Favourite Grounds - Your Experiences - Eels Blogs

As we reach the era of "stadia strategy", the suburban venues may soon be a thing of the past. In a moment of nostalgia, I've decided to reflect on some of the past and current grounds and offer my thoughts and memorable moments. Hopefully others have some interesting stories to add.Cumberland Oval - my introduction to footy and love of the Eels began here. Sat/ stood in so many different parts of the ground and loved the atmosphere. The facilities were truly awful (the toilets were beyond description and the ladies used to have to wait in ridiculous queues) but the ground was full of characters. The phantom bugler was a classic fan. The players would be out on the hills with their families watching lower grades so you'd always see the stars. What memories! Wish I'd kept the cardboard season tickets. What a collectors item that would be.Parramatta Stadium - I was quite misty eyed when the "Welcome Home" banner was opened on that first home game in 1986. I've held season season tickets for many of the years and the atmosphere in a full house is close to the best in the NRL. My highlights have to include the Manly game last year purely based on atmosphere and the touring England game in the 90s. I've enjoyed a couple of private box experiences there too but probably made too much use of the drink service on those nights to accurately reflect on the games.Belmore Oval - home ground for 4 years. A good venue to view from but I was never comfortable walking the streets afterwards. Probably had the best viewing hill in Sydney.Brookevale Oval - I've seen some great games there in the 70s and 80s, along with some massive crowds. Most memorable was travelling as a teen by supporter bus in a fleet of around 20 buses going there. The car park behind the hill was full of buses that day. The Parra fans outnumbered Manly fans at their home ground and the Parra chant was in full cry.Henson Park - the biggest hill in rugby league. Crowds rarely exceeded 10000 there so the atmosphere was never great. It is nonetheless worthwhile to visit and take in a part of rugby league history.Kogarah Oval - I have some memories there. Crowds so big that the gates were closed at the start of reserve grade. Skull terrorising other fans outside the ground. Always a great atmosphere in the 70s and 80s. Not been there in a long time but sitting on a hill no longer appeals to me if I pay good money to watch a game.Leichardt Oval - close to the action. Good atmosphere. My fondest memory was the demolition of the Tigers there in 2001. In reality I never liked the ground. It's facilities are archaic and the experience is overrated. Combined with the constant baying for penalties that comes from the Tigers fans it makes me avoid the ground.Lidcombe Oval - never liked it. Parra always seemed to lose there and there was very few spots with an elevated view of the ground. The oval placed spectators away from the action and big crowds could only be accommodated by letting kids on the cycle track. Glad it's gone.North Sydney Oval - this ground had character. For some reason I liked the hill there even though the viewing wasn't great. Maybe I could sense the history in the ground. Once watched a Parra game there in torrential rain with a total crowd of 1500! Everyone was in the only stand there at the time. It was like the great flood that day.Penrith Park - first time there it was not much more than a cow paddock. A real dustbowl with a few seats on top of a change room functioning as their stand. Last went there in the late 90s. Never warmed to the place.Redfern - antiquated but great atmosphere. Saw a couple of good Parra wins there before Souths abandoned the joint.Shark Park - hate the Sharkies chant. Not a favourite ground and haven't been there for a long time.Sydney Cricket Ground. Four grand final wins there leaves a great impression. It was never great viewing from the hill but the atmosphere on Grand Final days can never be equalled. Need I say more than 1981.Sydney Sports Ground - Easts home ground before it was demolished to build the Football Stadium. I only went there twice and found that it had little atmosphere. The 1000 roosters fans rarely provided much colour.Sydney Football Stadium - my experiences there have been similar to the old Sports Ground.Sydney Olympic Park/ANZ- not my favourite ground to view from and don't like having home matches there. Occasions in a private box or members area excluded! Catering is probably better to access than other grounds. My favourite moments were definitely the double header opening with over 100000 in attendance and the 2009 qualifying final against the Dogs.I have never been to out of Sydney venues (excepting Mt Smart in NZ which I took myself for a look at one summer).Even taking out the home ground factor, i would still rate Parra Stadium as my favourite. For all of its shortcomings (PA system, catering, wifi) it still offers a great view and an all seat venue. I guess in my older years I've been less inclined to visit suburban grounds that might require me to sit on a hill. In my youth it was part of the adventure of a footy match to mix it with other fans on a grass slope. Nowadays, if I pay good money I want a comfortable venue. Perhaps many others feel the same way and it's why the suburban grounds are struggling to keep their tenants.Do you have a favourite ground or special story from a ground?

There are 2 times I watched footy from a corporate box. One time was in parra stadium and that was the greatest footy-watching experience I've had. Got invited by a mate who's mum got the tickets through her work.

