Post by cigan1996 on Dec 16, 2011 17:13:36 GMT 10
HAKOA got the suburb right when they chose an alternative to the SFS for tomorrow's match against Brisbane Roar. It's one jam-packed with football history. If only they were able to play in the right stadium.
For now, it can't happen but in the future, it might. St George Stadium, the spiritual home of football in Australia, is where the late Johnny Warren most famously strode the turf. The Socceroos played World Cup qualifiers there; John Filan, Robbie Slater and Andy Harper had their starts there. Even Pele and Ferenc Puská´s made appearances.
Today, however, St George Stadium lies dilapidated and crumbling after years of neglect. The one-time showpiece of football is in a state of such disrepair that the main grandstand has needed to be cordoned off.
Yesterday, the FFA sent out a press release lauding the return of elite football to Warren's home suburb, but didn't mention what happened to his old venue. Long-time football broadcaster Les Murray, and a great friend of Warren, grew up watching St George-Budapest at the venue, and believes it's a football tragedy to see the famous old ground left to rot.
''I don't want to go there any more - it's too heartbreaking,'' Murray said yesterday. ''The venue is still the best, in terms of location, of just about any venue anywhere in Australia. It's 20 minutes from the city, it's right next to the airport, close to Brighton Beach. And now it's a complete ruin. That stadium deserves to be so much more, a place where Johnny could be properly honoured, but instead, it's nothing.''
Of course, in the form of the St George Saints, the evolution of Budapest, there is a tenant desperate to see a development go ahead.
''It's killing me to see the state of the venue when it holds such a special place in football,'' Saints club president Ross
Gardner said.
''This is the home of Johnny Warren, and we'd love nothing more than to play at a fully re-developed stadium bearing his name. We'd want to have the whole football community here.
We'd want HAKOA to play its women's and youth matches here, and train here, too. We'd want to host visiting foreign clubs, just like we used to.
It could be a training base for all the national teams and host some under-age and women's national team matches.''
Interestingly, while rival codes often voice their concern over the government money granted to football, about $40 million from the federal government has been ploughed into the redevelopment of Jubilee Oval, a venue which hosts about five or six NRL matches each year.
Not a cent has been put aside for St George Stadium. The Saints have a good relationship with St George Illawarra but still had to stump up $6000 to play HAKOA in a pre-season friendly match at Jubilee Oval, and hand over a portion of the gate takings to Kogarah Council.
However, there is hope. The Cooks Cove development, which surrounds the stadium, finally looks as if it may go ahead, and if it does, provisions are there for the stadium to be developed to its former glory.
''It's still early days, but things are starting to happen, we can bring the glory days back to St George,'' Gardner said. ''We're hopeful football in St George has a future.''
www.smh.com.au/sport/football/saints-want-to-raise-old-stadiums-spirits-20111202-1ob83.html#ixzz1fRUQbe3U
For now, it can't happen but in the future, it might. St George Stadium, the spiritual home of football in Australia, is where the late Johnny Warren most famously strode the turf. The Socceroos played World Cup qualifiers there; John Filan, Robbie Slater and Andy Harper had their starts there. Even Pele and Ferenc Puská´s made appearances.
Today, however, St George Stadium lies dilapidated and crumbling after years of neglect. The one-time showpiece of football is in a state of such disrepair that the main grandstand has needed to be cordoned off.
Yesterday, the FFA sent out a press release lauding the return of elite football to Warren's home suburb, but didn't mention what happened to his old venue. Long-time football broadcaster Les Murray, and a great friend of Warren, grew up watching St George-Budapest at the venue, and believes it's a football tragedy to see the famous old ground left to rot.
''I don't want to go there any more - it's too heartbreaking,'' Murray said yesterday. ''The venue is still the best, in terms of location, of just about any venue anywhere in Australia. It's 20 minutes from the city, it's right next to the airport, close to Brighton Beach. And now it's a complete ruin. That stadium deserves to be so much more, a place where Johnny could be properly honoured, but instead, it's nothing.''
Of course, in the form of the St George Saints, the evolution of Budapest, there is a tenant desperate to see a development go ahead.
''It's killing me to see the state of the venue when it holds such a special place in football,'' Saints club president Ross
Gardner said.
''This is the home of Johnny Warren, and we'd love nothing more than to play at a fully re-developed stadium bearing his name. We'd want to have the whole football community here.
We'd want HAKOA to play its women's and youth matches here, and train here, too. We'd want to host visiting foreign clubs, just like we used to.
It could be a training base for all the national teams and host some under-age and women's national team matches.''
Interestingly, while rival codes often voice their concern over the government money granted to football, about $40 million from the federal government has been ploughed into the redevelopment of Jubilee Oval, a venue which hosts about five or six NRL matches each year.
Not a cent has been put aside for St George Stadium. The Saints have a good relationship with St George Illawarra but still had to stump up $6000 to play HAKOA in a pre-season friendly match at Jubilee Oval, and hand over a portion of the gate takings to Kogarah Council.
However, there is hope. The Cooks Cove development, which surrounds the stadium, finally looks as if it may go ahead, and if it does, provisions are there for the stadium to be developed to its former glory.
''It's still early days, but things are starting to happen, we can bring the glory days back to St George,'' Gardner said. ''We're hopeful football in St George has a future.''
www.smh.com.au/sport/football/saints-want-to-raise-old-stadiums-spirits-20111202-1ob83.html#ixzz1fRUQbe3U
