Parramatta to NOT move Dragons blockbuster to Homebush

[Loudstrat]

And Hindy, you do understand that if Parra moved the game to ANZ they'd be out of pocket by $200k in compensation to the Parra Stadium trust, don't you?

 

[bartman]

TBH Im starting to get the sh*ts with this pressure to shift every game to ANZ that looks like a full house at a suburban ground. The Traitorgraph alledge that 30k will miss out. Give us some proof you twats - have we sold 60k tickets yet?

Me too. And with the way they report to decision to KEEP this game at it's nominated ground to which Members have pre-bought tickets as a "backflip" - real good logic there. :lol:

I reckon our best days are when suburban grounds are packed. Saints did it against the Sharks about 10 months ago. Wests getting 17k to Leichhardt is always fantastic. And a packed Parra stadium will have 1000 times the atmosphere of ANZ. I still maintain that if both grounds were full - Parra has the better atmosphere.

Besides, lets shout the News Ltd's hypocrisy. They are the ones reducing crowds by scheduling games on Monday and Saturday night. Sunday arvo at the footy is a rare pleasure - and that needs to be increased way before some twat journo and his dog Gaba start telling clubs where to play.

Good points, well made.

 

[bartman]

Hear, hear.

And good to see that hardly anyone here is demanding that Parra shift their home game.

I disagreed with the push to have the Dragons move their home semi last year, and I also disagreed with this push to see this home game moved within two weeks of kick off.

I really hope that we're done with that News Ltd obsession - one of the criticisms made by fans in surveys has been how there is no certainty in fixtures compared with other codes who publish a list of dates, times and grounds for games at the start of the season.

Bottom line, if you want a ticket, buy it early or get a membership/ST. That's a better result for the game than attempting to move an occasional match to ANZ on short notice.

 

[Perth Red]

Typical small club thinking.

 

[MsStorm]

Typical small club thinking.

Surely you didn't expect anything different PR?

 

[Tommy Anderson]

The Eels play a few at ANZ anyway? i dont understand why they cant swap the schedule and move a different game back to Parra Stadium?
Also who chooses what games to play at ANZ? You would think they wouldve already chose that one in the first place

 

[Wally TCPF]

i wonder if the NRL could set up some sort of "Blockbuster" ( i really hate that word) relationship with the SFS and ANZ stadium, where if the demand is big enough they will move games to those venues and do some deal about compensating the other grounds.

At the start of the year its hard to know what games will turn out as must watch events, but there needs to be some flexibility if the game demands it.

that being said after the way these 2 sides finished last season it was a bit short sighted not to schedule the match at ANZ to begin with!

 

[Twizzle]

Fan betrayal as blockbuster canned

Steve Gee From: The Daily Telegraph February 26, 2010 5:41PM
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Ground change ... Parramatta fans. Source: The Daily Telegraph

BOOM club Parramatta's bold bid to switch its round-one blockbuster with St George Illawarra to ANZ Stadium has been torpedoed by the club's Stadium Trust.

And it has robbed 30,000 fans the chance to attend the game, many of whom have flooded online forums to vent their outrage.

Eels CEO Paul Osborne wanted to switch the clash from Parramatta Stadium in a bid to prevent thousands of fans being locked out of the season opener. The decision has upset club legend Ray Price who said: "That oval was built because of the Eels - not anything else," he said. "No one else hires [Parramatta Stadium].

"What happens if we say, 'Hey we will take all our games to ANZ Stadium'. It frustrates me."

The switch had the support of NRL boss David Gallop, but Osborne was forced to concede his club had failed to reach an agreement with Parramatta Stadium officials. "The board has listened to our members and fans and decided to play our first match of the NRL season at Parramatta Stadium," Osborne said.

"The cost was too great with the club unable to break its 10-match-a-year agreement with the Parramatta Stadium Trust."

Osborne clearly wasn't listening to fans from leagueunlimited.com, who scolded the decision.

"20,000 capacity just doesn't cut it in this day and age. I can see why some people would be upset about Ossie moving the game but I just thought it was great a initiative to earn some money for Parra and maybe even win over a few new fans," Hineyrulz wrote on the website. "So [the Stadium Trust] get most of their revenue from us [the fans] but they find a way to screw the club ... and 20,000 people from watching the game?"

Moving the match would have cost the Eels $200,000 in compensation and stadium hire.

But fan Fisheel argued: "I assume costing us $200k to move the match doesn't factor in how much we'd have made from the game?

"Osborne was talking up the move [big time] from a good of the game perspective rather than a financial one, unless the board stepped in and said no?"

Osborne was critical of the inflexibility of the Eels' arrangement with the Stadium Trust.

"Clearly the current arrangement with Parramatta Stadium is onerous and it is difficult to make decisions like this that could benefit the club and its fans," he said.

