SANFL Grounds

It depends where you are travelling from.

For me travelling from Happy Valley accessibility to Prospect & Norwood (even Adelaide Oval) is harder than Woodville or Alberton because you have to work out how you are going to go THROUGH or AROUND the CBD
whereas the others its a straight drive via Marion, Glenelg, past the Airport and up Tapleys Hill Road.

Maybe for easiness, it should be how well serviced by PT each oval is - i.e. whether you have multiple options or a single option.

Criteria: Accessibility

Glenelg: 12
Norwood: 10
Prospect: 8
Unley: 6
Noarlunga: 5
Alberton: 4
Elizabeth: 3
Richmond: 2
Woodville: 1


Overall:

Elizabeth: 52
Woodville: 51
Richmond: 47
Alberton: 43
Glenelg: 36

Noarlunga: 34
Prospect: 33
Norwood: 33
Unley: 27


Next criteria: Scoreboards

A very tough one to do as we are blessed to have 9 very good scoreboards in the SANFL, meaning I did have to pretty much nit pick to work out 1-9.

Top 3:
Richmond: Only ground to have an electronic scoreboard. Very clear to read day or night, and around the ground scores updated regularly.
Noarlunga: Easy to read time clock, and the scoreboard is quite clear. Around the ground scores provided using club initials for SANFL, with AFL scores provided for the two SA-based sides if needed.
Elizabeth: Very clear scoreboard and very clear time clock. No around the ground scores the only negative.

Mid table
Unley: The scoreboard is dead centre, but not elevated. With the restrictions they have though, they've done well with what they have though, and the score itself is clear. Time clock seems to be a case of whatever they can find given the number of times it's changed since the old one died. Like Elizabeth, no around the ground scores, with the space previously used for that now taken up by the clock.
Woodville: The actual score is very clear, and around the grounds is done well for both SANFL and AFL (if space permits). The time clock is reasonable. The teams names on the scoreboard are tiny though.
Glenelg: Consistent looking scoreboard, shows as much information as possible within the constraints of the scoreboard - around the grounds for both SANFL and AFL matches - even if it isn't an SA based side. Big let down is they're the remaining club not to put in a digital time clock.

Bottom 3:
Norwood: Team names are quite small (though not quite as small as Woodvilles). Time clock isn't very clear. Around the grounds looks like a ransom note. Score itself is clear enough.
Prospect: The scoreboard itself can look like a ransom note at times, but provides all the necessary information. Time clock is near impossible to read though.
Alberton: The numbering on the scoreboard is tiny, and the only scoreboard where only club initials are used. Funnily enough their time clock is huge.

Great work, Bt, as always.

I do have a quibble (putting on my West Adelaide hat) about your accessibility rankings of Richmond.

How can the oval just about closest to the city be the least accessible ground? It's a 5 minute bus ride from town and there's a stop on Bradman Drive no further to walk than at Woodville or some other grounds. I know you're rating them according to hiow far the entrance is from public transport, but surely a 5 minute bus ride beats a 30 minute bus or train ride. The train might stop near Elizabeth Oval, but you have to get to town or the train line first. If you're judging it from town, then Richmond is vastly more accessible.

I'd rank them like this:

Top 3:

Norwood, Unley, Prospect.

Middle 3:

Glenelg, Richmond, Woodville.

Bottom 3:

Alberton, Elizabeth, Noarlunga.

I think a revisiting might be a worthwhile discussion.

PS: It's the first time I've disagreed with your excellent work (apart from the ranking of Elizabeth's scoreboard, where no around the grounds scores is a major fault, not a minor one)

With accessibility, it came down to distance from the ground and where the gates are located. The distance you have to travel by foot to grounds like Woodville and Richmond, to me, would negate the longer train journeys to Noarlunga and Elizabeth. While, yes, Richmond is close to the city, when compared to the other grounds close to the city (Norwood, Unley, and possibly Prospect), Richmond is the only one out of those four where a bus won't leave you directly next to a gate or just a street or two away from the gate, and PT access is only by bus (compared to, say, Glenelg, where a bus will leave you at the gate, or a tram will leave you in walking distance).

Interestingly, I reckon if the gate on the South Rd side of the ground was used for entry, then that would pretty much put Richmond right up amongst the best in terms of accessibilty with bus stops right on South Rd - don't worry I'm advocating they open that gate for this reason, and I understand that the Bell Centre tenants wouldn't be too thrilled if that gate was opened.

With the scoreboard - that was very tough to judge because we're lucky that each ground's scoreboard is generally quite clear and easy to read. In this day and age, around the ground scores are relatively easy to access via your phone (whether it be on here or the SANFL website), so it's not that much of a fault. Also, the scores are announced at the ground, so it's not as if the crowd is completely oblivious to other grounds scored. I think 5-10 years ago before the advent of the smartphone, I would have been a bit more harsh on Elizabeth (and Unley) if they weren't putting around the ground scores up.

