Crowd Watch 2011

[Timmah]

Crowd stats thread updated including todays games: http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/showthread.php?t=371571

 

[Evenflow]

The ANZ crowd was decent, there were probably only about 1000 Rooster fans there, there wasnt many of the at all. It was raining all morning, then again during the game but a crowd of over 23k is pretty good. I hope our game against the Dragons at the SCG is a nice day cause we will pack the place out.

How many mm's of rain have to fall before it becomes an excuse for an average crowd? It's becoming a more and more common theme these days around here that as soon as we have even a passing shower or two that it makes it acceptable to have sh*t crowds every week when it rains.

While i'm not saying it was a sh*t crowd today at ANZ it certainly wasn't a great crowd 2 Sydney teams with one of them being last years Grand Finalists and the other who are flying high on top of the ladder undefeated. It did rain a bit heavily at one stage there in the game but so what? We're playing a winter f**king sport so what do you expect? I also noticed it was pretty clear and even sunny for most of the game so it's hardly an excuse for just the ok crowd it got.

 

[docbrown]

Mr O'Farrell,

Can we please have a purpose built rectangular stadium somewhere in Western Sydney with a 55,000 capacity (35k lower, 20k upper)? Can it cater for the biggest matches of the Eels, Bulldogs, Tigers, Rabbitohs & Dragons? Can it have a retractable roof so people stop whinging about the rain? Can it be built on the axis of major transport lines so it can service North-West, South-West & Southern sydney? Can it have its own purpose built carpark for those crowds? Can it have a purpose built bus hub?

Cheers mate!

 

[adamkungl]

How many mm's of rain have to fall before it becomes an excuse for an average crowd? It's becoming a more and more common theme these days around here that as soon as we have even a passing shower or two that it makes it acceptable to have sh*t crowds every week when it rains.

While i'm not saying it was a sh*t crowd today at ANZ it certainly wasn't a great crowd 2 Sydney teams with one of them being last years Grand Finalists and the other who are flying high on top of the ladder undefeated. It did rain a bit heavily at one stage there in the game but so what? We're playing a winter f**king sport so what do you expect? I also noticed it was pretty clear and even sunny for most of the game so it's hardly an excuse for just the ok crowd it got.

tbh the home fans turned up in decent numbers. Most people can't be arsed going to away games if its raining. I didn't go because I was playing footy myself at the time...im glad i didnt :lol:

 

[Raiders_Premiers]

Mr O'Farrell,

Can we please have a purpose built rectangular stadium somewhere in Western Sydney with a 55,000 capacity (35k lower, 20k upper)? Can it cater for the biggest matches of the Eels, Bulldogs, Tigers, Rabbitohs & Dragons? Can it have a retractable roof so people stop whinging about the rain? Can it be built on the axis of major transport lines so it can service North-West, South-West & Southern sydney? Can it have its own purpose built carpark for those crowds? Can it have a purpose built bus hub?

Cheers mate!

we've gotta get rid of this suburban ground bullsh*t, it's time to move on

if Souths and the Bulldogs can let go and move on then so can other clubs

we're in 2011, not 1970 ffs

 

[adamkungl]

we've gotta get rid of this suburban ground bullsh*t, it's time to move on

if Souths and the Bulldogs can let go and move on then so can other clubs

we're in 2011, not 1970 ffs

What's the point of representing an area if you play out of a soulless cavern that takes over an hour to travel to. Souffs are f**ked, I would be furious if my club tried to pull that sh*t.

Suburban grounds ftw.

 

[Evenflow]

tbh the home fans turned up in decent numbers. Most people can't be arsed going to away games if its raining. I didn't go because I was playing footy myself at the time...im glad i didnt :lol:

At least you had a valid reason for not being there and you're obviously not adverse to getting a bit wet given you played in the rain. Unlike many Sydney RL fans who won't even watch their team at the first drop of water. Att least they have the options of staying undercover, wearing a raincoat or take an umbrella though i'm tipping that the majority of people either don't own the latter two or actuallydon't realize they keep you dry.

 

[Yosemite Sam]

we've gotta get rid of this suburban ground bullsh*t, it's time to move on

if Souths and the Bulldogs can let go and move on then so can other clubs

we're in 2011, not 1970 ffs

So you think the Manly game would have drawn a bigger crowd at the SFS.... your kidding yourself, it would have been sub 10K for sure.

People need to realise that forcing clubs to leave their home grounds will not work, progressive upgrading is the way to go. Suburban grounds will stay.

 

[Perth Red]

So you think the Manly game would have drawn a bigger crowd at the SFS.... your kidding yourself, it would have been sub 10K for sure.

People need to realise that forcing clubs to leave their home grounds will not work, progressive upgrading is the way to go. Suburban grounds will stay.

mediocre grounds mediocre crowds. People won't go to central modern stadia, people won't go to run down uncovered suburban grounds. Maybe people just don't want to go and watch NRL for some reason?

 

[adamkungl]

mediocre grounds mediocre crowds. People won't go to central modern stadia, people won't go to run down uncovered suburban grounds. Maybe people just don't want to go and watch NRL for some reason?

Tbh I know countless people who unless its a big rivalry game usually just watch at home or at the pub. And not casual fans either, at least one posts on here.

 

[Perth Red]

I honestly think alot of is down to really poor marketing at both club and NRL level. We know people go to "events" that are well hyped and seen as a must do thing. I get the feeling at the moment the NRL is just treading water and expecting that if we get members signed up we'll get crowds turn up. That may be the case when clubs have 20k+ ticketed members but until then the NRL needs to be really hyping the game and the clubs need to be getting fans excited about next weeks fixture. It seems we are only into round 3 and already fans ar apathetic about turning out to watch their team.

