Simonds Stadium (Geelong) - Discussion

[muttweed]

Current Name: Simonds Stadium
Location: South Geelong, Victoria
Opened: 1941
Owner: City of Greater Geelong
Operator: Geelong Football Club
Capacity: 28,300
Record Attendance: 49,109 (30 August 1952, Geelong vs Carlton)
Field Dimensions: 170x115m

VFL/AFL Records:

• Highest Team Score:

• 37.11 (233) – Geelong vs. Melbourne, 30 July 2011
• 35.18 (228) – Geelong vs. St Kilda, 13 May 1989
• 32.18 (210) – Geelong vs. Adelaide, 9 May 1992
• 29.24 (198) – Geelong vs. Richmond, 5 April 1992

• Largest Winning Margin:

• 186 pts – Geelong (233) def. Melbourne (47), 30 July 2011
• 129 pts – Geelong (179) def. Brisbane Bears (50), 20 May 1989
• 126 pts – Geelong (198) def. Richmond (72), 5 April 1992
• 123 pts – Geelong (210) def. Adelaide (87), 9 May 1992

• Lowest Team Score:

• 1.9 (15) – South Melbourne vs. Geelong, 8 August 1964
• 2.10 (22) – North Melbourne vs. Geelong, 21 April 1956
• 3.6 (24) – North Melbourne vs. Geelong, 25 August 1951

• Most Goals in a Game:

• 13 – Doug Wade, Geelong vs. North Melbourne, 14 August 1971
• 12 – Gary Ablett, Sr., Geelong vs. Richmond, 16 May 1993
• 11 – Doug Wade, Geelong vs. Footscray, 2 August 1969
• 11 – Lindsay White, Geelong vs. St Kilda, 19 June 1948
• 11 – Fred Fanning, Melbourne vs. Geelong, 27 May 1944

• Most Disposals in a Game:

• 48 – Tony Shaw, Collingwood vs. Geelong, 12 May 1984
• 43 – Joel Selwood, Geelong vs. Melbourne, 30 July 2011
• 43 – Barry Mitchell, Sydney vs. Geelong, 17 August 1991
• 43 – Paul Couch, Geelong vs. Fitzroy, 8 July 1989

• Most Games Played:

• 138 – Ian Nankervis (Geelong)
• 132 – John 'Sam' Newman (Geelong)
• 113 – Bill Goggin (Geelong)

• Most Goals Kicked:

• 413 – Doug Wade (Geelong/North Melbourne)
• 391 – Gary Ablett, Sr. (Geelong)
• 242 – Lindsay White (Geelong)

• Longest Undefeated Streak:

• 29 games – Geelong, 2008–2011
• 22 games – Geelong, 1954–1956

This is personally my favourite stadium. But there are a lot of things to love and hate about it.

I love how it provides a wilder atmosphere at the footy. I love how there are so many Cats supporters there . I love how this is ours and only our home ground.

I hate how the stadium can be so old and we can be so successful, yet SS needs so much done to it. I hate how some seats in some stands are supremely uncomfortable.

What do you love/hate about Simonds Stadium? Discuss.

 

[The_Reaper]

Do you still have wooden seats?

 

[winty]

Do you still have wooden seats?

I think the only wooden seats left were in the old Doug Wade Stand, which is being upgraded this year.

 

[jethro11]

Wade stand got knocked down today I heard.

 

[RodneyMaynard]

What's the capacity going to be when this latest stand is completed, and are lights being erected in this phase or the next phase?

I've only been there once when I was young, and it was raining heavily, but I loved the atmpsphere, the friendly nature of the local fans (at least where I was sitting) and the way it just felt like a proper footy ground (if that makes sense).

 

[RiggoDiesel44]

I'm sure I'm one of the few Americans who've been there....or even knows what it is. But I have. Also been to MCG. Now I just need to be there (at both) for an actual game......

