Start – HQ included
views are fine, the stands are functional enough. The in-stadium matchday experience is among the best in the NRL, apparently. That’s the good.
The stadium sits in a crater in a soulless industrial wasteland. Unless you’re a student of panel shops there is nothing of interest within a 2km radius of the ground.
(Eden Park gets a lot of deserved flak and the in-stadium experience there is generally abysmal, but it does have Kingsland.)
Friday night footy? You could try negotiating your way from the CBD to Penrose and then back home after, or then again you can have a couple of drinks at work and watch it from home or the pub. You can guess what most people choose.
Saturdays might work, but the Warriors played just one home game in 2017 on the seventh day, a resounding win against Brisbane that saw 14,000 turn up.
With a bag full of issues, you might think stadium shortcomings are low down on the list of priorities for any potential new Warriors owner/s. On the contrary, they should be integral.
If you had the money to buy a professional sports franchise, which is in itself the ultimate vanity project, then you’d be wanting a guarantee that a move to a new central city stadium was part of the package.
The failing Warriors need a complete overhaul. Winning days do not look like they are just around the corner. A new home that will help reengage the casual fan should be the centrepiece of any transformation.