Warriors ticket handouts - good or bad for RL?

[Misty Bee]

There has been a lot of negative press in Australia over the mass purchasing of tickets by Eric Watson to distribute to Sydney based Kiwis and Islanders. The AFL crowd are making mileage over their 70 000 attendance at Telstra for the Swans - Lions game, while League had to have a ticket giveaway. It DOES look embarrassing.

However, it isn't a giveaway at all. The tickets were paid for, and distributed. It's just a larger version of me buying tickets for a few mates, or the kids. It wasn't like the Super League days of people harassing Swans fans at Moore Park thrusting free Tri Series tickets in their faces!

IMHO, Watson's tactic is a wonderful one. It guarantees a big, vocal crowd, high in spiris (I am always happy to get a freebie, even if it's a bloody can of coke LOL).

However, to me it raises another point. Ticket prices.

Watson's actions prove that there is an untapped market of potentialLEague attendees who are kept out of the grounds due to inancial considerations. Face it, this IS the 'working man's game', yet I am appalled that a ticket for a club game in the Thornett Stand at Parramatta Stadium costs $25.00. years ago a game of footy was roughly the price of a movie ticket. Now it's double for a decent seat

The League might quite rightly point out that exhorbitent pricing for Origin tickets is justified by the crowds, but in semi finals, NOT to have close to capacity at the SFS is a bit of a waste.

It's simply a matter of balance. Drop the prices, sell more product, gain more income. If an SFS ticket costs, say, $25.00, and you get 20 000, then make the tickets $12.50 and you'll probably get a sellout!

In my business, I tried that philosophy recently. The increase in sales gave me a significant rise in turnover, hence a greater net income.

I am led to believe that AFL prices at suburban Melbourne grounds are cheaper than NRL grounds. So why not drop our prices, or even let people in for a token amount (say $2) behind the goalposts or whatever? Surely for a normal club game, that would be the go!

 

[ozbash]

the whinging coming from aussie about a team supporting its supporters lets me sleep better at night.

who cares if its good for the games image ? i gave up worrying about that when hoppa stuck his finger up half the players in the nrl,s arses..

it is very good for eric watson,, his generosity will be repaid ten fold next season.

it is very good for the warriors,, those 10,000 screamers last weekend were probably worth a point.

eric and mick watson, daniel anderson and peter leitch (the butcha) are fast becoming the new ed hillarys in nz..

even the all blacks are playing seconed fiddle.....

 

[supersoniceagle]

I think it is a great idea, and is excellent for the game

 

[SpaceMonkey]

The Warriors are the only profitable club in the game (note: getting propped up by a leagues club does NOT equal profitability) so Watson and co obviously know what they're doing. Take note of the crowds the Warriors will get next year, I guarrantee they'll be massive both home and away, especially with the Ericcson redevelopment.
The onhly change I'd like to see next year would be a way of rewarding those who turned up to games during the regular season, instead of passports, I'd like to see the freebies go to people presenting a ticket from a regular season game.

 

[Dean Moriarty]

The Warriors are the only profitable club in the game (note: getting propped up by a leagues club does NOT equal profitability) so Watson and co obviously know what they're doing. Take note of the crowds the Warriors will get next year, I guarrantee they'll be massive both home and away, especially with the Ericcson redevelopment.
The onhly change I'd like to see next year would be a way of rewarding those who turned up to games during the regular season, instead of passports, I'd like to see the freebies go to people presenting a ticket from a regular season game.

Mate, what do the Warriors do differently to be more profitable? I'm assuming running costs would be broadly similar, so how do they get so much more revenue?

 

[Southernsaint]

The Warriors are the only profitable club in the game (note: getting propped up by a leagues club does NOT equal profitability) so Watson and co obviously know what they're doing. Take note of the crowds the Warriors will get next year, I guarrantee they'll be massive both home and away, especially with the Ericcson redevelopment.
The onhly change I'd like to see next year would be a way of rewarding those who turned up to games during the regular season, instead of passports, I'd like to see the freebies go to people presenting a ticket from a regular season game.