Some questions about AFL games:

*Are they drunken affairs like NFL games? (I realize this may be an insult, knowing Australians are some of the world's top drinkers) and do you pay about $15 for a beer? I paid $12.50 for a stinkin' six pack at a liquor store (somewhere between Geelong and Melbourne)...wow. Beers (16 oz) are roughly $7 at North American sports venues.
*Which team has the most worst fans? Where would you not take your family?
*Who's team's fans travel the best? Here, Pittsburgh Steeler fans seem to turn up in huge numbers at every stadium they play.
*I drank Carlton Draught and VSB while I was there. Yea/nay? (I know, not on topic but I need locals' opinion)
*Back on point....at an AFL game, is it best to sit up higher so you have a better perspective? Field is enormous so gotta' think higher is better.

 

[RodneyMaynard]

Some questions about AFL games:

Are they drunken affairs like NFL games? (I realize this may be an insult, knowing Australians are some of the world's top drinkers) and do you pay about $15 for a beer? I paid $12.50 for a stinkin' six pack at a liquor store (somewhere between Geelong and Melbourne)...wow. Beers (16 oz) are roughly $7 at North American sports venues.

They're overpriced and watered down unfortunateley. I think the Gabba still sells full strength, but they're the exception to the rule.

Which team has the most worst fans? Where would you not take your family?

The atmosphere at games is generally pretty good nowadays, as is the police/security presence, so this isn't really an issue as it once may have been. For the record, and at the risk of invoking a sh*t storm, i've found Carlton supporters to be the most prone to threatening physical violence. That's just my own personal experience though.

Who's team's fans travel the best? Here, Pittsburgh Steeler fans seem to turn up in huge numbers at every stadium they play.

Collingwood, Adelaide, WCE, Geelong, Carlton, Essendon. Hawks always seem to have a lot of away support too.

I drank Carlton Draught and VSB while I was there. Yea/nay? (I know, not on topic but I need locals' opinion)

You won't have much choice at a game. For better or worse, it'll be Carlton Draught, Toohey's New or XXXX.

Back on point....at an AFL game, is it best to sit up higher so you have a better perspective? Field is enormous so gotta' think higher is better.

I've always prefered sitting a little higher (and definateley on centre wing). You're able to see the movement off the ball and goals at both ends with ease. That being said, sitting right on the boundary line and being able to see the contests up-close isn't too bad either.

 

[HappyChappy35]

*Are they drunken affairs like NFL games? (I realize this may be an insult, knowing Australians are some of the world's top drinkers) and do you pay about $15 for a beer? I paid $12.50 for a stinkin' six pack at a liquor store (somewhere between Geelong and Melbourne)...wow. Beers (16 oz) are roughly $7 at North American sports venues.

No, they're not really drunken affairs. Probably due to the amount of families that attend games and the price of beer there nowadays (around $6 a pot, nearly as expensive as the price you mentioned above). Many years ago (until about the late 80's/early 90's I think), however, this was somewhat of a different story when you were permitted to take your own beer into the grounds (due to safety rules/regulations this is no longer allowed).

*Which team has the most worst fans? Where would you not take your family?

The great thing about AFL is the family-friendly atmosphere at matches, so behaviour/language isn't usually much of an issue. Every team has their small fair share of 'bad' supporters in some respects, but Collingwood are usually stereotyped as having the worst/most feral supporters (trust me, there are a lot of Collingwood jokes floating around). However, based on my experiences, I'd say at least several clubs have worse fans than Collingwood, and the aforementioned stereotype has probably come about due to the fact they probably have the largest (and most diverse) fan base in the AFL.

*Who's team's fans travel the best? Here, Pittsburgh Steeler fans seem to turn up in huge numbers at every stadium they play.

Adelaide Crows supporters always seem to turn out in force for games here in Victoria, particularly finals matches. So, for the best travelling fans, I'd say it'd be out of Adelaide, Collingwood (due to their large support), West Coast, Sydney (have a fair chunk of support here in Victoria anyway), and Essendon.

