SPORT Rovers score kind draw
MARRARA’S Darwin Football Stadium has been confirmed as the venue for Darwin Rovers’ FFA Cup clash with Sydney FC.
The Rovers drew a dream Round of 32 home match-up with the three-time A-League champions on Thursday.
The last time an A-League side ventured to the Top End was when Adelaide United played Darwin Olympic in 2015’s corresponding fixture. There was talk from thenFFNT CEO Craig Chapman about shifting that fixture to TIO Stadium, before the home of Territory soccer was confirmed as the venue.
There will be no conjecture in 2017, according to Chapman’s successor, Bruce Stalder.
“It’s got to be at the (Darwin) Football Stadium, that’s our home. It will be there, that’s the venue we have put in and from our point of view we will manage it,” he said.
“We will do pre-sales as much as we can, that will give us an indication. I expect they are going to pull a crowd for us; I am looking at something hopefully between three and four thousand.”
Stalder said the ground would be arranged to fit as many spectators as possible.
“What I do know is I am going to get two and-a-half to three thousand people in there.
“The extra thousand, if you set it up properly, means that you make use of those spaces behind the goals for example and leave a walkway through,” he said.
“The configuration of the venue, we are still going through with … the Government about how best to do that. And secondly how we are going to event manage is really important.”
Stalder said he expected Sydney FC fans would make the trip to Darwin.
“Sydney have a great active supporter base and I would anticipate that they would take this opportunity to come to this amazing place in the dry season and get a great game of football in,” he said.
The 16 matches in the Round of 32 will be held over three weeks with four matches per night – on either a Tuesday or Wednesday – across four match nights beginning in the last week of July.
The specific match details in regards to the dates, venues and kick-off times will be announced tomorrow.