Suburbanomics: Why NRL clubs can't afford to return to suburban grounds

[saintjeff]

RE , Lafai
Kogarah has had money put in into it.
Belmore was run down , it was out of date, remember when we played at anz ., playing at home is an advantage, the dogs should know last time they got dubious calls their way .Ask any dragons fan where we like to play a ghost town at Anz or Kogarah

 

[Slippery Morris]

Playing at Belmore was huge advantage for the Sharks...

The poor attacking Dragins have scored 88 pts in their last 2 games at Kogarah so personally I hope they play as many games as they can at Kogarah . Maybe schedule all home games with Sydney clubs at Kogarah / WIN and out of town teams at ANZ.

 

[Slippery Morris]

Right game right venue so Dragons v Bulldogs and Dragons v Roosters SHOULD have been at Kogarah as that is THE RIGHT VENUE for those games............

 

[The Nick]

Is it a fair call to say that if you don't regularly attend Dragons home games then you probably aren't entitled to an opinion on this subject?

 

[saints4me]

I love Kogarah (it's where I have my yearly silver membership package) but we could only manage 10,000 there last Sunday??? It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. We had to win & win well so the interest was there. We played an out of town team so there was always going to be plenty of room for Dragons fans to turn up. The northern end is always basically empty & it was. So where were all of you so-called fans who push the suburban ground argument?
Hate to say it but it's becoming hard to argue against Homebush & Dousty's Right game Right venue argument with these facts. Yes we were there on Sunday & we have a two hour round trip drive to get to Kogarah.

 

[Willow]

I'm fine with 2 games a year at Belmore

Good for you. Maybe you should start a new thread about it.

 

[Slippery Morris]

Not in this group. Start a thread in the Dogs forum. See how it goes....

 

[Willow]

Should be entitled, "I don't give a stuff about Belmore..." Followed by multiple emoticons.

 

[to_ddeath]

I love Kogarah (it's where I have my yearly silver membership package) but we could only manage 10,000 there last Sunday??? It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. We had to win & win well so the interest was there. We played an out of town team so there was always going to be plenty of room for Dragons fans to turn up. The northern end is always basically empty & it was. So where were all of you so-called fans who push the suburban ground argument?
Hate to say it but it's becoming hard to argue against Homebush & Dousty's Right game Right venue argument with these facts. Yes we were there on Sunday & we have a two hour round trip drive to get to Kogarah.

Fickle Sydney fans don't show up in droves for teams that lose 7 in a row versus teams that are spoon contenders themselves. How hard is it for you to comprehend the reasons?
ya not "tru supportaz"

T.

 

[Willow]

I love Kogarah (it's where I have my yearly silver membership package) but we could only manage 10,000 there last Sunday???

To put it in perspective, the average attendance for last round was down on previous weeks. But Kogarah last Sunday still had a higher crowd than the Tigers vs Roosters game at Homebush the week before, but I don't recall anyone mentioning 10K being a poor crowd then. With all the promotion and free tickets, Homebush should have huge crowds every round, but they don't.

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. We had to win & win well so the interest was there.

True, but we had also had a 7 consecutive losses. As for interest, did you see any local promotion? It still amazes me the Leagues Club don't put up signage out front to promote the game. Countless thousands of cars going up and down the Princes Hwy every day and the Club wants to them know they have Jazz and pokies on every Sunday.

Imagine if the NRL Media gave Kogarah the same promotion they give to Homebush, the SFS or the SCG. But failing that, I don't think it's asking too much to get the Club to promote the next fixture over the road.

We played an out of town team so there was always going to be plenty of room for Dragons fans to turn up.

In theory at least, having an out of town team means less attendance. Poor old Wests Tigers had only 7,000 last weekend against the Storm. We do better than that at Kogarah when the out-of-towners arrived unannounced.

The northern end is always basically empty & it was.

The northern end is always the last section to fill, and a pretty good gauge of the crowd numbers. I said about 10K when I looked around last Sunday.

So where were all of you so-called fans who push the suburban ground argument?

I think you'll find we were there. I agree more is always better but it was wishful thinking given the circumstances. But I don't think it is the fans' fault. Much better to come up with tangible solutions imo. Like, how about we give away free tickets and promote the game like they do at the neutral venues?

Hate to say it but it's becoming hard to argue against Homebush & Dousty's Right game Right venue argument with these facts. Yes we were there on Sunday & we have a two hour round trip drive to get to Kogarah.

Fact is, if Kogarah had a full house people would still be looking for reasons to take our games away.

I find the media claims are not that well supported when you start looking at the contradictions. I know I'm repeating myself, but why do these articles always have conflicting figures from their previous article? And why do these articles come out when we are playing at Kogarah? Rhetorical questions perhaps.

Good on you for being there. I trust you walked away feeling like a winner. We've not felt that since the previous time we played at Kogarah.

 

[hardbaby]

No offence HB, but footy is not about the fans. It's about MONEY!
One example being that we have sold out to the TV stations.

Yeap I get that but there is no money without fans and these fans come primarily from within their hinterlands. I'm not suggesting that the Dragons play all games at Kogarah nor the Tigers at Leicchardt. But I do think that the NRL can subsidise traditional heartland games a few times a year and ensure that the locals are supported and teams continue to reflect their communities. I live so remote that I only attend one game a year now. But it is important to me and I want it to be a home game surrounded by my fellow supporters.

 

[Mudgeedragon]

Long live Kogarah.

 

[St Tangles]

I know i'm old and being emotional maybe one to many bourbons but if we take a game a year to NZ where we win alot I wouldn't mind.

 

[Willow]

Long live Kogarah.

Hear, hear.