Ipswich Jets - Western Corridor Team Next?

[Eddie]

45 minutes ago, Jamie_ said:

No, this western corridor malarkey seems like over-the-top AFL-scare stuff imo. We don't need to saturate the Brisbane suburbs like Sydney. A second team filling Lang Park on alternate weeks was a great commercial move but I don't see the benefit for any more teams in South Queensland in a modern-day world when people are more able to take a trip into town or watch on TV, or go watch their local lower-grade club if they are so Rugby League mad that two BNE teams ain't enough. The only additional QLD club should be the Falcons in a redeveloped Sunshine Coast Stadium which has been mooted in a potential bid. It's the next biggest QLD urban centre without a current first-grade team, but it isn't the priority.

The next team has to be Perth. And then after that it's a step by step basis to see how it goes in the long term. Personally, my dream league of what I would work towards purely out in my own deep dark desires is 1 team in every 300k+ urban centre in Oceania (plus Townsville and minus Honolulu), and multiple teams in the biggest 3 of them to equal:

1 PNG, 2 NZ, 5 QLD (2 BNE), 7 NSW (2 SYD, 2 GWS), 1 ACT, 2 VIC, 1 SA, 1 WA:

1.     Papua New Guinea Hunters (PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, PNG)

2.     Auckland Aotearoa Warriors (Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, NZ)

3.     Christchurch Canterbury Bulldogs (Rugby League Park, Christchurch, NZ)

4.     North Queensland Cowboys (North Queensland Stadium, Townsville, QLD)

5.     Sunshine Coast Falcons (Sunshine Coast Stadium [redeveloped], Kawana Waters, QLD)

6.     Brisbane Broncos (Lang Park, Brisbane, QLD)

7.     BNE Dolphins (Lang Park, Brisbane, QLD)

8.     Gold Coast Titans (Robina Stadium, Gold Coast, QLD)

9.     Newcastle Knights (Newcastle International Sports Centre, Newcastle, NSW)

10.  Central Coast Sea Eagles (Central Coast Stadium, Gosford, NSW)

11.  Sydney Roosters (Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, NSW)

12.  South Sydney Rabbitohs (Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, NSW)

13.  Parramatta Eels (Western Sydney Stadium, Greater Western Sydney, NSW)

14.  Penrith Panthers (New Penrith Stadium, Greater Western Sydney, NSW)

15.  Illawarra Steelers (Wollongong Showground, Wollongong, NSW)

16.  Canberra Raiders (Canberra Stadium, Bruce, ACT)

17.  Melbourne Storm (Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, VIC)

18.  Melbourne Thunder (Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, VIC)

19.  Adelaide Rams (Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, SA)

20. Perth Pirates (Perth Oval, Perth, WA)

So you’d kick the Sharks, Sea Eagles, Dogs and Tigers out? That’s a massive loss of traditional fan base. 

[Dirkgee]

45 minutes ago, Eddie said:

So you’d kick the Sharks, Sea Eagles, Dogs and Tigers out? That’s a massive loss of traditional fan base. 

Yeah the loss of the Bears caused quite a lot of angst. Getting rid of 4 clubs would probably lead to another split. Also not sure about a 2nd Melbourne team. Storm are very successful and still aren't close to selling out their stadium. I think a Pasifika team would be better

[pahars]

1 hour ago, Jamie_ said:

No, this western corridor malarkey seems like over-the-top AFL-scare stuff imo. We don't need to saturate the Brisbane suburbs like Sydney. A second team filling Lang Park on alternate weeks was a great commercial move but I don't see the benefit for any more teams in South Queensland in a modern-day world when people are more able to take a trip into town or watch on TV, or go watch their local lower-grade club if they are so Rugby League mad that two BNE teams ain't enough. The only additional QLD club should be the Falcons in a redeveloped Sunshine Coast Stadium which has been mooted in a potential bid. It's the next biggest QLD urban centre without a current first-grade team, but it isn't the priority.

