Glenelg/West merger?

[Panther Pack]

Move to Noarlunga was the right one, the positioning of the oval was the mistake IMO

Where do you think they should have put the oval?

[Booney]

Move to Noarlunga was the right one, the positioning of the oval was the mistake IMO

$1 for 99 years, could have been at the corner of Brighton Rd and Rugless Tce and they'd still have taken it.

[Wedgie]

Move to Noarlunga was the right one, the positioning of the oval was the mistake IMO

Agreed, couldn't have built it in a worse spot.

[Dutchy]

Move to Noarlunga was the right one, the positioning of the oval was the mistake IMO

Where do you think they should have put the oval?

Anywhere but not on the same side of the hill that the wind straight from the seas hits!

Christies Beach oval would have been the best option probably

[Dogwatcher]

I played at that ground for a couple of years for Kenilworth. Fittest I've ever been running around on that paddock! No slope at all, not sure what gives you that idea. It is ridiculously big though.

Yep, one of the worst grounds to play on when hungover is my lasting memory.

Intrigued to find out the best ground to play on hungover?

Moorook. Small, narrow. 40-metre arc.

[darley16]

Booney the peppercorn lease of our oval was granted in 2005 after the club had paid $1.0ml since 1995 for the lease and upkeep, we had no tenure over the oval until the 2005 new lease and unless that agreement was made the club were not in a position to improve the facility and if the previous lease arrangements remained the club may have left the oval leaving the State Government with an empty sport facility right for vandalising. Dutchy the land being owned by the State Government had it's location determined by them, the grandstand location was cause for debate not being on the wing however it was thought that given the wind coming up the hill its current location was better suited. As surrounding land continues to develop especially directly opposite the ground the wind issue is not a bad as it was.

[Panther Pack]

Booney the peppercorn lease of our oval was granted in 2005 after the club had paid $1.0ml since 1995 for the lease and upkeep, we had no tenure over the oval until the 2005 new lease and unless that agreement was made the club were not in a position to improve the facility and if the previous lease arrangements remained the club may have left the oval leaving the State Government with an empty sport facility right for vandalising. Dutchy the land being owned by the State Government had it's location determined by them, the grandstand location was cause for debate not being on the wing however it was thought that given the wind coming up the hill its current location was better suited. As surrounding land continues to develop especially directly opposite the ground the wind issue is not a bad as it was.

I'm not a fan of the location of our grandstand it's a terrible location!!

When the boys run onto the field there is very little atmosphere as a lot of the supporters don't even know the team has entered the field.

[therisingblues]

Wrong about the slope but right about being a hard surface, the club had not built infrastructure at the ground as they were waiting on the SANFL and Council for the ratification to have league footy played there which of course the locals didn't permit. Therefore the only thing the club had built at that stage was a change room, scoreboard and time clock. Plans were in place for terracing and grandstand once approval was granted, should this have happened the South Adelaide story would have a much different one to the one we have today and i dare say much more successful.

Interesting stuff Darley.
My first full season of attending SANFL was in 1983, South was located at Adelaide Oval at the time. Would the time period you are describing here be around about then?
I was aware of St Mary's existence because they played trial games there. Not sure if I attended any. I have a vague memory of playing a cheer squad game there, but it might have been elsewhere, can't remember anymore.
Funny how South seemed to be getting such a shit deal at Adelaide Oval that Sturt decided it looked enticing enough to follow the SANFL's urgings and join them there. The least successful period of our club's history. If there is anything to take our of this it is that SANFL clubs need a home of their own.

[darley16]

therisingblues Panther Park was opened in (i am pretty sure) 1972 one of the first games played there was a pre-season trial game against Carlton, the oval was also used for u/17 & u/19 SANFL games but no senior footy was ever played there.

[Panther Pack]

therisingblues Panther Park was opened in (i am pretty sure) 1972 one of the first games played there was a pre-season trial game against Carlton, the oval was also used for u/17 & u/19 SANFL games but no senior footy was ever played there.

Did the team and supporters used to go back to St Mary's after a win or would everyone just hang around Adelaide oval?

[darley16]

More often than not we trekked up to St Marys PP after a game, some great nights at the old club especially after wins.

[tigerpie]

Move to Noarlunga was the right one, the positioning of the oval was the mistake IMO

South were dying a slow death at St Marys. They had no choice, head south, merge or fold.
Agree Dutchy, location sucks!

[therisingblues]

Move to Noarlunga was the right one, the positioning of the oval was the mistake IMO

South were dying a slow death at St Marys. They had no choice, head south, merge or fold.
Agree Dutchy, location sucks!

Was the death being caused by their inability to develop the site (owing to residents' objections) or just crappy location?
Darley's account of events seems to provide reasoning for the move. I would hazard that South would have been better off had they received permission to develop then use Panther Park for league football. It is closer to where their supporter base would have been located at that time, and could possibly have been a foundation to build on.
Noarlunga was founded on the hope that they could establish themselves in the region, and by most accounts they have done a lot of promotion down there, yet just haven't been able to grow. I think this is because it began in the AFL era. 99% of SANFL fans these days have had that tradition handed down to them within families, since before the AFL era, back when the SANFL was king. Easy for me to say after the fact, and South had to play the hand they were dealt, but if they could have remained in St Mary's, they would have been a lot closer to a generation of fans that experienced their last flag. Their influence could have maintained a culture and an identity.
Had they been allowed.
Those tragic souls were left on the other side of the hills when the club moved their home so far away. I might be wrong, but in schools down South the kids possibly chatter more about the Great Southern League than the Panthers.
On that last note: I went to four different schools, and know what it is like to be within a certain club's zone and the resultant influence. Was there ever a school that boasted a concentration of South supporters?

