Stormerz said:
Have you been reading anything i've posted? I said IF Melbourne had another team then it'd be more likely for the Storm to have more fans for home games.
Mere speculation I'm afraid, and goes against most logic. Rugby League needs to be promoted better, thereby increasing fan support and ratings. This leads to the possibility of a second team (far far down the track)...but not the other way around.
Unlike baseball, if you build it does not mean they will come (unless its a new stadium but dont get me started as this looks like it never will happen) - creating a second league team will simply dilute already existing fan support. New fans may be attracted to a new franchise, but why? Its not like SE QLD, where a number of people dislike the Broncos or can't get to their games, therefore enabling a second team (Titans) to have a market share established.
First and foremost, the Storm and the NRL need to concentrate on steadily cultivating a league base - promotion, performance and development will be the keys to success - not creating a second team.
If that logic was true - then we would have a magical device, where all we do is add teams, and we increase fans, thereby increasing revenues. Sadly, we know this is not true.
I agree with the posts however which compare the Storm's crowd numbers with those of more traditional sydney teams. No doubt crowds could be bigger (just look at the Victory) - but this is not just a Storm problem - its an NRL wide problem. We have poor crowds in Canberra, the Roosters, Souths, Eels, etc etc. Look at the tv, and you'll notice many empty seats (and viewing any game at Telstra apart from Origin or the GF is just plain embarassing). We should be comparable with AFL crowds - especially in Sydney. If it weren't for QLD supporters, NRL would be in big trouble I feel.
The NRL need to look at increasing crowd numbers and make it their number one priority. Focusing on highlighting memberships is a start, but it will take much more than that.