The next team has to be Perth. And then after that it's a step by step basis to see how it goes in the long term. Personally, my dream league of what I would work towards purely out in my own deep dark desires is 1 team in every 300k+ urban centre in Oceania (plus Townsville and minus Honolulu), and multiple teams in the biggest 3 of them to equal:

1 PNG, 2 NZ, 5 QLD (2 BNE), 7 NSW (2 SYD, 2 GWS), 1 ACT, 2 VIC, 1 SA, 1 WA:

1.     Papua New Guinea Hunters (PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, PNG)

2.     Auckland Aotearoa Warriors (Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, NZ)

3.     Christchurch Canterbury Bulldogs (Rugby League Park, Christchurch, NZ)

4.     North Queensland Cowboys (North Queensland Stadium, Townsville, QLD)

5.     Sunshine Coast Falcons (Sunshine Coast Stadium [redeveloped], Kawana Waters, QLD)

6.     Brisbane Broncos (Lang Park, Brisbane, QLD)

7.     BNE Dolphins (Lang Park, Brisbane, QLD)

8.     Gold Coast Titans (Robina Stadium, Gold Coast, QLD)

9.     Newcastle Knights (Newcastle International Sports Centre, Newcastle, NSW)

10.  Central Coast Sea Eagles (Central Coast Stadium, Gosford, NSW)

11.  Sydney Roosters (Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, NSW)

12.  South Sydney Rabbitohs (Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, NSW)

13.  Parramatta Eels (Western Sydney Stadium, Greater Western Sydney, NSW)

14.  Penrith Panthers (New Penrith Stadium, Greater Western Sydney, NSW)

15.  Illawarra Steelers (Wollongong Showground, Wollongong, NSW)

16.  Canberra Raiders (Canberra Stadium, Bruce, ACT)

17.  Melbourne Storm (Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, VIC)

18.  Melbourne Thunder (Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, VIC)

19.  Adelaide Rams (Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, SA)

20. Perth Pirates (Perth Oval, Perth, WA)

Sydney’s population is predicted to be well over 8 million by 2050. Culling teams would play straight in to competitor sports hands. 

[Eddie]

2 hours ago, Dirkgee said:

Yeah the loss of the Bears caused quite a lot of angst. Getting rid of 4 clubs would probably lead to another split. Also not sure about a 2nd Melbourne team. Storm are very successful and still aren't close to selling out their stadium. I think a Pasifika team would be better

Where would the Pasifika team play out of interest?  
 

Having a second Victoria team might help build support there as there’d be a rivalry, same as the AFL have (I think) the Swans and the Giants in Sydney. 

[EggFace]

15 hours ago, Omott91 said:

Central Coast will never get a full time team so they can be crossed off.

Do you think a Sydney team would move to Central Coast...Central Coast Bulldogs or Central Coast Tigers.

[Eddie]

2 hours ago, pahars said:

Sydney’s population is predicted to be well over 8 million by 2050. Culling teams would play straight in to competitor sports hands. 

Agreed, fans of the discarded clubs would just walk away, they wouldn’t start supporting other NRL teams. 

[pahars]

9 hours ago, Eddie said:

Agreed, fans of the discarded clubs would just walk away, they wouldn’t start supporting other NRL teams. 

And crucially they would stop or not start taking their kids to NRL games. Indeed they might pass on a bitterness towards the NRL to them and then that generation turns to other sports. 
 

Sydney is a wealthy city, full of big companies that within most of our lifetimes will grow to a similar size to London or Paris. Better to keep a vice like grip on it then to chase much smaller markets with little corporate support. 
 

 

[Jamie_]

15 hours ago, Eddie said:

So you’d kick the Sharks, Sea Eagles, Dogs and Tigers out

No. Only Tigers, Sharks and the St. George half of the Dragons to the second grade. The rest relocate. Sea Eagles to CC full time which they've got one foot in the door in already and the Dogs to NZ2, leaving their suburbs which they haven't already been playing in for years anyway. This would allow the NSW Cup to become a comp like the Q Cup with standalone teams. If we want the sport to grow whilst keeping it within 18–20 teams, Sydney has to be reduced. 

