The reasons for low Sydney crowds - ideas and solutions?

[mark123]

My point number 3 accounts for 70% of the nrls problems in sydney....too many games, not enough attending fans over the year.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

I get it , you have moved from Sydney to QLD.
Makes a whole lot of sense.:lol:

Born and bred Queenslander mate.

Think about it, there's no chance we'll ever get the GF but give us a few finals games and a semi at LP and it would be awesome.

 

[mark123]

I was excited about stgeorge Illawarra and wests tigers, because it got 2 teams and moved them AWAY from sydney - helping them AND helping all other sydney nrl teams in the process.

 

[TheBourbonBeast]

Don't ban alcohol - make it cheaper.

Don't be ashamed of the yobbo - embrace him!! The yobbo is the true fan. The drunken yobbo is the true beating heart of this game.

 

[ShineDog]

Don't ban alcohol - make it cheaper.

Don't be ashamed of the yobbo - embrace him!! The yobbo is the true fan. The drunken yobbo is the true beating heart of this game.

This coming straight from the mouth of Australia's biggest and proudest yobbo.
And..you are a Broncos fan....explains alot.:lol:

 

[brendothejet]

I was excited about stgeorge Illawarra and wests tigers, because it got 2 teams and moved them AWAY from sydney - helping them AND helping all other sydney nrl teams in the process.

Do you mean for the first round?

I don't think it helps the dudley teams looking to rebuild by playing them off whilst the glamour teams like saints run around another state.

anyway, people just hate sydney on this forum. Im over it.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

Do you mean for the first round?

I don't think it helps the dudley teams looking to rebuild by playing them off whilst the glamour teams like saints run around another state.

anyway, people just hate sydney on this forum. Im over it.

This forum is something like 75% Sydneysiders...

 

[McLovin]

The solution lies in the price of meat pies...

 

[Rockin Ronny]

Let's see.

1. Game is owned by an orgnisation that wants people sitting at home watching TV, not going to the game.
2. It costs a family a small fortune to go to the football - and with NSW transport, 8 hours to get home.
3. Gower, Mason etc don't really give you the incentive to put extra effort in - plus bogans at the game.
4. Defrauding an establishment club (continuing) and watching it die is a brilliant way to lose tens of thousands of fans in North Sydney and the Central Coast. It's time this crime was reversed.
5. Listening to egos bitching at each other all day - Gould, Wilson, Weidler etc - means individuals are bigger than the game.

Hinestly, the game is structured to rip money off people and give little back - instead overpaying a bunch of drunken bludgers who embarrass any decent family person.

 

[Ari Gold]

Cronulla need to be relocated to the CC.

And i'm not basing that on this weekend's crowd. The club has very little potential to expand and grow.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

Cronulla need to be relocated to the CC.

And i'm not basing that on this weekend's crowd. The club has very little potential to expand and grow.

Can someone explain to me how the AFL goes about relocating teams? Does everything up and move to the new location or do some things stay behind to link the club to the old area?

 

[petetheileet]

Cronulla need to be relocated to the CC.

And i'm not basing that on this weekend's crowd. The club has very little potential to expand and grow.

I think uv pin pointed the problem

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

Its not originally my thought, but I heard this on the radio last week and saw a lot of merit to it.

Too many night games.

I don't know where there are stats to confirm or deny this, but after hearing the pro's & cons I believe that this may be adversely affecting Sydney Crowds.

As any league fan in Sydney knows, the weekend round of league used to be one Saturday arvo game, then the rest played Sunday arvo. So your tradition was to go to watch your side play on the hill in the arvo sun - was a family day out.

Cronulla (as I recall) were the first side to experiment with Saturday night fixtures, which went quite well. And fast forward to present day, the Super Saturday is a huge event for Fox, a huge stakeholder in RL.

Of the 8 games in round 1, only two were sheduled for "day" matches, and both were outside Sydney. Indeed for the rest of this season this will be the case (2 out of 8 day matches), with some of these in Sydney from time to time.

Arvo matches are much more "family-friendly". No need for the kids to stay out late, and less of a presence of alcohol. I love my night footy, I reckon the atmosphere is far greater than day games, but one of the reasons for this is the booze factor. I'm no wowser, but if I had kids I'd also be hesitant to take them to the game at night, the language flying around can be very colourful indeed.

