2016 Crowd Watch

[cleary89]

I have always found homebush to be more affordable than moore park, just in my experience anyway.

With cheap tickets at sfs you can always just walk into a good bay. Can't at ANZ.

 

[Timmah]

Always hard to tell at Homebush but looks even less than i predicted. Not too many years ago games like this involving bulldogs/souths/dragons/parra/wests were getting 25k regularly and there were a heap of 30k crowds outside of public holidays for consecutive years. Now its a struggle to get 15k on a clear night between big clubs. The is in massive trouble imo

Most of the crowds between those teams you mention have been north of 20k actually.

 

[STORM.99/07]

I live in sadelaide and I drive to Melbourne about 6 times a year to watch a Storm game. I will definitely be at the last 2 Storm home games for the year

 

[Emu01]

I think the NRL should slash ticket prices to $10 for adults kids $5.Its the only way to get the crowds back.I guarantee you will have fuller stadiums or at least have a 10 dollar round where every game Is 10 dollars entry..

I went to win stadium with my girl a few weeks ago it was 70 dollars for two seats behind the goal posts and it was difficult to see the game.

My brother has 3 kids and they can't afford to go to games at all, it's to expensive..

So NRL drop the price of tickets please..10 dollar tickets or have a few cheap rounds each season.

 

[Frank Discussion]

This is brilliant!

The crowd thread has gone from outrage to sad acceptance.

 

[Warriors Fever]

Wow looked like absolutely minimal dragons fans there and the Bulldogs efforts were poor too. Is it because the Dragons are probably the most boring team to watch in the League?

 

[CC_Roosters]

15,008 last night for those that care.

 

[CC_Roosters]

15,008 last night for those that care

 

[Card Shark]

I think the NRL should slash ticket prices to $10 for adults kids $5.Its the only way to get the crowds back.I guarantee you will have fuller stadiums or at least have a 10 dollar round where every game Is 10 dollars entry..

I went to win stadium with my girl a few weeks ago it was 70 dollars for two seats behind the goal posts and it was difficult to see the game.

My brother has 3 kids and they can't afford to go to games at all, it's to expensive..

So NRL drop the price of tickets please..10 dollar tickets or have a few cheap rounds each season.

Go idea mate, particularly in these big stadiums that no one goes to.

 

[Card Shark]

I live in sadelaide and I drive to Melbourne about 6 times a year to watch a Storm game. I will definitely be at the last 2 Storm home games for the year

Match of the year last round...fortunately for you driving over, stupid Channel Nein didn't pick it for a Friday & it's on a Saturday instead.

 

[dangerousdave]

Wow looked like absolutely minimal dragons fans there and the Bulldogs efforts were poor too. Is it because the Dragons are probably the most boring team to watch in the League?

Yep.

That would be the reason

 

[Sydney Knight]

I think the NRL should slash ticket prices to $10 for adults kids $5.Its the only way to get the crowds back.I guarantee you will have fuller stadiums or at least have a 10 dollar round where every game Is 10 dollars entry..

I went to win stadium with my girl a few weeks ago it was 70 dollars for two seats behind the goal posts and it was difficult to see the game.

My brother has 3 kids and they can't afford to go to games at all, it's to expensive..

So NRL drop the price of tickets please..10 dollar tickets or have a few cheap rounds each season.

I definitely agree that it should be affordable for families but the potential issue is still getting bums on seats in winter.

If they slash tickets from $30 to $10 and the crowd only goes from 10,000 to 12,000 then the gate takings are down in theory $180K

Maybe some sort of pre purchased family tickets at the start of the season with a monthly direct debit to say 3 games could be an option? That way the people who can afford it will still rock up and pay the $30 without prices being cut for everyone.

Also food prices need to be affordable and healthier to attract families.

 

[Warriors Fever]

I definitely agree that it should be affordable for families but the potential issue is still getting bums on seats in winter.

If they slash tickets from $30 to $10 and the crowd only goes from 10,000 to 12,000 then the gate takings are down in theory $180K

Maybe some sort of pre purchased family tickets at the start of the season with a monthly direct debit to say 3 games could be an option? That way the people who can afford it will still rock up and pay the $30 without prices being cut for everyone.

Also food prices need to be affordable and healthier to attract families.

