Belmont Park back on the agenda!
 

Finally there seems to be some commonsense coming to the fore with premier Colin Barnett naming Belmont Park as his preferred site to build a new stadium for AFL football and it seems the timing is right going by the article in The West.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-...na-at-belmont/

Perth Racing is not in good shape financially and previous plans to build high rise development around it to raise cash has fallen through. Barnett is spot on, this site is far too good to be used as a winter racing track 6 months of the year and the govt is talking about purchasing the land of Perth Racing and offering them a discount on land in the southern suburbs to build a winter facility.

The great thing about Belmont Park is it's size, the govt will not be constrained by tight boundaries like it would with other sites like the old EP power station and Subiaco and Belmont Park Race course and it's facilities would be flattened and they could start with a blank canvas and not be hindered by buildings, housing, roads and railways around it.

The other obvious positives are it's bang on the railway line, adjacent and walking distance to Burswood which is the centre piece of Perth entertainment. It's a short train trip to the Perth CBD and Northbridge and it would be a magnificent sight right on the Swan River and enhance Perth as a great sporting and entertainment precinct.

For me it's a no brainer but no doubt it will recieve some strong resistance from some sections of the racing industry and the small mindedness of the Eagles and i laughed my head off the other day when the Subiaco City Council called for an urgent meeting with Colin Barnett since he came out and named Burswood as his preferred site for a new AFL stadium. Those bastards have virtually made parking illegal in at least 70% of the streets in and around Subiaco. No wonder they are panicking about losing football from Subiaco, imagine the loss of revenue from parking fines? Oh, and now you realize how important having the home of football is to businesses around Subiaco!! Sucked in and way way too late.

I reckon CB has got this right and he said he's going to follow through on his promise to build a new stadium.

Considering Belmont Park is built on a penisula, where are the exits out of this stadium going to be? every other stadium in the world has multiple exits, this stadium will become gridlocked, yes you have the the railway line there but imagine 60,000 people standing out the front of this stadium waiting to board a train, dont know how you are goin to disperse 60,000 to 80,000 people with 2 exits unless they ferry people across the river, and this is why it wont happen.

Dont know if you've been to Belmont Park, but directly opposite the stand is the Swan, so while there may be exits on that side of the stadium, patrons will still need to advance to the railway side causing major chaos, and what about flooding, races at Belmont have been called off in winter because of water levels in the river.

If its going to built anywhere it should be Burswood, and i wouldn't believe CB he's just saying that knowing he doesn't have to move on anything for 2 years he just wants to look like he's actually doing something.
I reckon we will be in the exact same situation we are now in 2 years, another goverment might be in and the stalling will continue.

Hang on you are knocking down Belmont race course as a location but saying Burswood is the way to go! It's basiacally on the same patch of land with the same location aspects you say are a problem? Burswood is on the Swan River with Great Eastern Hwy running past it. In fact Belmont Park was built long before Burswood which use to be a tip. Don't you think they built up Burswood with yellow sand before they built it or do you just think the foundations were good as gold?

As for Colin Barnett i don't know what more he has to do, the bloke is a straight shooter not like that roll over merchant Eric Ripper. Now there is a kill joy if ever there was one. Opposes something he once agreed to just because he's now in opposition and doesn't want the other side to be the ones who GOT IT DONE!

Anyway this isn't about a political argument, it's about getting a world class stadium built at a location that is right and isn't going to be outdated 10 or 20 years down the track. I'll ask you a question, have you ever driven down the back blocks of Belmont Park race course in Rivervale? It's a shit hole full of old industrial factory units that are overdue to be knocked down and the residential buildings around there are no better. I'm quite sure if the govt had to pay out residents to relocate in Subiaco they can do the same over there.

Also the govt recently announced it was going to rebuild Great Eastern hwy from the domestic airport to Burswood as it is the pathway for visitors to this city so that will be much improved and the Polly Farmer is right alongside it which gives access to the Mitchell and Kwinana Freeways and there is Orrong Road and GT Eastern Hwy running east and north and Canning hwy running south also. I can't think of a better location.