The caller who spoke of this on talkback was commenting on his experiences and basically said that he wouldn't take his kids to night footy games. He would only take them if their side was playing during the day, and when you consider the 2/8 day games per season - his club may only play 1-2 day games in Sydney all year. I'm sure he's not the only one.

So who's the big winner out of this? Well Fox do very well, out of it. They pay many of the NRL's bills with their agreement and Super Saturday - and impending Monday Night Football are guaranteed ratings winners. The other winner....

The Swans.

Regularly play Sunday afternoon games, minimum one per month. Always draw well. Full of families at the game. Impressionable young kids, many of whom will grow up and play sport. So what will they play..........

Ratings have always been a strong point of Rugby League, but I now see that there could be a looming dark cloud on the horizon if we don't have more league games played during the daytime in Sydney. Yes, crowd figures are up from the days of your saturday & sunday arvo games in Sydney. But so too is the competition from other sports, AFL in particular, targetted at families. Indeed the callers sons were hassling their dad to take them to a swans game, which he was horrified at.

A family who has Fox can watch their side run around on a saturday night in the comfort of their living room without the pissheads, dickheads carrying on, and the kids can be in bed at a reasonable hour. With more an more night games in the season this will be increasingly the case. When there are no day games in Sydney on a given weekend, and the Swans are playing on Sunday arvo at the SCG, you'll find their crowds are pretty damn big.

I fear that this may become the new tradition for the next generation.

 

[petetheileet]

well said...we need Saturday afternoon games.....i mean look at the weather on sun arvo at suncorp...as if they aren't gna fill the place with a brand new team playin

 

[Winston Smith]

A few things I think are disincentives to go to a footy game are:

1. night games - playing on Saturday night here in Canberra is insane (Foxtel vs sitting in the cold isn't a hard choice (might be more inclined to go to watch the Raiders if you could predict in advance whether the good Raiders or the sh*t Raiders were going to be playing that week)
2. being ripped off for sh*tty food, carparking etc - I never enjoy being ripped off, and know that I will be if I want to eat or drink anything at the footy
3. too many bogan idiots - its embarassing to hear some of the sh*t some fans come out with ... too many come across like Cletus the slack jawed yokel. Having some braindead idiot sitting behind you yelling and swearing the whole game wears pretty thin after about the first minute or two.
4. drunks - don't serve alcohol at games ...save it for the after match at the club. If you can't go a couple of hours (alright 4-5 hours if you go to the lower grades) without drinking piss, you need help.
5. TV coverage - Channel 9 seems to go out of its way to cater to the bogan market. Crap like the footy show, the commentary style and other stuff can only be possibly aimed at bogans.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

well said...we need Saturday afternoon games.....i mean look at the weather on sun arvo at suncorp...as if they aren't gna fill the place with a brand new team playin

We didn't. :sarcasm:

 

[Ziggy the God]

Its not originally my thought, but I heard this on the radio last week and saw a lot of merit to it.

Too many night games.

I don't know where there are stats to confirm or deny this, but after hearing the pro's & cons I believe that this may be adversely affecting Sydney Crowds.

As any league fan in Sydney knows, the weekend round of league used to be one Saturday arvo game, then the rest played Sunday arvo. So your tradition was to go to watch your side play on the hill in the arvo sun - was a family day out.

Cronulla (as I recall) were the first side to experiment with Saturday night fixtures, which went quite well. And fast forward to present day, the Super Saturday is a huge event for Fox, a huge stakeholder in RL.

Of the 8 games in round 1, only two were sheduled for "day" matches, and both were outside Sydney. Indeed for the rest of this season this will be the case (2 out of 8 day matches), with some of these in Sydney from time to time.

Arvo matches are much more "family-friendly". No need for the kids to stay out late, and less of a presence of alcohol. I love my night footy, I reckon the atmosphere is far greater than day games, but one of the reasons for this is the booze factor. I'm no wowser, but if I had kids I'd also be hesitant to take them to the game at night, the language flying around can be very colourful indeed.

The caller who spoke of this on talkback was commenting on his experiences and basically said that he wouldn't take his kids to night footy games. He would only take them if their side was playing during the day, and when you consider the 2/8 day games per season - his club may only play 1-2 day games in Sydney all year. I'm sure he's not the only one.

So who's the big winner out of this? Well Fox do very well, out of it. They pay many of the NRL's bills with their agreement and Super Saturday - and impending Monday Night Football are guaranteed ratings winners. The other winner....

The Swans.

