Unley Council give their thoughts on the Sturt FC

[Sojourner]

From the Sunday Mail,

"Sturt have to look at all its options, and we would have to ask ourselves would the ratepayers of Unley want to fund a $0.5 Million rebuild of a ground just used by the Sturt Football club".

"Unley Coucillor Michael Hudson said he was 99% sure the council would not put any money towards redeveloping the oval, 'the club wasnt missed the last time that they left and they wouldent be missed again if they left,' said Hudson, who represents the Parkside ward".

The issue of the article is that the training facilities and grandstand require a $500k upgrade, Sturt dont have the coin for it and if they did there are no garantees they can remain there anyway, the article goes on to discuss a potential move to either Wayville, Adelaide or Mt Barker.

[Wedgie]

Doesnt sound like a friendly relationship with the council which is a shame as councils should realise how important a SANFL club is to an area but a lot dont.
Im assuming its a different council at Wayville?
Would love to see Sturt there.

[Bluedemon]

Doesnt sound like a friendly relationship with the council which is a shame as councils should realise how important a SANFL club is to an area but a lot dont.
Im assuming its a different council at Wayville?
Would love to see Sturt there.

I think it is still the Unley Council in the Wayville area. They are a hard council to deal with.

[Dirko]

Wayville is a Unley council area, so one would think the same applies for Wayville too !

'the club wasn't missed the last time that they left and they wouldn't be missed again if they left,'

Ouch !

[Psyber]

Based on my acquaintanceships in the area, I suspect there is not a high percentage of active football fans in the Unley Council area. Cricket may do a little better.
I lived in the area for 6 months in 2003, while dealing with family issues in Adelaide, and found them very helpful from a resident/ratepayer's point of view.
SANFL is just not the high local priority it may be in other areas with a different social demographic spread.

[smac]

Doesnt sound like a friendly relationship with the council which is a shame as councils should realise how important a SANFL club is to an area but a lot dont.
Im assuming its a different council at Wayville?
Would love to see Sturt there.

I think it is still the Unley Council in the Wayville area. They are a hard council to deal with.

But they would be away from the residents at Wayville, a good solution in their eyes.

[Dutchy]

Wayville is a Unley council area, so one would think the same applies for Wayville too !

'the club wasn't missed the last time that they left and they wouldn't be missed again if they left,'

Ouch !

The businesses around the oval wouldnt feel the same I feel

A few thousand people coming into the area every second week is surely good for the local economy?

[Dirko]

A few thousand people coming into the area every second week is surely good for the local economy?

Don't laugh Dutchy, but I sent a letter to one of Glenelg's favourite councillors, asking why he was against the lights being installed. As one of my pro's for the lights I mentioned the increased revenue that the Jetty Rd traders would receive as well as other food/drink establishments around the area, mainly of people eating before games, after the game etc etc.

His reply was that the traders wouldn't see any additional customers, and believes that they wouldn't benefit from night games at the Bay !

WTF !! How could you possibly work that one out ? I know when I go to the Parade I generally pop into one of the pubs either pre game or post game. As would hundreds.....

[Psyber]

The businesses around the oval wouldnt feel the same I feel.
A few thousand people coming into the area every second week is surely good for the local economy?

The local businesses are geared to providing what the locals want and may loose ground if they change their pitch to suit a different and transient market.
They may also lose local regulars by supporting something the locals don't like.
When I lived near Hahndorf the locals did not like the commercialisation of the main street and referred to the week end visitors as "Terrorists" not "Tourists".
Part of the problem at Hahndorf was that few of the business owners were "locals" - even if they had moved into the area to live once the had the business.
So, they were seen as destroying the amenity and lifestyle for mere money. Long-term Unley residents may see it that way too.

[Dirko]

The local businesses are geared to providing what the locals want and may loose ground if they change their pitch to suit a different and transient market.
They may also lose local regulars by supporting something the locals don't like.
When I lived near Hahndorf the locals did not like the commercialisation of the main street and referred to the week end visitors as "Terrorists" not "Tourists".
Part of the problem at Hahndorf was that few of the business owners were "locals" - even if they had moved into the area to live once the had the business, so they were seen as destroying the amenity and lifestyle to persue money.

LOL, or more like they had more business sense that what the locals did and capitalised ?

So you're saying the local cafes & pubs in the area wouldn't appreciate seeing a few more people frequent there abode. Bullshit. Why would they need to change their pitch ? Can't see the Holdy down at the Bay changing anything to suit football goers, nor the Broady, nor the Jetty, nor the numerous cafes.