Was a game against the roosters in 2013, which we ended up losing, but it was a close and entertaining game.

The unlimited drinks and food aside, the sheer fact that I was sitting directly over the players tunnel, close enough that I could've just stuck my hand out and shook their hands, was great. Meeting a few parra legends such as Nathan Cayless and Hindmarsh (who was there working with channel 9, so didn't really get to chat too much) as well as meeting Daniel Geale (before his world title fight), who's such a humble and nice guy, and taking photos with him was an amazing experience. On top of that, at the end of the game the players were kicking footy's out to the crowd and I managed to get one. Still got it wrapped in the plastic at home.

Was a great night. Nothing beats watching the footy like that, I hope we all one day get to experience that.

"What I take away from that game is that the Eels spent the entire off-season learning how to completely forget how to play a first grade standard of football, and the evidence is the Eels' diabolically bad second half.
E = Error by Eels, RI = Ruck…"

Replies

Wes May 15, 2015 at 10:04am

There are 2 times I watched footy from a corporate box. One time was in parra stadium and that was the greatest footy-watching experience I've had. Got invited by a mate who's mum got the tickets through her work.

Was a game against the roosters in 2013, which we ended up losing, but it was a close and entertaining game.

The unlimited drinks and food aside, the sheer fact that I was sitting directly over the players tunnel, close enough that I could've just stuck my hand out and shook their hands, was great. Meeting a few parra legends such as Nathan Cayless and Hindmarsh (who was there working with channel 9, so didn't really get to chat too much) as well as meeting Daniel Geale (before his world title fight), who's such a humble and nice guy, and taking photos with him was an amazing experience. On top of that, at the end of the game the players were kicking footy's out to the crowd and I managed to get one. Still got it wrapped in the plastic at home.

Was a great night. Nothing beats watching the footy like that, I hope we all one day get to experience that.
- sixtiesboy > Wes May 15, 2015 at 10:21am
  
  Thanks for the response mate. As a poor "commoner" myself, I too have to rely on a friend or a prize to get a corporate box experience. For anyone who's never done the footy in a box, it's something you have to do once, even if you have to actually pay for it!!!
- Parramatta Tragic > Wes May 15, 2015 at 9:52pm
  
  I used to take my staff to an outdoor box at the Grand Final every year instead of having a Christmas Party. Inpossible to do now due to the ridiculous cost of tickets.
Wayne May 15, 2015 at 10:26am

Definitely Parra Stadium when we are winning and a full crowd for me. In terms of experiences I cant go past the 09 final against the Dogs. I sat in the middle of the Parra fan section and the atmosphere was amazing.

I have had quite a few opportunities to sit in corporate boxes through work, and although the free food and booze is great you do miss out on the atmosphere of the crowd.
- sixtiesboy > Wayne May 15, 2015 at 10:37am
  
  In the 09 final I ended up in the Bulldogs section. Trouser eel found himself in an argument with Dogs fans from the moment he started yelling his support. It was good to win when you're watching them leave all around you and the view looking at the Parra section was amazing.
  I found the corporate box atmosphere in the Thornett Stand at Parra to not differ much, atmosphere wise, as the seats in front of the box are really a part of the crowd.
jm054 May 15, 2015 at 10:47am

Pirtek Stadium. It's a no brainer. However, I've been to two games at Kogarah; the semi final in 2009 and the Dragons-Cowboys game last year. I'd say it would be up there with Parra. Shame St George don't play there a lot though.
Chris May 15, 2015 at 11:39am

I remember driving into Henson park with my dad and sitting in the car watching the game, parked up against the fence and out of the weather. When the game was over he put it in reverse and out we went. That was great and in about 1980.
- sixtiesboy > Chris May 15, 2015 at 11:44am
  
  People still do that too. That little stand there is a classic. I wasn't there when he did it, but Newtown had an American named Manfred Moore who threw a footy over the top of the stand as some sort of promo stunt.obviously the ground could hold about 35000 with all of the space there. I couldn't imagine getting away from that place too quickly in such a crowd.
Jose Martinez May 15, 2015 at 12:00pm

I reckon ANZ,Aami park, Belmore oval, Mt Smart and Penrith park are my favorites. 1300 smiles stadium or whatever the fek it is called up there in Townsville is also an underrated place to watch the footy.
sixtiesboy May 15, 2015 at 2:23pm

How man how? This is the stuff that plebs like me only dream about.
My only comparable was corporate suite at the SFS to see U2 back in the days when I was married (the ex-wife was an executive secretary for the Company that held the box and we were invited to the gig).
Your bragging has had the desired effect of creating envy.

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