[Spargo]

I grew up/went to school in the early to mid 80's in Happy Valley/Reynella then umpired school footy down there after that. Every second kid had a Glenelg jumper on, followed by Port. Not a lot of kids I grew up with, played with & then umpired followed South that I remember.

[JK]

I played at that ground for a couple of years for Kenilworth. Fittest I've ever been running around on that paddock! No slope at all, not sure what gives you that idea. It is ridiculously big though.

Yep, one of the worst grounds to play on when hungover is my lasting memory.

Intrigued to find out the best ground to play on hungover?

All the others

Maybe Houghton or Gaza?

[southee]

Used to go back to St.Marys after Adelaide Oval games in the 80s as a kid.

I went to Brighton High and the only supporters there were me and other guy the year above me. (all Bays, Port with a few Sturt supporters)
That was it! Lol (people might know who Southee is now!)

Think there might of been a few South supporters at Marion High in its day ???

[Pseudo]

Used to go back to St.Marys after Adelaide Oval games in the 80s as a kid.

I went to Brighton High and the only supporters there were me and other guy the year above me. (all Bays, Port with a few Sturt supporters)
That was it! Lol (people might know who Southee is now!)

Think there might of been a few South supporters at Marion High in its day ???

Dunno about Marion High - but my primary school in the Marion area had a fair share of South fans. Half the families would have been Bays, the rest was distributed pretty evenly between South, Norwood, Sturt and Port. I remember one Westies family and one Torrens.

[blueandwhite]

I grew up one street from Panther Park, my parents still live there. as a kid i used to go and watch trainings and fetch the footies run water etc. I was at the 1972 trial v carlton in 72, still have the programme. the following year they played Essendon in a trial. South never played a senior game there for points, but the u/17s and u/19s played there for quite a few years. Many big nights at the club were spent by this lad in his late teens!

Souths move to Noarlunga was made because of a few reasons..the residents were making noise- Not my family I assure you!- and the council became a little difficult to deal with. There wasnt enough $$$ for improvements that were needed and eventually the sanfl encouraged South to move to Noarlunga. The fact that south havent a great following down south, is that the sfl is almost as old as the sanfl and the footy clubs down there have a very strong local following. The timing of the move also was around the time of the intro of the Crows into the afl, and its fair to say interest in the sanfl has waned since that day.

It would be an interesting exercise to see how many South followers live South of Blacks Rd..I wouldnt think it woud be too many. In fact I often think we have more support at away games than home games!

[Magellan]

Good news for the Bays, courtesy of Murdoch's Adelaide-based toilet rag:

Glenelg Football Club strikes financial deal with Holdfast Bay Council to help it survive

TWELVE months after the Glenelg Football Club launched a debt demolition campaign to save it being punted from the SANFL, the famous club is now poised to survive and thrive.

SANFL competitors since 1921, the Tigers have faced an uncertain financial future after announcing a $3.4 million debt last year, have struck a deal with Holdfast Bay Council, guaranteeing their financial future.

The deal — to be announced Thursday — involves interest currently owed on the club’s council loan to be written off and interest for the next two years to be waived. In the past five years the club has paid about $1.2 million in “dead money’’.

The football club’s annual lease of Glenelg Oval has also been reduced significantly while the council has drawn up a master plan to turn the ground into a major sporting and community hub.

This includes knocking down the H.Y. Sparks grandstand, which lost its roof in a storm in December, at the end of the football season and building a grass mound with seating on the western side of the ground.

The agreement will be allow Glenelg, whose current debt is just under $2.2 million, to have “critical breathing room’’ which the club insists will guarantee its survival.

“This result not only ensures that we will survive but can thrive,’’ Tigers chief executive Glenn Elliott said.

“It’s been a really traumatic year for everybody involved with the club because the impact of the total debt and subsequent interest was literally crippling us.

“It just meant we weren’t able to progress and unless we were able to address the debt and the relationship with the council we would have continued to battle and, in all probability, it may well have reached the stage where we might not have been able to operate.

“But this new arrangement has injected life back into the club, a sense of belief and capacity to plan for the future.’’

Glenelg, whose financial problems began back in 2002 when it borrowed $2.4 million from the council to build its function centre, lost $1 million in trading profit from 2013-15 before making a small $16,000 profit last year.

The club’s high-profile “Save The Tigers’’ campaign last year was viewed as a success but raised only $70,000 for debut demolition.

The announcement of a brighter future comes amid speculation that Glenelg, currently sitting third with a 6-3 record, South Adelaide and West Adelaide were preparing to merge to become a “super’’ SANFL club.

All three clubs have denied the report.

Holdfast Bay mayor Stephen Patterson, a former Norwood and Collingwood player, said: “We’ve made a significant number of adjustments to our loan and leasing arrangements to benefit the club to date but council has now resolved that these further steps are necessary to help the club recover from their current trading position and move forward.

“Our business as a council is investing in our community and community clubs are places where young people learn skills, work with positive mentors, grow social networks, and strengthen their sense of purpose and belonging.”

[Dutchy]

Or in other words the council it shit scared it will never get its money back so they need to buy into the problem, not be part of it.