*I drank Carlton Draught and VSB while I was there. Yea/nay? (I know, not on topic but I need locals' opinion)

^Think you mean VB. Don't mind them anyway, but I'm not the best person to ask for an opinion on this as I don't generally drink beer at the Footy due to it being overpriced and crappy (and plus I'm more of a spirits man than a beer-drinker anyway).

*Back on point....at an AFL game, is it best to sit up higher so you have a better perspective? Field is enormous so gotta' think higher is better.

Personally, I always prefer to sit on ground level, as it's closer to the action, easier to see the players/ball/ground, and generally has a better atmosphere as opposed to sitting up higher. Besides, if you're sitting up high at the MCG on a cold winters night it can get bloody freezing as well (this never matters down in Geelong, as it always seems to be cold here anyway), although I guess if you lived in America you'd be more accustomed to colder conditions than we are. But this is just my opinion, some may think otherwise.

Hope all this helps.

(Edit: seems an above poster has beaten me to it and answered them all for you).

 

[muttweed]

What's the capacity going to be when this latest stand is completed, and are lights being erected in this phase or the next phase?

I've only been there once when I was young, and it was raining heavily, but I loved the atmpsphere, the friendly nature of the local fans (at least where I was sitting) and the way it just felt like a proper footy ground (if that makes sense).

It will hold approximately 33,000 people after the redevelopment.

 

[RiggoDiesel44]

Gotta' ask...what is a "pot" of beer. Most stadiums here now sell by the 16 ounce cup (pint). Clueless as to what that is metric. Wait...2 pints=quart and 1 quart is roughly a liter. There. And you can even get 32 oz. cans or I think I saw a 36 oz vat at a ballgame in St. Louis once. Was $9...thought it was crazy. Now, not that bad. But NFL games in Philly, Baltimore, New York, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Oakland and probably some more...are NOT places to take the family. Mostly because you'd have to mortgage the house but also....it's just not a family scene. Grown adults, fueled by waaaaay too much booze, acting like complete idiots, and picking fights with other fans. Worst part of the game for me. NFL is actually better on TV than at the stadium. I get to at most, one game a year in Indianapolis. None this year. Ehhhh.....didn't miss much.

Duh...VB, not VSB. Should know better. Was quite good. Even ordered one on the flight back home. The only Australian we get here is Foster's....they advertise as if it's Australian but it's made in CANADA!?!?!?

 

[madmug]

Gotta' ask...what is a "pot" of beer. Most stadiums here now sell by the 16 ounce cup (pint). Clueless as to what that is metric. Wait...2 pints=quart and 1 quart is roughly a liter. There. And you can even get 32 oz. cans or I think I saw a 36 oz vat at a ballgame in St. Louis once. Was $9...thought it was crazy. Now, not that bad. But NFL games in Philly, Baltimore, New York, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Oakland and probably some more...are NOT places to take the family. Mostly because you'd have to mortgage the house but also....it's just not a family scene. Grown adults, fueled by waaaaay too much booze, acting like complete idiots, and picking fights with other fans. Worst part of the game for me. NFL is actually better on TV than at the stadium. I get to at most, one game a year in Indianapolis. None this year. Ehhhh.....didn't miss much.

Duh...VB, not VSB. Should know better. Was quite good. Even ordered one on the flight back home. The only Australian we get here is Foster's....they advertise as if it's Australian but it's made in CANADA!?!?!?

A pot is 1/2 pint ie 10 fluid Oz.
A scooner ( sydney) is 3/4 pint ie 15 fl oz.
A pint is--- a pint!.
Full strength draught beer is usually 4.6 to 4.8% alcohol. so lighter beers are usually served to limit the drunken behaviors. You can get shit faced pretty quickly if you start woofing down pints of full strength beer. ( Well I would anyway)

What does it cost to go to an NFL game?
What does the food cost?
Do you get the same pissy behavior at College games?

 

[RogersResults]

Back to the 'stadium'.

