My $0.02...
If you take much of what has been reported in the media, stated by the club about the need to get the development approved/crowds up, even what Newman has posted, it seems unlikely that the club will exist in its current shape beyond the next 12 months.
If it were to happen, the biggest sin I see is not the inability to win a Premiership in nearly 50 years of existence, but rather, the inability to keep an entity afloat when you exist in an area that prides itself on its small business environment.
The Shire is unique in that is it has 1 professional sporting body representing itself in a national league. Unlike teams like Sydney FC, NSW Blues etc. which arguably target the greater Sydney metro and Western Sydney catchments, the Sutherland Shire is relatively secluded, the main sporting threat in terms of $ coming from St George, in the NRL at least. The existence of hundreds of thriving small businesses (up until the last 18 months) makes it hard to stomach that the team could fail, and raises the question of whether the club has done the right thing by these businesses. I say this on the basis of experience with family and friends who are sponsors who I regularly go to the games with, and who tell me they aren't exactly thrilled with what they receive from the club.
Spider, I think the point Newmz might be trying to make is that should the development get off the ground, it could be years until the club sees the first dollar of income from it. If the finances are as dire as you state, how could the club possibly survive now in the knowledge that potentially it could be sometime before the dollars start to roll in when the money is seemingly needed immediately? And how can they organise backers/credit in such worrying economic times when they can't even maximise their loans for liquidity purposes?
And now, the game day experience:
Look at the crowd averages. In 1999 it was a shade under 14,000 per match. 2001 slightly lower, but well over 13,000. 2003 just under 13,000. 2006 it was 12,500. 2008 it was over 13,000 and presently in 2009 it is just over 10,000.
My first gripe with those figures is that they aren't correct. They're fudged in the order of 1,000 patrons and I say that on the basis of it being almost common knowledge that clubs do it, and also the 'official' figure for the Raiders home game of 8,500 - as a spectator at the match it looked 6,000 MAXIMUM - the stands were empty, and the concourse seating was almost non existent.
We're looking at pretty concerning falls in patronage there. You're losing roughly ~2,000 per match from 1999 to now. The question has to be - why? And it is the quality of the game day experience. The standard of football between 1999-2009 hasn't exactly been inspiring, save for a few enjoyable seasons it has been pretty poor in all honesty.
I can't speak for the people who aren't going to every game, but I sympathise with the people here who are saying they are having second thoughts about renewing season seats. I used to walk over broken glass to get to Sharks games and rarely missed home or away matches, but the last 3 years it seems the aura of a home game has really died. The excitement isn't there. If it was game day at Shark Park and you were in the Shire, you use to fuggen know it as the atmosphere was infectious. Flags everywhere, punters in Sharks jerseys, it was just an exciting place to be and it made you long to get to the ground.
But it seems now that the club just offers us nothing. Heavy handed and plain rude security, unfriendly staff, the axeing of the much loved preso (Ricky stated his dislike of this, but save for the odd pisspot I never witnessed anything distasteful except for the last game of Raper and a good mate of mine and former poster known to a few of the old hats here!) - the club used to be packed til early in the morning and people were having a good time and no doubt spending money (probably not enough as needed now, but spending money regardless). Now, as a young bloke I can attest, that the club seems like an absolute den post game and so it is generally the norm to just vacate the club and kick on.
My point in all this - the atmosphere of the ground and the club has been sucked dry by this current administration. I can't give you an exact reason, but it certainly is the case as it just doesn't feel like it used to. I miss the old scoreboard, the Beer Hill beer tent, and the shoulder to shoulder crowds up there, the heckling of the opposition, the odd drunken plea to a cheerleader, the skydiver, the post game fireworks - all the stuff that made a Sharks game unique and special in the past. It has all changed alot in my opinion.
Add to that, I don't think locals particularly like being told by a blow in like Zappia that they're fickle and they need to get their arses to the ground, when it is in his hands to sell the club as good option for punters on the weekend. Plain and simple - in its current format, it isn't. I'm sure they have seperate licensing due to the nature of the sport, but look at the SCG during test match cricket - open at 8AM for breakfast for punters, jazz bands in the morning to encourage people to get there early and spend dough. What exactly do the Sharks offer? They should have morning markets, athletics and horse riding/petting zoos for kids, kick arounds on the pitch, live bands all day and create a real, buzzing game day experience.
Oh to have Gowie back at the club. A friend of mine has been teaching his lovely daughter how to water ski at Gow's request on the Hacking all week, the bastard. You can't help but wonder what it would be like at the club now.
But the game is dying, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it as much as I used to. Too many storms in tea cups, too many backroom deals, and most notably, the failure of our club to run like a business make it hard to swallow (mostly being the soft touches on contracts, ie Nutley, Stapleton and now Fraser Anderson). I agree with Quigs - the greatest game of all just ain't the greatest game of all anymore. Too many fingers in the pie, too many smug wowser journers (never trust a person who refers to himself in the first person, Buzz). It is pretty sad now that to get enjoyment out of the game at a grass roots level now you have to watch the Illawarra League (which I have been doing recently).
I agree with Reefy too, politics will bury the club. With the composition of council now, I couldn't tell you how the development will go through, but you can't help but wonder how much easier it could have been if the club was more proactive. I mean, 10+ years in the making is a long bow to draw. Peter Costello never received enough accolades for the significance of his contribution to the club - whether the club used it properly is another issue (the new Southern Stand isn't too inspiring).