With this being a collective vote though, I'll have another look at accessibility in view of your comments, and your comments about the around the ground scores will certainly be looked at when collating the final score for the scoreboard.

EDIT: Have made a couple of adjustments to the accessibility scores now.

Thanks, Bt, that's very thorough and considered, but you might have missed blood'n'tars post that the Bradman Drive bus stop is only a 5 minute walk to the ground. Under any criteria, I can't think that Richmond scores less for accessibility than Elizabeth and Noarlunga. The mind boggles!

Under that criteria, a home ground at Roxby Downs would score well if a bus stopped right outside the gate. The fact is that many patrons won't go to Noarlunga or Elizabeth because of the distance making them less accessible.

I do note your comments, though, that the scores will be looked at again and I think you're doing a great job with this

THIS is why this site is brilliant. Two contrasting views, both presented in a way that respects the other poster without resorting to petty name calling and point scoring.

Brucetiki wrote:THIS is why this site is brilliant. Two contrasting views, both presented in a way that respects the other poster without resorting to petty name calling and point scoring.

Agreed.

I use public transport all the time and this is how I would rate each ground
(from best to worst):

Norwood - bus stop straight outside the ground and bus usually every 30 mins.

Prospect
Woodville
Richmond
Glenelg
Unley
Elizabeth
(All within 5 min walk from oval)

Alberton - Bit of a pain getting across Port Rd at times (if catching bus) and train station a 10-15 min walk
Noarlunga - Train station a 15 min walk from ground. Hopefully when they extend the line, they can have a train station a tad closer to the ground.

I'm pretty sure buses travel along Richmond Rd too don't they? That's only a five minute walk to the ground as well.

Flag No.9 wrote:I'm pretty sure buses travel along Richmond Rd too don't they? That's only a five minute walk to the ground as well.

They do but it is now a longer walk as the southern gate on Kingston St is no longer open and you have have to walk around to the Milner St. entrance.

Yeah I was thinking of the Milner Rd entrance, still only about 5 minutes. So that's bus stops within 5 minutes to the south and north of the entrance and maybe 10 minutes to the east. (Personally I used to do the walk from Keswick train station just to watch them train.)

Buses run from the city down Sir Donald Bradman Drive, (not sure on the bus nos.) but it crosses South Rd and bus stop no 5b is almost at Milner Rd... then 5 minute walk to the ground main entrance. A bus stop almost opposite to 5b will get you back into the city.

BloodnTars wrote:I use public transport all the time and this is how I would rate each ground
(from best to worst):

Norwood - bus stop straight outside the ground and bus usually every 30 mins.

Prospect
Woodville
Richmond
Glenelg
Unley
Elizabeth
(All within 5 min walk from oval)

Alberton - Bit of a pain getting across Port Rd at times (if catching bus) and train station a 10-15 min walk
Noarlunga - Train station a 15 min walk from ground. Hopefully when they extend the line, they can have a train station a tad closer to the ground.

Noarlunga station a 15 minute walk from Hickinbotham Oval!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![u] I am certainly no athlete but Ive done it in 5 minutes plenty of times.

Alright lets get an update on the scores here

Criteria: Scoreboard

Richmond 12
Noarlunga 10
Woodville 8
Glenelg 6
Elizabeth 5
Unley 4
Norwood 3
Prospect 2
Alberton 1


Overall:

Woodville: 59
Richmond: 59
Elizabeth: 57
Alberton: 44
Noarlunga: 44

Glenelg: 42
Norwood: 36
Prospect: 35
Unley: 31

Next criteria: Ground sizes

After a bit of a hiatus, it's time to look at assessing ground sizes. This is an interesting one because what's worse - a ground that is too small or a ground that is too big as both have their pros and cons.

So we'll start off with the just rights:

Richmond: Pretty much the ideal size for a football ground. Wings aren't too wide, ground isn't too long but long enough to require a couple of kicks to get from one end of the ground to the other. Pretty much the ideal ground dimensions.

Prospect: While the surface is very suspect, the general dimensions of the ground aren't too bad. The north-east/south-west goal alignment is a tad interesting.

Alberton: Again, can't complain about the dimensions, and is the only ground in the league with a east-west alignment. Is that a pro or a con?


On the larger side:

Noarlunga: One word - massive. Very long, very wide. Makes viewing the other end and the other wing challenging at times.

Elizabeth: While the wings aren't overly above average, it is quite a long ground, with it's long, vast spaces giving the ground the appropriate nickname of 'Ponderosa'

Woodville: Not overly wide, but again, quite a long ground. Also, with the goals set a fair way in from the fence, it gives the ground a bit of a Waverly Park/Skoda Stadium feel to it.


