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October 1, 2007 - 4:46PM
They aren't expecting to match the any of the AFL powerhouse clubs just yet but the Storm are ready to reap the rewards of their NRL title. The newly-crowned champions are already looking at accommodating their expected popularity boom by moving some of their 2008 home games to a larger venue.
The Melbourne club is counting on the momentum gathered through the NRL finals, which culminated in Sunday night's title win over Manly, continuing. The Storm currently play all of their home games at the 17,500-capacity Olympic Park, where they have only lost once in two seasons.
However, CEO Brian Waldron said they were considering playing some marquee home games at the much larger Telstra Dome. With approximately 15,000 Melbourne fans in the grand final crowd and 33,000 turning out for their preliminary final win over Parramatta at Telstra Dome - their largest-ever crowd - they are confident they'll have the numbers to warrant the move.
"We've got to continue to tread cautiously but at the same time optimistically," Waldron said. "The amazing thing last night from our point of view was the amount of people who had come up (to Sydney) for the game, it was quite extraordinary compared to 1999. There seemed to be some 30,000 people there at the end cheering us on."
He said his team wasn't trying to compete with AFL but co-exist and felt there was plenty of room in Melbourne for both codes. According to Storm figures, they had over a $1 million in merchandise sales this year while home crowds have grown from an average of 5,500 to nearly 12,000.
"All the indications are a very recognised sporting brand and the club's well and truly entrenched as part of the Melbourne sporting culture," Waldron said. "We're never going to take over the AFL, which is the heart and soul of what Melburnians are, but we'd like to think they can still be Storm supporters. We've always felt that we've got our place and our niche in the market and that's what it is."
"It's a long haul for the game in Melbourne but we'll continue to grow our niche. Our team's our flagship and when we have the team performing like we did last night and winning the ultimate prize, I think it does nothing but enhance the brand and the game of rugby league in the town."
Brisbane, Warriors, Bulldogs? Possibly the Illasox if they aim up next year. It'd be great to see some 25-30k+ crowds at the dome.
October 1, 2007 - 4:46PM
They aren't expecting to match the any of the AFL powerhouse clubs just yet but the Storm are ready to reap the rewards of their NRL title. The newly-crowned champions are already looking at accommodating their expected popularity boom by moving some of their 2008 home games to a larger venue.
The Melbourne club is counting on the momentum gathered through the NRL finals, which culminated in Sunday night's title win over Manly, continuing. The Storm currently play all of their home games at the 17,500-capacity Olympic Park, where they have only lost once in two seasons.
However, CEO Brian Waldron said they were considering playing some marquee home games at the much larger Telstra Dome. With approximately 15,000 Melbourne fans in the grand final crowd and 33,000 turning out for their preliminary final win over Parramatta at Telstra Dome - their largest-ever crowd - they are confident they'll have the numbers to warrant the move.
"We've got to continue to tread cautiously but at the same time optimistically," Waldron said. "The amazing thing last night from our point of view was the amount of people who had come up (to Sydney) for the game, it was quite extraordinary compared to 1999. There seemed to be some 30,000 people there at the end cheering us on."
He said his team wasn't trying to compete with AFL but co-exist and felt there was plenty of room in Melbourne for both codes. According to Storm figures, they had over a $1 million in merchandise sales this year while home crowds have grown from an average of 5,500 to nearly 12,000.
"All the indications are a very recognised sporting brand and the club's well and truly entrenched as part of the Melbourne sporting culture," Waldron said. "We're never going to take over the AFL, which is the heart and soul of what Melburnians are, but we'd like to think they can still be Storm supporters. We've always felt that we've got our place and our niche in the market and that's what it is."
"It's a long haul for the game in Melbourne but we'll continue to grow our niche. Our team's our flagship and when we have the team performing like we did last night and winning the ultimate prize, I think it does nothing but enhance the brand and the game of rugby league in the town."
Brisbane, Warriors, Bulldogs? Possibly the Illasox if they aim up next year. It'd be great to see some 25-30k+ crowds at the dome.
