Restore The Cove – Take Action
Sydney FC has recently informed its Cove members that The SCG Trust has decided to undergo stadium upgrades for Allianz Stadium from Bays 22 to 26. This decision guts The Cove, severely affecting the atmosphere of four key home matches in a season that is already too short. Sports that lack atmosphere struggle to gain television traction, hurting the club and the game financially. The clubs email to members yesterday says that the work will be completed in time for the A-League Finals in March 2015, although it should not take anyone too much of a guess to figure out whom is more convened by this redevelopment scheduling. The Trust has offered a $20 Food and Beverage voucher “as a small measure of sorrow” for members who are forced to relocate. Anyone who has had the pleasure of purchasing food and beverage at Allianz Stadium prices knows the term “sorrow” all too well.
The bottom line is The Cove, Sydney FC supporters and A-League fans need to draw a line in the sand. Whether its installing new turf or ripping it up for concerts and monster truck shows, our game is always getting the short end of the straw. Please do not confuse this as a chest-beating code war piece, it is just a matter of introducing fairness and common sense into the equation. Sydney FC currently average comfortably higher attendances than the Sydney Roosters, whose majority of supporters sit side on to the pitch, as do the NSW Waratahs. Neither of those franchises would be affected anywhere near the degree Sydney FC are. It is irrational and unacceptable.
Sydney FC CEO Tony Pignata has fought the clubs corner as he always does, but the clubs hands are tied. Directing your frustrations to the club is a wasteful exercise. The SCG Trust has made this decision. Contact them at the link below, make your voice heard. For Cove members like myself, you bought your season ticket in the knowledge that you are entitled to your seat for the season. Sydney FC and the A-League should not and will not be taken advantage of now or in the future. If we don’t make this clear, then there will be nothing to stop these administrations from doing so again.
http://www.sydneycricketground.com.au/scg-contact-us/
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I am one of the season ticket holders whose seat is affected by the renovations and the situation is obviously not ideal. But keep things in perspective.
– the renovations only affect the back 10 rows of bays 22 and 26 and the back 4 rows of bay 23, which is worth clarifying rather than suggesting that bays 22 to 26 will be “gutted”. Relocating to another area of the Cove will be simple, given the home end’s tacit general admission protocol
– in 2014, the SFS hosted 17 NRL games, seven Super 15 games, and a Wallabies Test. This equates to 25 winter fixtures compared to the 12 Sydney FC games at the SFS in the 2014-15 season. Spectators at the rugby codes do tend to sit on the sidelines, but the SCG Trust has pragmatically scheduled the renovations during the time of year that least affects their fixtures
– roughly 14 weeks will elapse between the unaffected Perth game on 4 December and the planned end to the renovations before the Brisbane game on 15 March. There is no other 14-week stretch of the season that would be more convenient than this period, during which there is the Asian Cup lay-off, a ‘home’ game scheduled for Wollongong, and six away games compared to just four at the SFS.
The renovations appear to have been scheduled during the time of year that will least affect the SCG Trust, and during the time of season that will least affect Sydney FC and the Cove.