Accounts of football matches in Kardinia Park go back to the 1880's. One of the earliest records of football at Kardinia Park is a report of a match in 1884 between the Carlton Brewery (2 goals) and the Newtown and Chilwell Fire Brigade (1 goal).

On 13 July 1920, the first reported football match on the re-developed eastern Kardinia Park Oval (current site) was staged to raise money to defray costs to the park committee.

After a delay due to a shortage of bricks, on 17 September 1920, the Victorian Premier, Harry Lawson laid the foundation stone of a grandstand to accommodate 2,000 spectators at the redeveloped eastern oval of Kardinia Park.

Hawthorn, Footscray and Nth Melbourne all played matches at the oval before Geelong VFL ever did when it was home to the Geelong Association team in the early 1920's.

The Geelong Cricket and Football Club (VFL) first proposed playing matches at Kardinia Park in 1938 but the move from Corio Oval, didn't happen until that Oval was requisitioned by the Military in 1941.

For many years up until the 1980's the dimensions of Corio Oval were reported in official League publications as the dimensions of the Kardinia Park oval. The published width of oval at 149 metres belied how narrow it actually was.

 

[RogersResults]

A few additions:

Current Name: Simonds Stadium
Location: South Geelong, Victoria

VFL/AFL Records:

• Largest Winning Margin:

• 186 pts – Geelong (233) def. Melbourne (47), 30 July 2011
• 150 pts - Geelong (188) def. Gold Coast (38), 6 August 2011
• 129 pts – Geelong (179) def. Brisbane Bears (50), 20 May 1989
• 126 pts – Geelong (198) def. Richmond (72), 5 April 1992

• Lowest Team Score:

• 1.9 (15) – South Melbourne vs. Geelong, 8 August 1964
• 2.10 (22) – North Melbourne vs. Geelong, 21 April 1956
• 3.6 (24) – North Melbourne vs. Geelong, 25 August 1951
• 3.7 (25) - Fremantle vs. Geelong, 14 August 2004

Kardinia Park hosted the only match in AFL history where no behinds were scored after half-time.

Round 14, 1980:

Geelong 8.0-48 v Nth Melbourne 0.0-0

Complete match score:
Geelong 13.6-84 v Nth Melbourne 4.3-27

Geelong's record at Kardinia Park 1941, 1944-2011
400 wins, 211 losses, 5 draws - for and against percentage: 119.03%

Opposing team with best record at Kardinia Park:

Carlton: 23 wins 19 losses - match/win% 54.76 (last played: 1997)

 

[RiggoDiesel44]

A pot is 1/2 pint ie 10 fluid Oz.
A scooner ( sydney) is 3/4 pint ie 15 fl oz.
A pint is--- a pint!.
Full strength draught beer is usually 4.6 to 4.8% alcohol. so lighter beers are usually served to limit the drunken behaviors. You can get shit faced pretty quickly if you start woofing down pints of full strength beer. ( Well I would anyway)

What does it cost to go to an NFL game?
What does the food cost?
Do you get the same pissy behavior at College games?

A 1/2 pint?!?!?! That's a Cup...as in a Cup of flour/sugar/etc. I.e., not very much beer....especially for six bucks. That sucks. "Schooner" sounds more like it. But I'm sure they do it so if you wanna' get hammered at the game, you're going to do it in "fun size" increments....and it's gonna' cost you. What we do here is drink up in the parking lot before the game....."tailgating." Gotta' think you do this there. Some places do it better than others. Milwaukee/Green Bay are legendary. Ole Miss (Univ. of Mississippi) are epic (if just for the girls...oh, my...). But fans will bring the bbq and loads of beer and sometimes be in the parking lot hours before gametime....and some never even go in. They'll just set up a TV in the parking lot and watch there. Much cheaper, still fun.