On the short side

Norwood: Shorter and narrower than the average ground makes ball use at the ground important. One bad turnover and it can very quickly be costly.

Glenelg: Again, shorter and narrower than the average ground. Makes viewing good, and the game pretty good.

Unley: Another of the smallest of the SANFL grounds. Quite small, not quite wide. Is it too small for a good football ground?

Glenelg Oval is the smallest

Criteria: Ground Sizes

Richmond 12
Prospect 10
Alberton 8
Noarlunga 6
Elizabeth 5
Woodville 4
Norwood 3
Unley 2
Glenelg 1


Overall:

Richmond: 71
Woodville: 63
Elizabeth: 62
Alberton: 52
Noarlunga: 50

Prospect: 45
Glenelg: 43
Norwood: 39
Unley: 33

Final Criteria: Atmosphere

For atmosphere, I'd rate Norwood comfortably No 1. The smaller grounds win on this criterion, IMO.

Then Glenelg and Unley.

Despite its size, Elizabeth is still pretty good. Prospect, Woodville, Richmond and Alberton are about the same.

Hard to judge Noarlunga because of the cars. It gives a different atmosphere and I don't mind it.

I love going to Norwood and Alberton when 'travelling'. But mind you, I haven't been to Alberton in a couple of years, so I don't know if it has changed much from how I remember it.

It might not count for much but my order would be: Norwood, Richmond, Alberton, Glenelg, Elizabeth, Unley, Prospect, Noarlunga, Woodville.

My my, let this slip to the back burner. We'll wrap this up in the lead-up to the Grand Final.

Now for my take on atmosphere:

Top 3
Norwood: For all the faults Norwood has, it has the best atmosphere in the competition. The compact terracing, and the western grandstand right on the fence (or should that be brick wall), crams the crowd in to give the ground that unique intimate feel where you, by necessity, are that close to the action. It is always hostile towards opposition teams, which means the roar of the home crowd just reverberates around the ground, and makes away wins there that much more sweeter.

Alberton: As the sole SANFL ground with a east-west alignment, it means the crowd disperses around the ground quite evenly, bar the eastern end, generating a good atmosphere around most of the ground. These days, with the recent poor form of the Magpies, the crowd isn't as hostile as in the past, but it's still good to notch up an away win there.

Unley: The crowd being restricted to about two-thirds of the oval crams the crowd in a bit. One of the benefits of this is it increases the atmosphere at the ground. The home crowd gets very vocal, adding to the atmosphere.


Mid-table
Prospect: Gates on both sides of the ground sees a good smattering of the crowd around the ground, resulting in a good atmosphere. The terracing isn't too cramped, or too spacious, meaning good atmosphere can be created without the crammed feeling associated with grounds like Norwood and Unley. A bit unlucky to be out of the top 3.

Glenelg: Gates on either side of the ground sees the crowd sees an even spread of the crowd around the ground, enabling good atmosphere to be created. The crowd isn't as vocal as the top three grounds, which detracts a little from the atmosphere, which sees it in the mid-table category.

Elizabeth: Gates right around the ground also sees a good smattering of crowd around the ground. The size of the ground, however, sees the atmosphere diminish once you're away from the grandstand/western terraced parts of the ground though.


Bottom 3:
Woodville: While gates around the ground are positioned well to disperse the crowd around the ground, and the terracing is not too intimate or not too large, the smaller crowds that go to Woodville detract from the atmosphere.

Richmond: While Richmond is a very good ground, with the gates only on the western side of the ground, the crowd tends to congregate around the grandstand terracing and not much else. It means that while you can get a reasonable atmosphere around the grandstand, it does trail right off once you go anywhere else.

Noarlunga: Like Richmond, the only gate is on the western side of the ground. While the club has dealt with the vast outer area on the eastern side of the ground by allowing cars to park around the ground, it doesn't add to the atmosphere, bar the occasional honking of a car horn. This means that any crowd noise is pretty much limited to the eastern side of the ground, and the smaller crowds at Noarlunga diminishes from the atmosphere at the ground.

Terrific effort with this, BT.

When we tally the scores, how about we open it up for discussion and maybe score revision based on that?

For sure, will provide for a more balanced tally as well

Brucetiki wrote:My my, let this slip to the back burner. We'll wrap this up in the lead-up to the Grand Final.

Now for my take on atmosphere:

Unley: The crowd being restricted to about two-thirds of the oval crams the crowd in a bit. One of the benefits of this is it increases the atmosphere at the ground. The home crowd gets very vocal, adding to the atmosphere.

Yeah, sorry about that.
The Chambo Choir can get a bit rowdy at times.