The proposed new arena to replace Allianz Stadium "will include giant LED light screens to create a more intimate atmosphere for club games that attract smaller than capacity crowds," according to the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH.
There has been concern the stadium that would hold at least 55,000 spectators "is too large for regular season" National Rugby League, A-League and Super Rugby games, which "often attract crowds of less than half that capacity."
The Sydney Cricket Ground Trust, however, "has tendered for a stadium that can be used in two distinct modes -- 'championship mode' where the stadium is fully open and 'club mode' with a more intimate atmosphere for about 30,000 fans."
The drawings "are only initial impressions." But the Trust "has asked architects that all proposals include a vast LED curtain that will block the upper tier for smaller events in order to create a virtually smaller stadium." SCG Trust CEO Jamie Barkley: "I’m not aware of this being done anywhere else in the world because elsewhere they design stadiums for the expected demand of one club or one sport. But we think the two modes will allow us to deliver super match day experiences for fans of football codes on different occasions." Barkley "did not want to speculate on the exact capacity, cost or location of new Allianz Stadium" with negotiations continuing. But as some measure a 65,000-seat Australian Football League stadium currently being built in Perth is expected to cost about A$1.1B ($810M) (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 10/15).
