The AFL’s newest grandstand has set aside a place for thousands to watch matches on their feet, the most prominent example of a new trend of sporting venues embracing a seatless spectator experience.
Geelong will play St Kilda on Saturday in the first match of the season at the newly refurbished GMHBA Stadium, widely known as Kardinia Park, marking the completion of the five-stage redevelopment and the opening of the 14,000-capacity Selwood Stand.
Cats midfielder Max Holmes said the team was looking forward to playing in front of the new grandstand, the construction of which was delayed by almost a year.
“I’m really excited to see what it’s like, I think the whole stand is really cool but that bit [the standing area] especially is pretty awesome,” he said.
The capacity of the venue is now 40,000 and, thanks to a joint decision of the club and stadium trust, more than 2,000 of those are reserved for patrons who want to watch the match without a seat.
The area has been named the Ablett Terrace in honour of the entire Ablett clan, and is a nod to the demolished Gary Ablett Terrace, which included space for a similar number of standing spectators.
The chief executive of the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust, Gerard Griffin, said sporting venues had to cater to different tastes and demographics.
“You’ve still got to have your corporate suites but equally, you’ve got to have your standing room areas to be able to say you’ve got something for everyone,” he said.
All 2,300 tickets in the standing room section have already been sold for Saturday’s game. At $30 an adult they are the same price as other general admission tickets, but half the price of a reserved seat elsewhere.
Australia’s major sporting venues have largely become all-seater arenas in recent decades, as the tradition of terraces has been tested by international stadium disasters.
Only some exceptions remain, but these are largely the result of a lack of development or a decision to preserve traditional grassed areas.
One is Adelaide Oval’s hill adjacent to the forward pocket in which Eddie Betts performed much of his work during his period at the Crows. Similar places exist in rugby league’s suburban grounds, like the prominent hill at Leichhardt Oval.
Yet there is now a global trend away from jamming in as many seats as possible into stadium designs.
The requirement for all-seater arenas in the English Premier League, brought in following the 1989 Hillsbrough disaster, has been relaxed in recent years and clubs can now apply for licenses for fans to occupy safe-standing areas.
And in North America, the Toronto Blue Jays’ baseball ground has recently removed 8,000 seats to establish places described as “social areas” and “gathering spaces”.
“Baseball stadiums in the US are pulling out seats and converting to standing room,” Griffin said.
“Because people fundamentally love congregating together, hanging out, eating, drinking and standing and watching together.”
In Australia, Sydney’s two recently built rectangular stadiums Commbank and Allianz include convertible standing areas behind the goals, largely to facilitate active football supporters.
Alex Stevenson, a 73-year-old Cats fan will be enjoying Saturday’s match from his reserved seat. But he said he had fond memories of watching games in the 1960s from the standing area as a teenager.
“You get a few cans of beer that you could stand on to look over people’s heads and so on,” he said.
He said the stadium’s commitment to standing areas has allowed a larger cross-section of the traditionally working-class Geelong community to watch the games, and the decision to retain the area respects this tradition.
“That’s progressive the way I would see it,” Stevenson said.
The new Abblet Terrace is also set to take on a new character. The standing patrons have been moved from the back of the old terrace much closer to the action, and with the higher angle of the stand the area sits ominously above the forward pocket.
“As we’ve seen with Adelaide Oval,” Griffin said, “hopefully it will become a sort of ‘extra man’ factor for the team and I think you will find the players will try and draw in that part of the ground to promote their barracking and support of the team in critical moments.”
Holmes said he “hopes it gets a bit crazy up there”.
