SANFL Grounds

Alright time to tally up the catering

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

Overall:
Elizabeth: 33
Woodville: 30
Richmond: 30
Alberton: 29
Noarlunga: 22

Norwood: 19
Unley: 14
Prospect: 14
Glenelg: 13


Next category: Grandstand facilities

Criteria: Grandstand

Top 3
Woodville - 2 public stands with plenty of seating. For just $3 you can sit in the Jarman stand on the northern 50 or for $5 you can sit in the Green stand which is dead centre, but leg room is quite cramped. The views from both stands are very good. The only drawback is the conduct of a couple of the attendants in the Jarman stand (who are not a true reflection of the rest of the game day volunteers at Woodville, who conduct themselves very well).
Richmond - Plenty of public seating available in their solitary grandstand. Right in the middle of the ground and great views. Also love the one row they've removed, so one row in particular has outstanding leg room.
Glenelg - like Woodville, you get the choice of stands. Only been in the southern stand once, but for some reason prefer the northern stand, despite the older style with the poles at the front, as it tends to be more for the visiting team, with the southern stand more for Glenelg supporters. Either side of the centre circle, so the only real difference in views is the poles can get in the way in the northern stand. Having said that, if you sit in the first couple of rows, they're less of a nuisance.

Mid table
Alberton - Had great difficulty separating Alberton and Glenelg's stands. Both grounds have one newer stand and one older stand with the poles at the front. The Quinn stand is the newer stand, but in the poorer position of inside the western 50m area. The Williams Stand is dead centre, but has the poles and the seats are little more than flooring with a backrest, yet isn't overly uncomfortable despite not looking that aesthetically pleasing.
Unley - Has two stands, with the members in the older stand and the public in the newer Jack Oatey Stand. Plenty of public seating available. Both stands are either side of centre. A decent view of the ground. Not much to complain about.
Elizabeth - Has a very good stand, just off centre. With just the one stand though, public seating can be limited and seems to be dwindling each season. If there's rain forecast, the stand can sell out by quarter time of the reserves. To the clubs credit though, they will try and accommodate as many public seats as possible when the weather gets inclement. A second stand will be ideal, but probably not high on the club's list, and fair enough.

Bottom 3
Norwood - The western stands would probably have the best views in the SANFL, but have never had the chance to sit in there with the perception the whole stand is for members (I understand there is a small public section now, which is good to hear). The southern stand, on the other hand, is terrible. Seats are very uncomfortable, and if you sit right behind the southern goal, your view of the ground and scoreboard is severely obstructed by poles, netting and light towers. May be a bit harsh putting Norwood in bottom 3, but the southern stand drags it down severely.
Noarlunga - The good point - it's free. The grandstand is quite poor though. Poor location inside the southern 50 metre area (so if a southerly is blowing, then you're not going to see much). Comes straight off the ground, so the elevation is terrible. Also, it commits the cardinal sin of grandstands in that it doesn't provide that much protection from the element - when it rains basically only the back 4-5 rows provide any protection from the rain! Would love to see a proper grandstand built at Noarlunga.
Prospect - Used to be good with the man stand for their members and the old stand for the public and free. With the old stand now a gym, the public are herded in the bottom corner of the main stand like sardines because the members don't like mixing with the public, and have to pay $4 for the privilege. Has the potential to be much higher up the list, but with the public openly treated like second class citizens, it sits last and deservedly so.

Thanks for that very comprehensive assessment, Bt. You're doing a great job with this and it's a really good exercise.

What criteria are left to assess and has anyone any suggestions about any other reasonable ones?

Criteria left so far...

Car Parking
Scoreboard
Size of Grounds
Accessibility
Atmosphere

If anyone else wants to throw in any more criteria post away and I'll add them. In light of the events of this afternoon, this won't be a Clive Palmer job

Brucetiki wrote:Bottom 3
Norwood - The western stands would probably have the best views in the SANFL, but have never had the chance to sit in there with the perception the whole stand is for members

Can't believe I've read this. The major complaint from Norwood members for the past 2-3 years is the number of opposition supporters who gain access to the members' stand. I'm so tired of having hoards of opposition supporters sitting around us making plenty of noise. Add to that, all the AFL talent scouts sitting around with their clip boards, it's almost a case sometimes of "spot the Norwood supporter".

I would have thought the whole idea of a member's area is so members can sit together .. not the case at Norwood. And you know what? I have NEVER been able to score a seat in the stands at Woodville Oval.

As for the light tower, it is not in front of the scoreboard, it is to one side, and the score can be read clearly from most points of vantage around the ground. Can't say the same at some other grounds where you have to get up and walk about 20 metres to read the board.

A bit off topic, AH, but I have to say from extensive experience, that the Norwood supporters who sit above the visitors' bench are comfortably the worst in the league.

