Melbourne Victory's Move To Telstra Dome

[savvas]

Victory hits the Dome for six
Thursday, 21 September, 2006 - 2:56PM

Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory in front of 39,730 people at Telstra Dome.Melbourne Victory today announced that six of its remaining eight home games in Version 2 of the Hyundai A-League would be moved to Telstra Dome.

Following on from the extraordinary success of the club’s Round 2 experiment against Sydney FC which attracted a league record crowd of 39,780, Melbourne Victory will play all but two of its remaining home fixtures at the state-of-the-art stadium.

Victory’s Round 14 and 17 matches against Newcastle and New Zealand will remain at Olympic Park Stadium.

Club Chairman Geoff Lord said the club felt obligated to supporters to provide an opportunity for as many people to watch Melbourne Victory as possible.

“Our Round 2 match against Sydney at Telstra Dome was an unqualified success, and it would be disappointing to have to turn away supporters at our games this season,” Lord said. “We feel we have an obligation to allow as many people as possible to see Melbourne Victory play.”

“We attracted 40,000 to our last match at Telstra Dome, and the feedback from members and the general public has been overwhelming. It was a wonderful spectacle and we look forward to our games here at Telstra Dome in the coming weeks.”

Telstra Dome CEO, Mr. Ian Collins AM, said he was delighted to enable more supporters to cheer on the Victory.

“I think it’s fantastic that fans who may have otherwise missed out now have the opportunity to see the action live in comfort at Telstra Dome,” Collins said.

“The atmosphere for the Sydney FC match was electric and Victory is in winning form. I’m sure there will be plenty for fans to cheer about.”

The first game to be moved is the Round 6 match against Queensland Roar on Sunday October 1st at 5pm. Queensland is currently challenging Melbourne for top spot in the Hyundai A-League, and the top of the table clash is expected to draw a large crowd.

The other five matches to move are the Round 8 clash against last season’s Minor Premiers Adelaide United; the Round 11 clash with Central Coast Mariners; the Round 12 encounter with Perth Glory; the Round 16 blockbuster against reigning Hyundai A-League Champions Sydney FC; and the Round 20 clash with Queensland Roar.

Lord played down any permanent move to Telstra Dome, reaffirming the club’s support for Melbourne’s new rectangular pitch stadium to be built in the Olympic Park precinct.

“Olympic Park has been a terrific venue for our club,” Lord said. “Our supporters create an atmosphere unlike any other in the league, and the players love playing there. However the overwhelming demand from supporters necessitates a move to a larger venue.

“The transfer of these games is actually a wonderful opportunity for football fans in this state to show the huge grass roots and community support there is for our sport in Victoria,” Lord said. “Big crowds at Telstra Dome will provide a lot of comfort to the State Government and Melbourne & Olympic Parks Trust that they have made a great decision to invest so heavily in an iconic rectangular pitch stadium for Melbourne.”

Tickets for Melbourne Victory’s Telstra Dome games will be available from Ticketmaster.com.au, by calling 136 100 or online through Ticketmaster.com.au from Friday, September 22, while existing season member tickets will be honoured at the Dome without the need for new paper tickets to be issued.

Melbourne Victory’s revised 2006/07 Hyundai A-League home fixtures:
Round 6 vs. Queensland Roar - Sunday 1st October 5:00pm at TELSTRA DOME
Round 8 vs. Adelaide United - Sunday 15th October 5:00pm at TELSTRA DOME
Round 11 vs. Central Coast Mariners - Friday 3rd November 8:00pm at TELSTRA DOME
Round 12 vs. Perth Glory - Thursday 9th November 8:00pm at TELSTRA DOME
Round 14 vs. Newcastle Jets - Sunday 26th November 5:00pm at OLYMPIC PARK
Round 16 vs. Sydney FC - Friday 8th December 8:00pm at TELSTRA DOME
Round 17 vs. New Zealand Knights - Sunday 17th December 7:00pm at OLYMPIC PARK
Round 20 vs. Queensland Roar - Friday 12th January 8:00pm at TELSTRA DOME



Link (http://www.melbournevictory.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=5173&pageid=71)

Thoughts?

I think this is a very good deal for Melbourne Victory, I went to the game between Melbourne Victory Vs Central Coast Mariners, and it was sold out! I heard that another 1000 people tried to get in but couldn't because there weren't any tickets left. The same when Adelaide came down although maybe not that many, people couldn't get in because of the sell out! I think this was a very wise move by Melbourne Victory as they could see the opportunity now. So many people are wanting to watch them play. I think it was also good how the kept the two games between Newcastle & New Zealand at home, as they obviously expect those games not to get as large a crowd, but they should still be a sell out at Olympic Park. If Melbourne Victory get 30,000+ at it's games at Telstra Dome, it will be very good. If they don't get a minimum of 25,000 a game it is very bad, and should be considered a failure but I think hopefully there will be 30,000+ :D

[d-Luxx]

Haha! Was just coming here to post this!

Isn't it great? I mean my membership pretty much just tripled in value! Hahaha! Instead of standing on a muddy terrace, we're in one of Melbourne's best stadiums!
I agree with you though, we have to have the crowds in consistently. I think that 25,000 isn't a too extreme ask (if our form continues!).

Good for Victory, and good for the A-League!

[savvas]

Haha! Was just coming here to post this!