Well if they are going to be played at these times to suit TV then they should be prepared for a loss. Not that they would. Plus ANZ (a few years ago anyway) pay teams to play there, and pay a lot more if the crowd is over a certain amount.

 

[Warriors Fever]

Yep.

That would be the reason

Don't mean to bag your team, but judging by numbers at recent games as well as every second talkback callers, it would appear Dragons fans have had enough. I would personally like to see them rebuild with a new coach who doesn't hate natural flair.

 

[dangerousdave]

Don't mean to bag your team, but judging by numbers at recent games as well as every second talkback callers, it would appear Dragons fans have had enough. I would personally like to see them rebuild with a new coach who doesn't hate natural flair.

It's true that on-field results effect crowds as it does with any club. Add to that, we are doing it in the most boring way imaginable.

But there's a deeper narrative that runs through this. Unfortunately, it only gets brought up when we're losing. This time, enough is enough. I know literally dozens of Dragons fans who will not be renewing their memberships, self included. The jersey has been hung up and I won't be attending any more games until the club's governance changes.

 

[CC_Roosters]

It's true that on-field results effect crowds as it does with any club. Add to that, we are doing it in the most boring way imaginable.

But there's a deeper narrative that runs through this. Unfortunately, it only gets brought up when we're losing. This time, enough is enough. I know literally dozens of Dragons fans who will not be renewing their memberships, self included. The jersey has been hung up and I won't be attending any more games until the club's governance changes.

I applaud your stance. Do you think the stadium situation is part of the problem? How would you allocate games?

 

[Valheru]

I was talking to a couple from Victoria
Well they moved to Melb for ten years and they came back
Anyway the reckon
Tix for AFL were about $15 for adults and $2 for kids.
This was a few years back but not that long ago
Late 90's 2000's
They used to go all the time because it was so cheap

It is beyond me why kids aren't free for all regular season games at SFS and homebush (maybe not big events like ANZAC day).

 

[Timmah]

So many elements to the debate on stuff like stadium issues.

Form will always play a part but certainly the Dragons situation needs assessing. They should be playing 1 at Allianz, 1 at ANZ, and 5 each at Gong/Kogarah. Same goes for the Tigers - 5 Cambo 5 Lilyfield 2 ANZ.

I'd even increase the Dogs allocation at Belmore to 3 or 4.

The answer isn't to abandon the big venues but to acknowledge when games aren't going to draw and play them at smaller venues.

That said, last night should have netted more than 15k.

 

[adamkungl]

Both the NRL by scheduling and the Clubs by pricing/stadium choices are actively harming crowds.
No one seems to care, or if they do, completely lack the initiative to make any effective changes.

What harm would it do to experiment with pricing on a game that is expected to draw a low crowd? Worst case scenario you lose a few thousand dollars and prove it doesn't work.

 

[dangerousdave]

I applaud your stance. Do you think the stadium situation is part of the problem? How would you allocate games?

The stadium situation is pretty complex TBH. I'd say "right game, right venue" seems sensible from a financial sense but really needs to be streamlined. E.g. get rid of that f**ken stupid SCG heritage match.

Given that I've been studying the Sydney Stadia debate for the last 6 months, I wish I could give a firm answer. I'll always want what's best for the club but am obviously going to be prejudiced in my opinion. I take some solace in being slightly more self-aware than the miserable dinosaurs who want nothing less than 12 games at Kogarah.

As an Illawarra boy my heart says
10 - Wollongong
1 - Kogarah
1 - Big stadia (ANZAC Day or v Souths/Bulldogs)

My brain and what's best for the club are more like
6-8 Wollongong
2-4 Kogarah
2 Big Stadia

A realistic 'best case' would be
6 Wollongong
4 Kogarah
2 Big Stadia

Unfortunately, the status quo is pretty inevitable given that a backroom deal about minimum content in Sydney's new stadia would have been needed to secure the $1.6 billion funding and ensure it was implemented in line with the wishes of the NRL and our clubs.

In the medium-long term, Kogarah will sadly become a token 'Belmoresque' type deal. When this happens, I'd hope for a higher allocation in the gong as it's also a Venues NSW owned facility.

Honestly though, I'd listen keenly and with an open mind to suggestions from a new board and CEO. It's the way in which that's structured that will define the future direction of the club and home game allocations should reflect that direction.