The closeness may be part of the reason, but they're a clear first.

I will support you, though, about accessibility for visiting supporters, but the tend to be in the southern part of that stand.

Would have to agree with R&B about the conduct of the Norwood supporters above the visitors bench. Quite hilarious watching them from the outer though.

As for AH's claim that he has never been able to score a seat at Woodville, not sure what to say there - I have never had a problem with getting a seat in either stand at Woodville, and the Jarman Stand in particular is often spatially populated. Is it knowing where to get the grandstand tickets that could be the problem here? Maybe Norwood have a large number of supporters that utilise the stand, which causes it to sell out.

I don't sit in the stands at Norwood but I think they give the ground a great atmosphere. The layout and history of that ground make it my favourite after Richmond.
It was always great sport ribbing the phalanx of clipboard carriers that used to trail behind Neil Balme when he walked along the boundary to take up position in the coach's box. And Balme seemed to enjoy it too.

Some of the views on here are a tad biased. I'll even them out with my view!

Best 3 Grounds.

Glenelg. Annoys me this. Good viewing, good public transport, good pubs nearby, and the facilities are pretty good...

Alberton. Great looking ground, oval excellent, and catering OK, although they should move the BBQ back to the proper spot...

Woodville. Nice green mound, beers cold, catering good, and parking easy

Middle of the Road

Richmond. Bit of a concrete jungle, toilets a mile away if in the SW pocket, BBQ good but IMO over-rated.

Elizabeth. Big ground makes for hard viewing at night, facilities are OK, bloody cold in the middle of winter

Noarlunga. As above

Meh.

Prospect. Pains me to say but needs a lot of work, and the catering is crappy

Norwood. Vastly overrated, Toilets underground in which the Ebola virus resides, Coopers is crap, and a concrete jungle.

Unley. Poor facilities, only half the ground to watch from, dog poops everywhere. Meh.

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

Overall
Woodville: 42
Richmond: 40
Elizabeth: 37
Alberton: 35
Noarlunga: 23

Norwood: 22
Glenelg: 21
Unley: 19
Prospect: 15

Next criteria: car parking

Criteria: Car parking

Top 3
Elizabeth - Plenty of free parking available very close to the ground at the high school and a grassy area just south of the bowling club. Also plenty of on street parking very close to the ground.
Prospect - I've never had a problem finding a park at Prospect. Found a spot very close to the Main North Rd entrance to the ground which is often available.
Woodville - Plenty of on street parking in the myriad of side streets around the ground.

Mid table
Noarlunga - Massive car park at the club, if you're happy to fork out $4. With next to no free parking around the ground (unless you can find a way onto the grassland across the road or risk leaving your car at Colonnades), that car park is pretty much it for parking at Noarlunga though.
Richmond - Reasonable on street parking. Not overly close to the ground, but not too far either, and it's quite a nice walk to the ground.
Alberton - Reasonable parking around the ground. Problem is with the only gates open between the two stands and at the western end of the ground, if you park on the eastern or northern sides of the ground, you're in for a bit of a walk despite being quite close to the ground.

Bottom 3:
Glenelg - Can be a bit of a challenge at times, but generally it's not too bad finding a park in reasonable distance. Getting out can involve quite a detour though.
Unley - Like Glenelg, can be a challenge finding a park but again, more often than not you can get one within reasonable walking distance, but a little further than what you can get at Glenelg. Like Glenelg, getting out can be adventurous.
Norwood - The one SANFL ground where parking is truly woeful. Can take forever to find a car park, and when you do, it's a very long walk to the ground, and that's before you have to negotiate The Parade.

IMO you've got it pretty spot on Brucetiki.

I also don't mean to butt in, but is there a criteria on public transport access? Or is that the accessibility criteria? About 80% of the time, my wife and I would rely on public transport to get to the grounds! Makes for a long journey home, especially after a not-so-successful afternoon!

howthewestwaswon wrote:IMO you've got it pretty spot on Brucetiki.

I also don't mean to butt in, but is there a criteria on public transport access? Or is that the accessibility criteria? About 80% of the time, my wife and I would rely on public transport to get to the grounds! Makes for a long journey home, especially after a not-so-successful afternoon!

I'm going to throw that in accessibility, as public transport would be a key factor in accessibility.

If you get to grounds half hour before the reserves start, like I do, then you usually get the best parking spot in the house

Big Phil wrote:If you get to grounds half hour before the reserves start, like I do, then you usually get the best parking spot in the house

Time-Dropper

Personally, find thet Elizabeth is a very good ground to park at, depending on what time you arrive. I'm not quite at Big Phil O'Clock, but not far from it either, so usually very close to the stands. Noarlunga is very similar in this respect.