I haven't been to Melbourne but with all the stadiums built within cooeee of one another and in a short walk to the railway stations and trams i imagine there is a lot of people converging in the one direction yet people commonly say on these forums and i've been told by people who have been to the MCG and Etihad Stadium that the whole ground is cleared within 20 minutes.

Belmont Park has the Polly farmer running Nth to Sth thats it plus the railway, Burwood site would have railway, Great Eastern hwy, Farmer, Causeway, Canning, and Albany Hwy as exits, plenty of options how are you going to disperse 60 to 80 thousand people at the Belmont site with basically two exits, i remember i went to a Camping and caravan show at Belmont park and that was a nigtmare with only a few thousand people there, where are the multiple exits to clear the people and the traffic, everyone will converge to the Polly Farmer Fwy and it will become gridlocked.

As for CB what has he done re: the stadium, all he 's done is said i would like the stadium at Belmont pk its not set in concrete its his opinion, because he knows he doesn't have to act on it for another 2 years, but he has fooled people into thinking that something is going to happen.

You are taking the piss here aren't you mate? Do you think a stadium at Burswood would be built where the Dome is? No where near enough room for that, it would be built on the golf course which is guess where? Directly opposite Belmont race course. That has already been stated if a new stadium was built at Burswood. And the Farmer Freeway runs off Great Eastern Hwy. And if a stadium is built on the Burswood site then you can add anywhere from 5000 to 20 or 30 000 more people who are trying to get in and out of there with the Casino, Convention centre where world class singers perform and big weddings are held plus the Burswood Dome itself.

Big stadium = death of WAFL

I prefer the burswood option honestly. If a stadium is built outside of Subiaco one option is to downsize Subiaco Oval. Still keep all the offices of the WAFC there and the seats infront of it. Also keep the 3-tier stand and and leave 1-tier at the city end of the ground. The roberts road side of the ground will become like any other WAFL ground with 2-3 rows of normal seating along with a Members Bar. The clubrooms that were occupied by West Coast could then be used by another WAFL team.

Now what I am suggesting is a little bit out there but what if Subiaco were to move back to Subiaco Oval? This then allows West Perth to move back to Leederville. If West Perth opt against this then East Perth would be the sole occupier of the ground.

Why so Bensti?

Many people are going to the WAFL now just to get a footy fix. It's impossible to get into an AFL game at Subi now without a membership.

Build a 70,000 stadium where people can just rock up on the day - boom - that's a big chunk of WAFL people who have had their footy for the weekend.

Only the absolute diehards will remain week in week out WAFL watchers - not enough to sustain things as they are now.

I don't know about that Bensti, if that was the case we should be getting 15 - 20 000 people to WAFL games every weekend or more. I think there will always be a market for WAFL football because of what it offers. It is a different product in terms of when it is played and it's more relaxed nature and affordability.

I decided to hop on the bandwagon last year with the Dockers over fear of soon not being able to get a seat to an AFL game and being a long suffering Perth supporter i had to start seeing some football i got some enjoyment out of. But you might be surprised how many seats are still available. I didn't join until there were about 12 games to go and i am wrapped with my seats. The first game we saw was v NM on May 30th. And i reckon you wont have much trouble getting an Eagles membership these days. Their crowd numbers dwindled significantly last year. I know those seats are still paid for but i reckon there will be a few thousand not renewing this year.

Why shouldn't the public be allowed to pick and choose when or if they can go and see an AFL match without buying a season membership? Some people just can't go to every AFL game or don't want to see every AFL game and that's the way it should be and for those that want to be guaranteed a seat in a certain spot there is season membership for them.

surely the WAFL would look at increasing the TPP amount. At the moment I think it stands around $200,000. In order to increase attendances and the quality of the games then look at increasing the TPP. THe WAFL has taken big strides over the last 2-3 seasons and it would be a shame to see it all go by the wasteside just because the WAFC/WAFL stagnate.

also the clubs allow a sell back option or at least they do at Freo. You just ring the club up and tell them your not going to be at the game and your seats go on sale to the general public. Not sure if they give you money of your membership or not, anybody else that knows a bit more?

I think the WAFL has found a real niche with families these days. Its a great place to take your kids for a few hours without costing you a cent. I have an AFL membership and I have watched more WAFL than AFL over the years. I prefer local footy and enjoy the rivalries which are totally non-existant at AFL games in Perth.