Isn't it great? I mean my membership pretty much just tripled in value! Hahaha! Instead of standing on a muddy terrace, we're in one of Melbourne's best stadiums!
I agree with you though, we have to have the crowds in consistently. I think that 25,000 isn't a too extreme ask (if our form continues!).

Good for Victory, and good for the A-League!

Yeah, Definately, lol, I will get better seats now too, Yessss....
Can't wait now, the atmosphere should be great there.

[jOn0]

I think that this move is awesome; the Olympic Park games are always sold out now and me and my friends were discussing that they should move the games to TD. Which they have done now :)

[kid]

As much as I like the Victory, I am a bit skeptical about the move to TD. It will be interesting to see what kind of crowds we pull if we (God forbid!) start losing.

I hope they will move the seats in further so we can create more noise. I can't say enough about the atmosphere at OP last week, the noise generated by the home end(s) was easily some of the best made by an Australian crowd.

[Kan]

As much as I like the Victory, I am a bit skeptical about the move to TD. It will be interesting to see what kind of crowds we pull if we (God forbid!) start losing.

I hope they will move the seats in further so we can create more noise. I can't say enough about the atmosphere at OP last week, the noise generated by the home end(s) was easily some of the best made by an Australian crowd.

I agree with you there kid, although it can be a good movie but over doing TD can be a bite in the arse. It loses that appeal now. However, if we can keep getting consistent 30k plus like mentioned above I think we'll be alright. They also have to keep the prices low, to like 10 dollars like against Sydney if they want to draw in the crowds

[MoFF]

Good luck, but up the Glory, heh!

[Kan]

Good luck, but up the Glory, heh!

You guys use to have great supporters and use to have a place called the shed? What happened to all that? Heard there was some boycott or some shit.

[MoFF]

I don't know what shit went down but attendances have fallen and people have really stopped giving a shit (or so it seems to me).

It's a real shame, the new "A-league" stuff really hasn't done anything for Perth, and if anything I think might've worsened it?!

[Kan]

I don't know what shit went down but attendances have fallen and people have really stopped giving a shit (or so it seems to me).

It's a real shame, the new "A-league" stuff really hasn't done anything for Perth, and if anything I think might've worsened it?!

That's real shame, Perth have great supporters.

[savvas]

I think they will come back when Perth start doing well again.

[MoFF]

I think they will come back when Perth start doing well again.

That's not an unreasonable prediction. I must say I tend to agree with you there.

[Mr.Chicken]

I think its a good decision by the Victory but I unless they keep winning, I dont think they will get anywhere close to the 40,000 mark they had against Sydney in Round 2. They got 25,000 against Qld Roar and I suspect they will probably average between 20,000-25,000 which is still in itself, a funtastic result for the A-League.

[matt.morris]

I think its a good decision by the Victory but I unless they keep winning, I dont think they will get anywhere close to the 40,000 mark they had against Sydney in Round 2. They got 25,000 against Qld Roar and I suspect they will probably average between 20,000-25,000 which is still in itself, a funtastic result for the A-League.

You have to remember that the move was short notice, and both NRL/AFL finals were on the same weekend, so 26k is a great effort for us.

At the end of the day, it's 8k more people than we can fit into Olympic Park, so the move is a win.

[Kan]

Do you guys reckon that it look like over 26 k last night? I honestly thought that it looked around 30 - 32 k because I been to some AFL games where it is empty then that and they still say crowds were in the 25 - 30 k mark.

[Rhys]

What the club really needs to do, is hook up with the Storm and put in a joint proposal for a 30k+ football specific stadium. The way the both are going, it could well get the go ahead, and unlike all the other stadiums around, it would get used all year round.

[Dane]

What the club really needs to do, is hook up with the Storm and put in a joint proposal for a 30k+ football specific stadium. The way the both are going, it could well get the go ahead, and unlike all the other stadiums around, it would get used all year round.

But the Storm know they will never fill that. They cant even fill Olympic Park as is! Fuck the Storm, the Victory are the new big player in Melbourne and deserve first preference for the stadium.

DANE

[savvas]

But the Storm know they will never fill that. They cant even fill Olympic Park as is! Fuck the Storm, the Victory are the new big player in Melbourne and deserve first preference for the stadium.

DANE

lol:D

[Rhys]

But the Storm know they will never fill that. They cant even fill Olympic Park as is! Fuck the Storm, the Victory are the new big player in Melbourne and deserve first preference for the stadium.

DANE

They filled it qwuite a few times towards the end of the season.

[savvas]

I know this is a bit late but I wanted to comment on the crowd Melbourne Victory got against Adelaide United on sunday. 32,368 I think it was and it was a very good crowd for Melbourne Victory and the move to TD has paid off so far.

Crowds So Far

Sydney FC - 39,730
Queensland Roar - 25,921
Adelaide United - 32,368

They have so far got the two highest crowds in A-League history in one season which has been a massive achievement for MVFC.

That is a total of 98,019 people from all 3 games played at the Telstra Dome so far with 4 games at the Telstra Dome still to come. It will certainly end up with more than 200,000 people in total from all 7 games played at the TD. All in all it has proven a good investment for Melbourne Victory.

Also with the finals coming up next year and Melbourne almost guranteed to make it Telstra Dome would most likely get a full stadium. If the also make it all the way to the final I think the could even consider playing at the MCG! But we will have to wait and see.......

It is also good how Football is the only major sport being played in Australia right now because this gives the chance for supporters of other codes to come along and watch the football.