Prospect is very good also, although have had one negative experience - not at all bad in so many years - with one isolated person on the gate who wasn't going to allow entrance to the ground, even with a media pass, until a North offical corrected the gateperson.

Unfortunately, regardless of what time you arrive, a couple of grounds are not good. If its a Friday night game at the Parade, I go straight from work in the CBD, but can still find it's over 5 minutes walk from the streets- bearing in mind a) this is around 5pm in the afternoon and often b) with bulky radio equipment to carry, which is not ideal either.

Glenelg and Unley are both similar in this respect, but again, it depends what time you arrive. Any football fan arriving at 2.00pm and hoping for a spot 20 metres walk from the ground is going to be disappointed.

Alberton, Woodville and Richmond offer excellent facilities for parking if a media person and all gatepeople are very friendly in that respect.

Hard to really argue with public transport at any ground as they all within a 10 minute walk of either a tram / train line or a major road

Richmond may be the only exception but only because the outer wing gate leading to South Road is not open meaning a long walk around the outer of the oval.

Alberton - Port Road / Alberton Railway Station
Woodville - Port Road / Woodville Park Railway Station
Unley - Unley Road
Glenelg - Brighton Road / Bay Tram
Prospect - Main North Road
Norwood - The Parade
Richmond - South Road
Elizabeth - Elizabeth Railway Station / City Centre Interchange
Noarlunga - Noarlunga Centre Railway Station / Colonades Interchange

I would look at how far ground is from transport roads, how regular the services are depending on the day, whether you're travelling from N, E, S or W, length of travel time, connecting buses or trains etc.

PhilH wrote:Hard to really argue with public transport at any ground as they all within a 10 minute walk of either a tram / train line or a major road

Richmond may be the only exception but only because the outer wing gate leading to South Road is not open meaning a long walk around the outer of the oval.

Alberton - Port Road / Alberton Railway Station
Woodville - Port Road / Woodville Park Railway Station
Unley - Unley Road
Glenelg - Brighton Road / Bay Tram
Prospect - Main North Road
Norwood - The Parade
Richmond - South Road
Elizabeth - Elizabeth Railway Station / City Centre Interchange
Noarlunga - Noarlunga Centre Railway Station / Colonades Interchange

Well having to cope with public transport when I stared as an official in the 90s with the Bays the best two grounds for public transport are Norwood and Glenelg - bus stops right outside the ground. The only other ground to come close was Thebby with the bus stop on Ashley street. Honourable mentions to Alberton and Elizabeth for having the train going past but still had a bit of walk to the ground.

For Richmnd Phil H get off on Sir Donald Bradman Drive and its only a 5 min walk up Milner Rd.

It may have escaped some people's notice but they are building an extension of the Noarlunga Railway line to Seaford which goes past Noarlunga Oval. Hopefully they will put a station out the front which will mean a 50 metre walk to the oval.

Crispy wrote:It may have escaped some people's notice but they are building an extension of the Noarlunga Railway line to Seaford which goes past Noarlunga Oval. Hopefully they will put a station out the front which will mean a 50 metre walk to the oval.

Fairly unlikely, I would think - the existing station is only about 400 metres walk from the oval.

Criteria: Car Parking

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

Overall

Woodville: 50
Elizabeth: 49
Richmond: 45
Alberton: 39
Noarlunga: 29

Prospect: 25
Glenelg: 24
Norwood: 23
Unley: 21

As there's already been discussion on it, next topic is accessibility

Crispy wrote:It may have escaped some people's notice but they are building an extension of the Noarlunga Railway line to Seaford which goes past Noarlunga Oval. Hopefully they will put a station out the front which will mean a 50 metre walk to the oval.

They could stop the train there and people could watch the game through the windows.

It'd be like watching from your car, just more sociable

For accessibility, the grounds closer to the city would have to rate higher, as the criteria for this presumably means ease of accessing each ground.

The easier grounds to get to in that case would be Norwood, Unley, Richmond and Prospect. For transport to these grounds, Norwood would be easiest.

Alberton is further away, but not too bad for buses and Woodville is similar. Glenelg is OK for transport. Unfortunately many won't travel to Elizabeth, despite the train and Noarlunga is difficult.

redandblack wrote:For accessibility, the grounds closer to the city would have to rate higher, as the criteria for this presumably means ease of accessing each ground.

The easier grounds to get to in that case would be Norwood, Unley, Richmond and Prospect. For transport to these grounds, Norwood would be easiest.

Alberton is further away, but not too bad for buses and Woodville is similar. Glenelg is OK for transport. Unfortunately many won't travel to Elizabeth, despite the train and Noarlunga is difficult.

Not really. I used to just get to Colonnades (by train or car) at around 1:30pm and follow those wearing blue and white.