike My biggest gripe with CommBank is the fact the Western side is completely for the corporates, is this the case with Alliance as well?
Yeah I have been a member out at Commbank since we started playing there and it can be almost unbearable in the sun. At the dragons game I had to move the whole family up to the top of the grandstand to get out of the baking heat.
Yeah I had to move to around the side near the goal post to get out of the Sun. One of my least liked grounds now.
commbank such a stupid design, only stadium where members are sitting in the sun
The new SFS opening game report:
We (daughter & myself) arrived just as the NRLW kicked off. The first hurdle was getting in. The mobile direction signs were pointing the wrong way and so we walked around the stadium until we came to our gate which was basically 20 mtrs away from where we started. Once at our gate getting in is straight forward. Usual bag checks and ticket barcode turnstiles to enter.
This is my opinion and viewed from where we were sitting, other areas my be different.
Seats were easy to find and the inside concourse is well signed. We were on the second tier (there are three) just to the left of the goal post in the last row directly under one of the big screens. The walk up the stairs is fine, not a lot of effort needed, and rows are clearly marked. Seating space is similar to the Western Sydney Stadium (WSS) in that I have to stand to let anyone pass. The seats are adequate with sufficient space between them. Even for my big frame I didn’t feel I was constantly bumping into the person next to me. We had a very clear and unrestricted view of the ground. The rise between rows is good and you are not looking into the back of the head of the person in front, even if they are tall. There was a slight drizzle as we arrived and although all seats are supposed to be under cover you could see that on the first tier, the first one or two rows in certain area, mainly the corners, were getting wet. If the rain was torrential with a strong wind you could envision that extending back several rows. From our seats there was a definite chilling breeze and we were glad we were rugged up for the evening. This dissipated somewhat as the ground filled.
We did arrive to watch the women’s game as I wanted to see what the atmosphere was like with only a few thousand people there. I have to say it was great. Even with small numbers there was a definite buzz around the ground. The oos, ahs, chanting and cheering were loud. This continued of course as the ground filled to 41,903 (a ground record lol). My conclusion is you won’t have a problem with atmosphere even with just 5K to 10K present.
One of the first things we noticed from our seats was that with the sound system used, the announcements we unintelligible. Hopefully this is just teething problems. It was muffled and all bass and we could not really tell what the announcer was saying.
The view during the game is fantastic. We didn’t feel that far away. We did stroll down to tier one and from there you are definitely very close to the game. I felt it was just a smidge further away than WSS, this could be just my perception and not reality, and of course heaps closer than Stadium Australia.
At half time during the woman’s game we decided it was time for dinner. Walked down to the main concourse and there is a wide variety of choice. Normal footy food such as pies, hotdogs, burgers and chips but also a wide variety of other food outlets. Sushi, falafel, healthy salads and even a specialty pie shop, I did think our late friend @Geo and he would have loved that. The one thing I did think of, even though we had no problem, is that the outlets were rather small and this was borne out during half time of the main game when we checked them out again and the queues to some outlets were very long.
Toilet facilities were good but not great. Clean and fresh and all but again at full capacity queues for the mens were long. Women’s not so much. Here I feel that they were a little inadequate. They would be OK for say a 30K crowd but not 42K. They also felt a little smallish for such a large crowd but that could be just where we were located or my perception. The recommendation here is if it is a large crowd go before the main game starts, don’t wait until half-time.
Apart from a few small niggles the ground is fantastic to watch footy. Is it better than Stadium Australia? - Yes. Is it better than Western Sydney Stadium? Yes. Is it better than Suncorp? Yes. In my opinion definitely the best ground to watch Rugby League.
On a side note as I brought tickets to a Roosters home game I am now getting all their membership info. $500 or $50 for 10 months for full season Gold reserved seating for all home games in tier one around the halfway mark at the best ground to watch footy. We pay similar monies to watch at the worst grounds in Australia. We need to be smarter.
Good review Mike. Im coming around and Im starting to think that if we are going to sign up for one of the big stadia, it should be SFS. Commbank is logical but Idont like it for some reason.
@mike Did you happen to notice if there was parking on the park opposite as the council was going to stop it … that’s where I always parked if driving . When the M4 extension is finished it will be very quick from the west from Parra etc.
When I went to the Tigers/Roosters game at the SCG a couple of weeks ago, there was no parking at the northern end of Driver Ave, you had to drive down to the southern end and there was parking "on the park" at the Southern end of Driver Ave.
@mike What is teh story with the digital signage/lighting etc? Does it look like it can be customised for the tenant?
I wonder what chance there is that we do in fact stop playing at Leichhardt and SFS becomes our inner city stadium option (so CSS/SFS stadium split). Listening to Darcy Byrne this week he said the council doesn’t charge the tigers for ground rental so the Inner West Council maybe doesn’t care if Wests Tigers play or not at the stadium (might even prefer that we didn’t). I think the days of a 3 way split need to end if we want to play more than 1 or 2 games at our traditional grounds. Perhaps a 6/6 SFS/CSS split will allow the corporate sponsorship options as well as cater the the historic inner city fans better than LO and we add more games to the south west. There seems close to zero chance the liberal state government will be paying for anything at LO (or CSS for that matter).