But I have always liked Belmont Park as a site. Like DD said it has enormous room for parking (much like the old Waverly in Vic). The East Perth powerstation site is laughable. I have spent alot of time down there with work and how they could ever expect a 70,000 seat stadium to work there is a joke. Getting Belmont Park off the racing industry would be a problem. But I would vote for it hands down.

Gas that clown John Langoulant was the one who got paid a fortune over about a year to come up with East Perth power station as the No 1 site. It's no surprise to read in today's Sunday Times he reckons Belmont Park is the "priciest option" to build a new stadium because the govt would have to purchase the land and he came up with all sorts of negatives about how it was limited by it's isolation blah blah blah. Yet then he says Burswood is a better option.

As i have said in here in response to faz, if a stadium was built on the Burswood site, it would be at the expense of the Burswood golf course (or most of it) and guess where that is? Right opposite Belmont Park and then you are competing with the 10 - 20 000 plus guests that flow in and out of Burswood every day. It is nothing more than short and narrow mindedness from a bloke paid a small fortune to say Belmont is the "priciest" option. Gee good english John! http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...s/rolleyes.png

Not only that, have you seen the amount of high rise units built at Burswood lately? There's another couple of thousand people coming in and out of there.

Cheap today is often more costly further down the track. Spend the extra money today at today's going rate and you can always look back down the track and say that's a pittance today, and particularly when you are talking about something involving real estate. Take the Perth entertainment centre site for example owned by Channel 7. I think they offered it to the govt for 1 million shortly after it was closed down. The govt knocked it back and i shudder to think what that land is worth today? 5 - 10 times that amount you would think. The govt probably consulted John Langoulant back then too and took his advice.

And if Belmont Park's isolation is a problem, HELLO, ever heard of bridges? Farken build another traffic bridge across to EP or Maylands and/or a couple of decent footbridges so people can park across the river and walk across and have extra lanes for buses or trams?

What ever you do Colin, don't waste another cent on that idiot Langoulant.

Belmont is a great place for the new stadium. Why dont we for once actually use the river to move people you could have ferrys run between there and wat is going to be the new barrack street area. they will both be finish around the same time. and yes people say it only has the polly freeway but think that links all of perth u can easily get to the motchell kwinana and great eastern highway and such from there all you need to do is improve the rail way station and you will be fine.

Good point whocares and why not? Any major project like that is going to need infrastructure changes around it and Belmont Park would be no different. It just needs to be done properly. I would build it close to the Wyndam Bridge so people could park on the East Perth side and walk across the Swan River and that would leave a massive area to the east to build a massive car park and other facilities.

Wrong again DD. There is and will always be a waiting list while we have this hole called Subi Oval (sorry Patersons)

Well we can't knock Subi down and think another stadium is going to pop up out of the ground ready for the start of the next season. Anyone who thinks contructiuon of a new stadium is going to commence within months just because CB has come out and said he's going to fulfill his promise is on the wrong track.

What he said was, a new football stadium was off the agenda for the next 2 years when he took office due to a couple of factors such as Fiona Stanley Hospital and i suppose he didn't really know exactly how the Royalites for Regions was going to impact on the budget.

What he is now saying is those 2 years are up and it's back on the table and a decision has to be made. There are obviously many hurdles to jump over before a site is determined and construction commences but i don't think CB is going to piss fart around with anymore time wasting reports from consultants. Obviously though there will some sort of task force set up for a major project like this but it seems to me the wheels are in motion.

Wehave the great swan river iy would be a great way for people to get to and from the games especially for visitors to our state. it can also link the city to the ground were people can have lunch dinner or just drink before/after the game. Where they choose to build this stadium it will be at least 3-6 years before its complete. so any thing thats needs upgrading will have plenty of time.

There is heaps to gain by building a stadium at Belmont Park and I agree with everything you said there DD.... If they in fact do go with the continued modifications on Subiaco Oval it will be a disaster and a complete waste of taxpayers money. I think even the government know that, but they can sometimes be blindsided by budget constraints. And these guys are not in the thick of it to understand properly what is needed.