Also I would be surprised if Sturt weren't sponsored in some way by the "Unley Rd Traders" or what ever name they go by. Glenelg have a healthy sponsorship with the "Jetty Rd Traders" which encompass all the shops on Jetty Rd, as well as every pub in the area. Why wouldn't they sponsor the club, and therefore encourage football goers to use their facilities ?

Also explain why the Unley council spend millions on the "Tour Down Under" then. Yeah like all those extra people really upset the "local" shop holders by pumping in more $$$.

[LPH]

Sounds like the council want to say... "Toodle-pip to the 'Toodle-pips" - again!!!

Must admit, I am a little surprised by their reasons... when I go to Unley, I make a 'pint' of going to the Cremorne Hotel before the match.
Pumping a few readies through the TAB & sinking some Pale Ale Pints... surely that's the point of arguement to increase the amount of games & access.

I guess Unley Council reap squillions in rate revenue, so they don't care if businesses get extra income or not.

[Psyber]

LOL, or more like they had more business sense that what the locals did and capitalised ?

So you're saying the local cafes & pubs in the area wouldn't appreciate seeing a few more people frequent there abode. Bullshit. Why would they need to change their pitch ? Can't see the Holdy down at the Bay changing anything to suit football goers, nor the Broady, nor the Jetty, nor the numerous cafes.

Also I would be surprised if Sturt weren't sponsored in some way by the "Unley Rd Traders" or what ever name they go by. Glenelg have a healthy sponsorship with the "Jetty Rd Traders" which encompass all the shops on Jetty Rd, as well as every pub in the area. Why wouldn't they sponsor the club, and therefore encourage football goers to use their facilities ?

Also explain why the Unley council spend millions on the "Tour Down Under" then. Yeah like all those extra people really upset the "local" shop holders by pumping in more $$$.

I really don't think you can compare those spots with Unley, which is much less commercially orientated. You may find the Unley clientele is more in favour of good quiet restaurants than pubs too.
It is about lifestyle not money in areas where ther is old money about..

I admit my experience may suffer from some bias here in that my acquaintanceship with Unley is derived from mixing with families who have lived there for generations through my wife's friendship with the McLeay family, and through a cousin who lived in Unley Park. None of them had much interest in football.

Although I do follow football myself, if I lived in Unley now I would support the council's position. I wouldn't want my peaceful environment invaded regularly.
I had enough of that when I lived in Prospect years ago.

[Pseudo]

Although I do follow football myself, if I lived in Unley now I would support the council's position. I wouldn't want my peaceful environment invaded regularly.
I had enough of that when I lived in Prospect years ago.

Come on Psyber - you come across as a fairly intelligent chap; you wouldn't live in Unley in the first place if your desire for weekend peace was paramount. Anyone who buys property across the road from a footy club knows what they are letting themselves in for. To complain about the noise after moving in is akin to drinking from the toilet bowl then complaining that the water tastes funny.

Admittedly some Unley denizens may have moved into the area during Sturt's hiatus from the ground, but the point remains, only slightly weakened.

[Ronnie]

[quote="

Although I do follow football myself, if I lived in Unley now I would support the council's position. I wouldn't want my peaceful environment invaded regularly.
I had enough of that when I lived in Prospect years ago.[/quote]

Surely 9 days a year of limited noise and interruption is not too much to ask? The council surveys what they call the catchment area around the oval, and these surveys show very strong support for the football club to be there. I don't know but i suspect for every small minded 'not in my backyard' type of resident far more people would attend matches.
Also, the golden days of 14,000 crowds are over, we are now talking crowds of 3-4.000, a big drop.
The benefits of organised sport and the vast junior development program that Sturt runs (as all SANFL clubs do) surely on its own amounts to significant community benefit?

[purch]

The businesses around the oval wouldnt feel the same I feel.
A few thousand people coming into the area every second week is surely good for the local economy?

Part of the problem at Hahndorf was that few of the business owners were "locals" - even if they had moved into the area to live once the had the business. So, they were seen as destroying the amenity and lifestyle for mere money. Long-term Unley residents may see it that way too.

Some of us don't.

LOL, or more like they had more business sense that what the locals did and capitalised ?

Couldn't agree more.


For those who are interested, here's some info on the Unley Oval Licence.
http://www.unley.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/Unley_Oval_Licence_Consultation_Form.pdf

And the concerns that were raised less than a year ago, relating to cost and conditions of the lease. Compare what SFC pay compared to other clubs. Given the conditions that have to be met it seems kind of absurd.
http://www.unley.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/Item_129_CSP_Agenda_June_2008.pdf

Here's a random picture of an EVILDOER!



