Why Canberra's proposed city stadium might not be the answer to our prayers

Rugby season had started, the universe's equilibrium had been reset. I was home.

Just this week independent senate candidate David Pocock reignited the idea of the new city stadium, saying Canberra Stadium was "no longer fit for purpose" and that it was "insane ... how we can't hold big sporting events".

The concept designs from GHD Woodhead are pretty flash. 20,000 seats, multi-purpose conference centre, fireworks, flashing lights. Which is all well and good ... but are we applying the Field of Dreams theory? Build it and they will come? Will they?

Canberra Stadium is looking a little tired but it's still a pretty good stadium for watching football. And we still can't get crowds. Would a new stadium really draw people back to the game?

Maybe it's because I grew up watching football on the hood of my father's Holden. Cars would park around the fence at Wade Park in Orange. Nose in, or nose out if you were lucky enough to own a station wagon. Us kids would play on the greyhound track which encircled the field until the game started and then scramble up onto the bonnet of the car, with a can of lemonade and a hot pie, and we'd cheer our team on.

The idea of a grandstand to watch a game from was a complete novelty. Some of the best games I've watched over the years were from the sideline. Club rugby (where you'd do anything to avoid the steep stairs at Phillip Oval), league games in Queanbeyan where you'd deliberately put yourself deep in the crowd for, let's call it "atmosphere", watching my son's games where parents would gather respectfully behind the rope.

When I was a fledgling sports journalist a lifetime ago I covered games from eye level too. One of the most memorable matches in the mid 1990s at Palmerston Oval watching Daramalan play Norths, where the pouring rain could even douse the fiery opening half.

I was at Seiffert Oval the day Mal Meninga broke his arm against the goal post and the crack reverberated around the ground - a ground that is still a great place to watch from. I was at Canberra Stadium the night the Crusaders broke our hearts in the snow in 2000, winning the title against the Brumbies by a point when Andrew Mehrtens kicked that 40m penalty in the dying minutes.

And I turned up to drown my sorrows the next day to watch the Raiders beat the Tigers. Not even the sight of Laurie Daley working his magic could warm my heart that day but it was still a weekend to remember.

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It's easy now, easier than ever before, to perch yourself on your couch with a fine bottle of red wine that was probably still cheaper than one of those little plastic serves you get at the stadium, and watch a game. Need a toilet break? You can probably even pause the game. There's no sun in your eyes, no cold feet. But it's not the same. Is it really such a hassle to line up for a few moments to get your bucket of chips? I've never had to queue for the loo (and that's saying something about women's toilets at events). I like the addition of the dining precinct at the southern end, BentSpoke and Grease Monkey, it's like a little bit of Braddon in the heart of Bruce.

Yes, the proposed stadium precinct would be fabulous, wandering into the city after games, catching the light rail into town, seeing the lake becoming a focal point of our city's heart. Everyone likes new and shiny things. But let's not believe for one minute that it will solve all our problems. We build this stadium and it will look very empty with 4000 fans in it. Voters who would never go to a game regardless would be questioning the money spent.

I'm a fan of football and a fan of Canberra Stadium. Maybe she is a just a humble ground in a cornfield. But a little bit of magic still happens up there. Let's not write her off just yet. Now if we can just get Pocock to pull his boots on again, I'd go to Mars to watch that game.

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