Gallop said it was not up to the NRL to assist in compensation.

"The clubs need to have flexibility in their hiring arrangements and most do have flexible arrangements these days," Gallop said.

With a capacity of just 21,000 at Parramatta Stadium, the Eels are certain to be forced to turn back thousands of fans for a match that would have drawn up to 50,000, and will cost the NRL a chance to break its 185,051 record for opening-round attendance set in 2007.


http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ramatta-backflip/story-e6frexnr-1225834886135

 

[Glenn]

Typical small club thinking.

Why, because they didn't want to pay $200k compensation to the Stadium trust?

 

[_snafu_]

I have no problem with the game being played at Parra Stadium over ANZ. ANZ is crap for watching football and I'd rather watch a game at a packed Parra stadium - better atmosphere.

 

[clarency]

The only thing worse then not taking a step forward is looking as though you're about to step forward and then stopping.

 

[westie]

I have no problem with the game being played at Parra Stadium over ANZ. ANZ is crap for watching football and I'd rather watch a game at a packed Parra stadium - better atmosphere.

Bollocks. Anything over 30k at ANZ is excellent. Take a big Sydney derby like this, add twice the crowd you'd have at Parra and it's just a no-contest.

 

[Glenn]

The only thing worse then not taking a step forward is looking as though you're about to step forward and then stopping.

A $200k penalty would be sufficient reason to stop

 

[Springs]

Alright this is an okay decision because I doubt the game would have got more than 30,000, but seriously how selfish can some people be if they would rather rob 30,000 people of the opportunity and the experience of watching the first game of the year between the Eels and Dragons? It would have a great atmosphere anywhere, don't be so selfish as to say 'you 30,000 people can't see this game because I want to 'soak up the atmosphere''.

Selfish fools.

There Loudstrat, proof that I didn't thibk there would be 50,000 at the ground! Why take me out of context for? Why not quote the whole post?
Sounds like a Daily Telegraph reporter...

And if there were an extra 10,000 wanting tickets than it is an issue. 10,000 people miss out because Loudstrat wants his own comfy seat at Parramatta! One minute we want big crowds to compete with the NRL (and Brisbane), which means bigger crowd averages, better recognition. But then... some annoying selfish internet fans want the game at Parramatta, so it can be sold ou for ONE game, and have a great atmosphere for ONE game, which will soon be forgotten with all the other games. But yet, this game did have a chance of breaking the 41,000 the Bulldogs got last year, which would have been seen by a lot more people and earned full recognition it deserved, but oh well... one more 20K crowd for the NRL.

 

[Lambretta]

How moronic are the Parramatta Stadium Trust wanting to enforce a fine on Parramatta for trying to be more successful and trying to raise both the profile of the game and the revenue of the very club that usually hires their facility.

Sometimes it's as if League wants to remain stuck in the small time in many ways.

Parramatta should have a clause in the contract with their own stadium trust which allows them to switch games to Homebush and then work out compensation with the trust based upon the crowd which actually attends Homebush.

Parramatta could still hold the game at Homebush, but the danger to the club is if only say 30,000 (or less) rock up

Lets base 10,000 additional ticket sales at $15 per ticket average price, that's $150,000 - purportedly the exact cost to Parramatta to leave Parra Stadium for this game.

So 10,000 extra is pretty much break even. Clubs do get some form of compensation for playing at home though dont they? So surely Parramatta can punt on the 10,000 extra coming and essentially breaking even?

If they get 40,000 or even 50,000 then they're miles ahead.

 

[Lambretta]

Bollocks. Anything over 30k at ANZ is excellent. Take a big Sydney derby like this, add twice the crowd you'd have at Parra and it's just a no-contest.

Well, possibly.

A 30,000 crowd at ANZ is like a 15,000 crowd at the SFS. OK, but not brilliant.

40,000 plus and it really gets going.

 

[Timmah]

It's been mentioned briefly before and should be again - Round 6 Parramatta v South Sydney is scheduled for ANZ Stadium. The Eels, Parra Stad Trust and ANZ should all sit down and nut out some sort of deal - swap the two. Parra v Souths didn't break any crowd records last year so I don't see the harm in swapping it.

To add to it - it will be Hindmarsh's 266th NRL match v Souths in R6. If the club has the opportunity to hold that at Parramatta instead, shouldn't they be jumping at it?

 

[adamkungl]

Glad they didn't move it. Doubt the crowd will be anything too epic anyway, 25-30k

 

[Willow]

To add to it - it will be Hindmarsh's 266th NRL match v Souths in R6. If the club has the opportunity to hold that at Parramatta instead, shouldn't they be jumping at it?

Just for us people up the back, what is the significance of 266th?

 

[beave]

Most for parra maybe???