If even vaguely representative of public sentiment, that would provide an interesting contrast to how Optus Oval (as it was then known) was perceived in the 1990s. Back then, when Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs played some home games there, the public as good as boycotted the place. I suspect it was more a statement about Carlton's on-the-nose president, John Elliott, and his grand plans for the venue than anything else. In earlier years Hawthorn had enjoyed extended stability and success as a co-tenant with Carlton. After the MCG and VFL Park, Princes Park was the competition's undisputed number three venue. Attitudes to football grounds can be fickle. For more than 20 years Waverley was derided as "Pleurisy Park" for its winter chill, and worse for its architecturally entrenched lack of atmosphere. Then, when the AFL moved to close it, the public fell in love with the place. Etihad Stadium has a similar problem. There's not a bad seat in the house and it usually hums with atmosphere, yet it remains unloved. First impressions are hard to shake.

The Carlton ground is in a glorious precinct. When in the area, I invariably find myself envying the good fortune of those students who live in the various university colleges: in the prime of their lives, at the nation's foremost educational institution and in an idyllic environment. In the old days, due to their proximity, many supported the Blues. Talk about location, location and location. Those of us who have worked in the Princes Park media facilities know this only too well. Our view from the northern wing provided a panorama of the nearby CBD, with parkland trees in the foreground offering autumnal adornment during the season's early months. Of course, not everyone would be enthusiastic about a return of AFL football to Royal Parade, but any argument about local residents' inconvenience pales next to that caused by the Formula One Grand Prix in Albert Park. The footy matches occupy limited time, with local disruption confined to a few hours on game day. The Grand Prix, by contrast, compromises traffic and access to parkland over more than six weeks annually. Neither does football prevent free public access to Princes Park. Furthermore, the sports ground at Carlton has hosted football for a hundred years. Even if there was community resistance to AFL games again being played in the area, it would be hard to sustain an argument against it while the disruptive car race on the other side of town is backed by state government.

These days, of course, the big decisions about sport are invariably made on the basis of money. Oscar Wilde's cynic — who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing — is ubiquitous. The process of ground rationalisation, which began in the 1960s when Richmond moved from Punt Road Oval to the MCG, was a matter of necessity as costs rose within an evolving game. Hawthorn moved to Carlton, Fitzroy to wherever it could find an obliging landlord, North Melbourne to the MCG. So it went. Waverley closed down, Etihad Stadium went up … Finally Carlton, the last independent operator standing, also rolled over. Now there were two stadiums to host all AFL matches in Melbourne. Games attracting 20,000 are played in stadiums too big for that number. And there's more. As the Adelaide Oval experience has demonstrated beyond question, a ground's connection with supporters goes deeper than mere bricks and mortar. Football Park served a purpose but lacked the character, not to mention the location, to forge a bond with the people. The ties that bind are important in the preservation of a local ritual such as going to the footy. Notwithstanding the phenomenal loyalty of fans to their code, football's constituency is a critical one. It makes a commitment and expects bang for its buck. Lately there has been a simmering frustration that the game and the manner of its staging have become sterile. It's a complaint not without foundation.