15 hours ago, Dirkgee said:

Yeah the loss of the Bears caused quite a lot of angst

Crowds and TV viewership only went up in the immediate years after the Bears' relegation. It will be painful to usurp these clubs, just as it was when Brisbane clubs were superseded for the Broncos, but that has only strengthened QLD in the long run. You'll probably lose a minority forever who will feel bitter etc. but the sport will grow. Old fans will die, and their kids will grow up and take a liking to sport independent of their parents. I didn't start watching the sport until I was in my 20s. 

15 hours ago, pahars said:

Sydney’s population is predicted to be well over 8 million by 2050. Culling teams would play straight in to competitor sports hands

Great. 8 million concentrated on 4 powerhouse clubs. Endeavor Park to SFS is 40 mins. Campbelltown to WSS is 40 mins. Have two teams play out in the city, playing out of SFS every week the same way we are now doing in Lang Park, and then have two teams play out in Greater Western. Tokyo is a city of 14 million and in their biggest spectator sport – Baseball – the city has only 5 clubs. New York has two NFL clubs for 9 million people. Mumbai has 1 IPL team for 18 million people. Greater Sydney has 9 for 4 million.

Whilst it's a trip for the big modern commercial stadiums, back home everyone will still have their second grade clubs producing pathways and competing in the lower grades. Promote the second grade more as a trip back to the past of standalone suburban clubs playing in cute boutique stadiums. If it's solely about fans wanting to watch their club, they still can.

A rival sport like the AFL isn't going to come in and target a suburb without a first-grade NRL club and erode the grip that Rugby League has on the area as a whole (which is nevertheless still a single connected and related urban centre) unless they manage to pull off getting a megadome built in the area and subsequently build up a foundation of pathways that out does us. 

Edited March 7, 2023 by Jamie_

[Omott91]

On 06/03/2023 at 00:27, EggFace said:

Do you think a Sydney team would move to Central Coast...Central Coast Bulldogs or Central Coast Tigers.

No, there is no incentive or advantage to consider it. Central coast area doesn't have the corporate $ either.

[EggFace]

18 hours ago, Omott91 said:

No, there is no incentive or advantage to consider it. Central coast area doesn't have the corporate $ either.

So why did they build a 20000 seater stadium ?

[The Daddy]

1 hour ago, EggFace said:

So why did they build a 20000 seater stadium ?

Coz they overestimated their worth 

[EggFace]

3 hours ago, The Daddy said:

Coz they overestimated their worth 

It seems NSW like's spending money on white elephants like Concord and Central Coast and I find that seems to be stadiums then teams, while the AFL has went the other way with fewer stadiums for more teams.

[pahars]

11 hours ago, EggFace said:

It seems NSW like's spending money on white elephants like Concord and Central Coast and I find that seems to be stadiums then teams, while the AFL has went the other way with fewer stadiums for more teams.

Central Coast Stadium was built by Central Coast Council not the state government or ARL/NRL. 

[EggFace]

4 hours ago, pahars said:

Central Coast Stadium was built by Central Coast Council not the state government or ARL/NRL. 

Seems a waste of money having 20000 seats just for 1 NRL game a year and when you do get a NRL game most of time it gets a good crowd compared to see Kogarah.

[pahars]

4 minutes ago, EggFace said:

Seems a waste of money having 20000 seats just for 1 NRL game a year and when you do get a NRL game most of time it gets a good crowd compared to see Kogarah.

The local council built it to attract events and pro sports to the area. It’s kind of worked with annual NRL games, an A league team, occasional RU internationals and music concerts. 
 

[EggFace]

4 hours ago, pahars said:

The local council built it to attract events and pro sports to the area. It’s kind of worked with annual NRL games, an A league team, occasional RU internationals and music concerts. 
 

Like Concord a complete waste of Council money then.

[pahars]

59 minutes ago, EggFace said:

Like Concord a complete waste of Council money then.

It would only be a ‘complete waste of money’ if it brought zero events in to the area. 
 

Whether or not it brings in enough money to justify the construction cost and maintenance is another question. 
 

At the end of the day Northern England is full of 25k council built stadiums that are hardly ever even half full.