Anyhow, NFL games ain't cheap. This, despite that fact that NFL teams are profitable before fan #1 walks through the gate. No joke. TV contracts are that good. But I'm guessing an average ticket will run you probably $75. A co-worker has Colts season tickets and sits on the 10-yard line in the little section between the lower seating bowl and the second deck. He pays $125 per seat...and he gets two. 10 games (8 regular season, 2 pre-season)....x 2 = a lotta' stinkin' $$$. And nothing is cheap. Depending on where you are (NY, SF, Chicago more expensive than KC, Jax, Cinn for example) you'll through the nose to park the car, eat, drink, etc.

College football is different. More passion (alums LOVE when their teams are good....and are more apt to contribute $$$ to school), big ass bands, hot young cheerleaders/pep squads/students, bigger rivalries, more of a party atmosphere. Sure, plenty of drunks...but not quite the fights, buffoonery like at NFL games. And most of that NFL douchery happens at east coast stadiums. Midwest, southern, Cali (except for Oakland) a bit more tame. I can elaborate on this if needed....but college football is awesome.

 

[magic_johnson!]

 

[Luigi742]

hosted a Melbourne Rebels preseason game today.

 

[MelbourneCrow]

Wade stand got knocked down today I heard.

Went to the rugby and lot of rubble there, with several bulldozers on the concourse. If theres a strong southerly wind next season you won't get any goals kicked down that end.

 

[RogersResults]

Went to the rugby and lot of rubble there, with several bulldozers on the concourse. If theres a strong southerly wind next season you won't get any goals kicked down that end.

There have been 38 League matches (out of 13,959) where no goals were scored at one end.

30 occurred before Kardinia Park was used for League matches.

The last was in 1977 at Princes Park.

Carlton. 1.4 1.7 3.11 3.13
Geelong 0.3 0.4 0.6 2.12

None have ever occurred at Kardinina Park (1941, 1944-2011 - 616 matches)

In the period when there was no stand at the southern end of Kardinia Park (1941-1978) 7.2% of matches (24 out of 333) saw 70 % or more of each team's scoring done at one end.

Most extreme:

1964 R12

Geelong... 3.7 3.7 7.10 7.12 (96.3% at one end)
Melbourne 2.1 6.5 7.7 10.15 (72.0% at one end)

Since there has been a stand at the southern end 1.4% of matches (4 out of 283) saw 70 % or more of each team's scoring done at one end.

Most extreme:

2005 R22

Geelong.. 4.2 7.2 10.8 10.9 (72.5% at one end)
Richmond 0.2 6.5 6.6 10.8 (95.6% at one end)

 

[block_100]

Any pics of the demolition of the Doug Wade stand?? And what replacing it??

 

[ScottFreo]

 

[radiojake]

What is the current capacity at the moment?

I am thinking about driving down to Geelong to see the Adelaide game on July 28 - Is there going to be available tickets at the ground or does the capacity at the moment necessitate that I pre-order tickets?

 

[millsy29gopies]

Going to be great after the redevelopment, a genuine regional stadium. After that I'd love to see the Gary Ablett terrace made into a proper grandstand.

 

[Ryza]

Going to be great after the redevelopment, a genuine regional stadium. After that I'd love to see the Gary Ablett terrace made into a proper grandstand.

Agreed. Though, Brain Cook stated that the Gary Ablett terrace won't be re-developed for a while mainly due to funding and the level of long-term debt the Cats have at the moment. After they eventually get it done, it's rumored that the capacity will reach around 40-45,000.

 

[JUBJUB]

What is the current capacity at the moment?

I am thinking about driving down to Geelong to see the Adelaide game on July 28 - Is there going to be available tickets at the ground or does the capacity at the moment necessitate that I pre-order tickets?

You need to pre-order.I think tickets go on sale 2 weeks before the game.Contact the club to double check.

 

[Strauchanside]

The powers that be should lobby to host more AFL games once the new stand is constructed, to only host seven AFL games per year at such a modern venue is a monumental waste. The games played at Etihad that will attract 25,000 or less should be fixtured at Simonds IMO.