TV viewing figures would suggest that there are alot of people out there who like watching NRL, we just need to figure out how to get them to grounds. People who say crowds are up, if you look at the stats over the last 5 or 6 years they are quite consistent over the period of time with barely growth in line with population increase.

Things like decent stadiums where you don't get drenched and you don't have to pay $40+ for a seat with a decent view are a start.

 

[Raiders_Premiers]

What's the point of representing an area if you play out of a soulless cavern that takes over an hour to travel to. Souffs are f**ked, I would be furious if my club tried to pull that sh*t.

Suburban grounds ftw.

unfortunately I don't think soul, nostalgia and the like are going to see the game experience huge growth

suburban ground are a relic of the past. They make hardly any money, they rarely get upgraded, they turn off away/neutral supporters, they have inferior transport links, inferior facilities etc etc there are too many negatives in this day and age

It's no surprise to see the Bulldogs and Souths continuing to have some of the best crowds in Sydney, as well has having probably the most professional administrations in the league.. i'm sure that extra money helps

of course clubs should have their training and admin bases in their own areas, but it's seriously time to move on and reduce the focus on the old NSWRL Sydney districts tribalism crap

 

[Timmah]

The Bulldogs and Tigers are the highest drawing teams in Sydney. Souths have a fairweather fanbase, so do Parramatta.

 

[Timmah]

Let me preface my following remarks by saying the weather doesn't affect my attendance. Rain, hail, thunderstorm or shine, I'll be at my teams games whenever I possibly can.

However, the assertion from some hard-asses in here that "rain is not an excuse" is complete garbage. For hardcore fans sometimes yeah, you can put sh*t on them for chickening out. But the majority of fans are families, couples or small groups who, if the weather isn't great, might not want to put the effort in to go (particularly families - the organisational prowess it takes, not to mention the cost...).

It seems there's a select few in here who just find it easy to bash teams left and right for any possible excuse as to why fans don't turn up. Facts are, there will be reasons for people not to attend. That's just life. Judging the game, or certain teams based on that, is pretty ordinary.

Having said that, regardless of conditions, there are some teams who should do better. Penrith, on the back of a comfortable derby win - should've done better.

 

[Raiders_Premiers]

i'd say Souths are doing a pretty good job with a 17,000 crowd average last year despite not making the finals & having basically no success in recent years

not sure how that's fairweather

 

[adamkungl]

unfortunately I don't think soul, nostalgia and the like are going to see the game experience huge growth

suburban ground are a relic of the past. They make hardly any money, they rarely get upgraded, they turn off away/neutral supporters, they have inferior transport links, inferior facilities etc etc there are too many negatives in this day and age

It's no surprise to see the Bulldogs and Souths continuing to have some of the best crowds in Sydney, as well has having probably the most professional administrations in the league.. i'm sure that extra money helps

of course clubs should have their training and admin bases in their own areas, but it's seriously time to move on and reduce the focus on the old NSWRL Sydney districts tribalism crap

lol.

Anyway whatever. Expecting every match to suddenly be drawing 18,000 is not going to happen immediately. Hopefully there will be less <10k crowds this year than last year. In fact I fully expect there to be. Clubs like mine, who regularly drew 6-9k against out of town sides, shouldn't be doing that this year considering we have nearly 10,000 members now compared to 6000 last year.

In summary - Rome wasn't built in a day. The fans like suburban stadiums, look at the uproar from Dragons fans every time a game is taken away from Kogarah, look at their response to playing at ANZ a few years ago. It was sh*t. Why would you take away something that your paying customers obviously want?

 

[CC_Roosters]

I honestly think alot of is down to really poor marketing at both club and NRL level. We know people go to "events" that are well hyped and seen as a must do thing. I get the feeling at the moment the NRL is just treading water and expecting that if we get members signed up we'll get crowds turn up. That may be the case when clubs have 20k+ ticketed members but until then the NRL needs to be really hyping the game and the clubs need to be getting fans excited about next weeks fixture. It seems we are only into round 3 and already fans ar apathetic about turning out to watch their team.

TV viewing figures would suggest that there are alot of people out there who like watching NRL, we just need to figure out how to get them to grounds. People who say crowds are up, if you look at the stats over the last 5 or 6 years they are quite consistent over the period of time with barely growth in line with population increase.

Things like decent stadiums where you don't get drenched and you don't have to pay $40+ for a seat with a decent view are a start.

If the new tv deal provides an increase in surplus cash, marketing games should be a priority. Look at the swans, they take DT and SMH adds, tv adverts for individual games and average 30k in a city largley disconnected from Australian rules. Treat the games like an event and more people would/should/could rock up. Clubs should saturate the local media with adverts in radio, papers, leaflets. Most importantly push ticket offers.

Also maybe a campaign like "get to the game" by the NRL similar to the memberhsip campaigns would be a good idea.

 

[adamkungl]

Out of interest, I wonder how much it would cost to attach some sort of shelter/roof thingy to the grandstands at suburban grounds? Obviously I have no idea of the feasibility of such an idea from an engineering point of view.

 

[Timmah]

i'd say Souths are doing a pretty good job with a 17,000 crowd average last year despite not making the finals & having basically no success in recent years

not sure how that's fairweather

WTF?

They have just under 20,000 members - the Bulldogs have only 13,500 from memory... yet the Bulldogs are averaging 25,000 and Souths 18,000 so far?

I know they've only had one home game but the 'Dogs consistently average more than Souths with only 60-70% odd of members in comparison.

Point being, there's plenty of Souths fans who simply don't bother turning up when their side is on the ropes.

 

[adamkungl]

Maybe more Souths fans would turn up if they played at that big stadium 5 minutes up the road from their central area...