Regularly play Sunday afternoon games, minimum one per month. Always draw well. Full of families at the game. Impressionable young kids, many of whom will grow up and play sport. So what will they play..........

Ratings have always been a strong point of Rugby League, but I now see that there could be a looming dark cloud on the horizon if we don't have more league games played during the daytime in Sydney. Yes, crowd figures are up from the days of your saturday & sunday arvo games in Sydney. But so too is the competition from other sports, AFL in particular, targetted at families. Indeed the callers sons were hassling their dad to take them to a swans game, which he was horrified at.

A family who has Fox can watch their side run around on a saturday night in the comfort of their living room without the pissheads, dickheads carrying on, and the kids can be in bed at a reasonable hour. With more an more night games in the season this will be increasingly the case. When there are no day games in Sydney on a given weekend, and the Swans are playing on Sunday arvo at the SCG, you'll find their crowds are pretty damn big.

I fear that this may become the new tradition for the next generation.

Close the thread, you have absolutely nailed it.

Ever tried taking kids to a night game in Sydney, then battle back through traffic to get home? Impossible. When comparing it to AFL, in Melbourne they play all of their games out of 2 stadiums next to each other, with all transport links passing the joint. Add on the fact that you can't plan more than 5-6 weeks out.

What we need is a return to a match played at the SFS every Sunday afternoon. It will always be between the Sydney teams, and would be the match of the day (ie delay on Fox, so that people go to the match). Kickoff at 2pm, giving enough time to get home for the families. Had a look at home many families go to Swans games.

If you want to take it further, play a double header every Saturday night at Telstra. Great value, an event every week.People will know that there is always a game on at this location on this day, and they will be more likely to come.

Whilst we are talking AFL, the kids should be allowed to run on the ground after day games. They do it in their game, why not ours? Don't give me the insurance line, because they have got around it somehow.

 

[petetheileet]

A few things I think are disincentives to go to a footy game are:

1. night games - playing on Saturday night here in Canberra is insane (Foxtel vs sitting in the cold isn't a hard choice (might be more inclined to go to watch the Raiders if you could predict in advance whether the good Raiders or the sh*t Raiders were going to be playing that week)
2. being ripped off for sh*tty food, carparking etc - I never enjoy being ripped off, and know that I will be if I want to eat or drink anything at the footy
3. too many bogan idiots - its embarassing to hear some of the sh*t some fans come out with ... too many come across like Cletus the slack jawed yokel. Having some braindead idiot sitting behind you yelling and swearing the whole game wears pretty thin after about the first minute or two.
4. drunks - don't serve alcohol at games ...save it for the after match at the club. If you can't go a couple of hours (alright 4-5 hours if you go to the lower grades) without drinking piss, you need help.
5. TV coverage - Channel 9 seems to go out of its way to cater to the bogan market. Crap like the footy show, the commentary style and other stuff can only be possibly aimed at bogans.

I generally agree with you, but u cant take that away i mean its one of the best things in the world to sit in the sun on kogarah hill with a beer in your hand and a hot dog in the other, and i mean how bad are the drunks anyway....i never really see too many people smashed, they gta b pretty soft to get sh*t faced in 4 hours

 

[Kurt Angle]

What is it with the St. George knobs thinking everything relates to "the hill at kogarah"?

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

What we need is a return to a match played at the SFS every Sunday afternoon. It will always be between the Sydney teams, and would be the match of the day (ie delay on Fox, so that people go to the match). Kickoff at 2pm, giving enough time to get home for the families.

That idea's got plenty of merit. Things necessary for consideration would be;

(i) Public transport to the game. Such a game will no doubt include "outer" Sydney teams. Say for instance The Dragons & Bulldogs. A sunday arvo game between these clubs would draw a huge gate if public transport was vastly improved.

Promote the game where Public Transport is free with ticket price (Bus & Train). Also need a direct Bus Lane route from Central to the SFS, with plenty of buses of course. The current hike through Surry Hills is horrible

(ii) Starting Time. 2pm is good, an earlier start allows fans to get home before dark. 1pm could be even better here.

(iii) Each Sydney team would need to give up a regular season home game (at least one). I don't buy the "losing home advantage" theory, if your teams good enough they should win anywhere. The only disadvantage may be for season-ticket holders. However they should get entry as if it were at their home ground. And with public transport systems set up as in (i), there would be more incentive for travel.

I'd much rather a Sunday Arvo SFS League game become the tradition of footy fans than the AFL alternative.