They wouldn't get any more anywhere else in Sydney or if the ground didn't have a hill. The question is is it worth spending the millions of dollars to get rid of a hill if a team is only getting 8,000 anyway?
basically.
if the game was good, it would attract the crowds. rugby league is a divisive game......loved by those who revel in toughness, loathed by others who believe the human race has evolved from raw aggression. and even those like me who enjoy the sport tune out over a long tedious season of endless games.
fact is, the administrators of rugby league have not made crowd attendance the major focus of growth, otherwise, there would be many more day games scheduled over the course of the season. rugby league is very much a night game based on quantity, suited for a TV audience and TV dollars. in turn, the admin has made it too easy for folks to take the easy option and stay home.
the major sports around the world ensure that they protect crowd numbers. NFL has coverage black outs, EPL plays most games in a cold winter during the day. These Leagues regularly sell out stadiums which are bigger than the average NRL venue, and where ticket and membership prices are higher than the average NRL ticket/membership price.
we are a country of 25m where the sport is followed in a population zone of half that number, and then half it again for the folks in that region who actually give a shit and half it again for people who actively follow.
30-40k crowds week-on-week is a tough gig to maintain even with new whizzbag stadiums. but there is this ridiculous mentality in this country propagated by fools such as beetroot head that if just one game is fills a stadium to capacity, then it should be moved/new stadium built.
