The Souths fans seem to be revolting against ANZ stadium.Since winning the title in 2014 their home crowds have been in decline.
Maybe they should try to return to Redfern oval ( I know Clover Moore stopped that idea last time).
Or they should try a smaller venue closer to their fan base..Maybe ES Marks oval could be revamped to host about 15000 fans..
Surely Russell Crowe could bank roll with the help of a local council and state government could build a boutique oval somewhere in the heart of bunnie territory..
I think it's time to bring Souths home to the fans.. I know they get money to play at ANZ stadium but the fans have footed with their feet and won't show up..
Appears your issue is looking at an ANZ stadium which can look empty when the crowd is less than 30000. Other than that you have no facts and or show no real understanding
Couple of points
1) check out the NRL crowd figures for Round 1.
There were twice as many fans to see Souths versus
Bulldogs and Saints playing at their suburban crowds.
2) Souths had the highest crowd for all NSW team home ground games.
only the Cowboy home game had a higher crowd , 574 more.
3) Sydney did have a wet weekend which would have affected crowds for all games.
4) Friday night frankly is a stinker for drawing crowds to travel especially to ANZ , as fans who drive have to deal with friday night peak traffic . I am Souths fan and hesitate to travel to ANZ on friday ( even with a ANZ Gold pass and paid paid parking) and i would have a bigger issue to travel to Alliance on a friday.
5) Like me , many , many Souths fans do not live in the Souths sydney heartland . Proportionaly i could believe more Souths fans live out of the Souths heartland verus sydney clubs like Manly , Sharks , Eels , Panthers and Roosters.
6) Souths are one of the few NRL clubs who makes a profit or close to break even each year. One reason for that is the deal with ANZ , where Souths are guaranteed $100k for each game played there , regardless of crowd size and Souths take a share of gate after a crowd clip level . In short playing at ANZ is a smart business decision , which many Souths fans support (not all of course).
So when you saying Souths fans have footed for their feet , clearly you need to do more homework before you make outlandish statements given simple facts.
Also because of the TV fan base , which must like to watch Souths games , the NRL has slotted Souths for more friday night games in 2017. So if you watch any more Souths games this year on a friday at ANZ , remember the above .
ROUND ONE CROWDS:
Cronulla v Brisbane at Southern Cross Group: 11,493
Canterbury v Melbourne at Belmore: 8,712
South Sydney v Wests Tigers at ANZ: 16,976
St George Illawarra v Penrith at UOW Jubilee Oval 7,283
North Queensland v Canberra at 1300SMILES 17,548
Gold Coast v Sydney Roosters at Cbus Super: 13,933
Warriors v Newcastle at Mt Smart: 13,712
Manly v Parramatta at Lottoland: 11,318