And his email address: mhudson@em.unley.sa.gov.au

Oh and off topic, but still relating to the Unley council, here's my current pet hate: http://www.unley.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/Item_36_George_Maud_Duthy_Streets_Detailed_Design.pdf

[Dirko]

I really don't think you can compare those spots with Unley, which is much less commercially orientated. You may find the Unley clientele is more in favour of good quiet restaurants than pubs too.
It is about lifestyle not money in areas where ther is old money about..

I admit my experience may suffer from some bias here in that my acquaintanceship with Unley is derived from mixing with families who have lived there for generations through my wife's friendship with the McLeay family, and through a cousin who lived in Unley Park. None of them had much interest in football.

Although I do follow football myself, if I lived in Unley now I would support the council's position. I wouldn't want my peaceful environment invaded regularly.
I had enough of that when I lived in Prospect years ago.

I think you've been out of the Unley food chain for too long. Less commercially orientated. LOL. You know how many cafes are open on Unley Rd nowadays ? Not too many restaurants round Unley way, just cafes and a lot of them.

OK so how long have Sturt been playing at Unley Oval ? 1901 or something similar. So over 100 years apart from the sojourn to Adelaide Oval. I doubt there would be anyone old enough who lives in Unley that can't remember Sturt not being based there. So if the football club has been based in the suburb over 100 years, what right does that give some resident who's been living there for 10 years for example, to have Sturt relocated and kick up a fuss when Sturt need council help.

If you move into a area, and a football club is located there, then enjoy it. Don't complain about noise or whatever. Live somewhere else.

And unless you're a freak of nature, I'd say Prospect Oval was well and truly in use before you moved or lived in Prospect, so why complain about noise when it was your choice to live there ?

[Psyber]

Although I do follow football myself, if I lived in Unley now I would support the council's position. I wouldn't want my peaceful environment invaded regularly.
I had enough of that when I lived in Prospect years ago.

Come on Psyber - you come across as a fairly intelligent chap; you wouldn't live in Unley in the first place if your desire for weekend peace was paramount. Anyone who buys property across the road from a footy club knows what they are letting themselves in for. To complain about the noise after moving in is akin to drinking from the toilet bowl then complaining that the water tastes funny.

Admittedly some Unley denizens may have moved into the area during Sturt's hiatus from the ground, but the point remains, only slightly weakened.

True, I made the mistake in my youth of thinking Barker Rd was far enough from Prospect Oval but it wasn't.
My comments about Unley was more from the point of view of people already living there for years and how I'd see it if I were one of them.
I've actually bought a house on an acre in the Adelaide Hills 17 minutes from the city.

The subsequent posters make valid points about the crowds being reduced and the fact that there is not unanimity in Unley.
The people I knew back in the days when my future wife lived in Unley put up with it when they were in the minority, but are now getting there turn as the popularity of SANFL has wained.

[Wedgie]

You thought 2 blocks away from the Oval was far enough?
Crikey, you weren't too smart in your youth were you mate?

[Dogwatcher]

It's not rocket science!

[Psyber]

I think you've been out of the Unley food chain for too long. Less commercially orientated. LOL. You know how many cafes are open on Unley Rd nowadays ? Not too many restaurants round Unley way, just cafes and a lot of them.

OK so how long have Sturt been playing at Unley Oval ? 1901 or something similar. So over 100 years apart from the sojourn to Adelaide Oval. I doubt there would be anyone old enough who lives in Unley that can't remember Sturt not being based there. So if the football club has been based in the suburb over 100 years, what right does that give some resident who's been living there for 10 years for example, to have Sturt relocated and kick up a fuss when Sturt need council help.

If you move into a area, and a football club is located there, then enjoy it. Don't complain about noise or whatever. Live somewhere else.

And unless you're a freak of nature, I'd say Prospect Oval was well and truly in use before you moved or lived in Prospect, so why complain about noise when it was your choice to live there ?

Valid SJABC!
I have been away from the area since late 1998 except for a short stay of 6 months when renting in Adelaide in 2003 - but then I was pre-occupied with the family issues that made it necessary at the time.
As I said above, since you posted this, I had underestimated the impact of Prospect Oval when I bought the house in Barker Rd. I was naive - I'd never lived near an oval before, and had never considered people would selfishly block your driveway. I didn't complain then or try and move North Adelaide, but simply increased the height of the brush fence and lived with it.
I did occasionally call the police when as a doctor on call I couldn't get my car out of the driveway to dash to a hospital.