Mate, what do the Warriors do differently to be more profitable? I'm assuming running costs would be broadly similar, so how do they get so much more revenue?

Wouldn't being owned & funded by Mr Watson's deep pockets be basically the same as being funded by grants from Leagues Clubs?? In both cases the tap can be turned off at the drop of a hat...

Cheers,
Ben S.

 

[Dean Moriarty]

Wouldn't being owned & funded by Mr Watson's deep pockets be basically the same as being funded by grants from Leagues Clubs?? In both cases the tap can be turned off at the drop of a hat...

Cheers,
Ben S.

If that's the difference, then you're dead right. Being supported by funds injections from your owner is not "profitable" in my book.

 

[wittyfan]

Eric Watson giving those tickets away is a choice idea.

 

[Stevo_G]

it is a great idea hopefully gets the interest of the kiwis over here so they attend regualar season games

 

[bayrep]

The Warriors are the only profitable club in the game (note: getting propped up by a leagues club does NOT equal profitability) so Watson and co obviously know what they're doing. Take note of the crowds the Warriors will get next year, I guarrantee they'll be massive both home and away, especially with the Ericcson redevelopment.
The onhly change I'd like to see next year would be a way of rewarding those who turned up to games during the regular season, instead of passports, I'd like to see the freebies go to people presenting a ticket from a regular season game.

Mate, what do the Warriors do differently to be more profitable? I'm assuming running costs would be broadly similar, so how do they get so much more revenue?

Wouldn't being owned & funded by Mr Watson's deep pockets be basically the same as being funded by grants from Leagues Clubs?? In both cases the tap can be turned off at the drop of a hat...

Cheers,
Ben S.

The club stands on its own feet. Watson doesn’t dip into his pockets to prop it up. My understanding is that he came in with a business model and stated that the game was no different from any other business and should be run that way, i.e. if you don’t have the money don’t spend it, reduce your overheads and stick to the budget. I also heard him state that privatising the club was a big move in helping reduce the interference that you get from some quarters. I had heard that it was the Broncos and the Warriors both privately owned that are running profits.

 

[Te Kaha]

The Warriors are the only profitable club in the game (note: getting propped up by a leagues club does NOT equal profitability) so Watson and co obviously know what they're doing. Take note of the crowds the Warriors will get next year, I guarrantee they'll be massive both home and away, especially with the Ericcson redevelopment.
The onhly change I'd like to see next year would be a way of rewarding those who turned up to games during the regular season, instead of passports, I'd like to see the freebies go to people presenting a ticket from a regular season game.

Mate, what do the Warriors do differently to be more profitable? I'm assuming running costs would be broadly similar, so how do they get so much more revenue?

Wouldn't being owned & funded by Mr Watson's deep pockets be basically the same as being funded by grants from Leagues Clubs?? In both cases the tap can be turned off at the drop of a hat...

Cheers,
Ben S.

Its done through sponsorship. One of the main sponsors of the Warriors is Bond & Bond which is owned by his Pacific Retail Group.

One of his driving motivations in buying the Warriors is to get PRG companies more exposure in Australia. Now he just genuinely loves the team.

 

[Dean Moriarty]

Its done through sponsorship. One of the main sponsors of the Warriors is Bond & Bond which is owned by his Pacific Retail Group.

One of his driving motivations in buying the Warriors is to get PRG companies more exposure in Australia. Now he just genuinely loves the team.

So would you say the Warriors get more money from Bond & Bond because Watson is the owner than they would if they were a completely separate company?

Or would a Warriors sponsorship be more valuable than that for, say, a Sydney club because you get to market to a whole nation?

 

[SpaceMonkey]

The Warriors are profitable for several reasons.

1: Sponsorship & advertising revenue. With Vodafone, Bond & Bond and Lion Red all chipping in they are very well sponsored.
2: Lean administration. The Warriors have the smallest front office setup of any side in the comp. They operate out of a very modest HQ in in industrial area, so their management overheads are small. They do not suffer the drain of the sort of "jobs for the boys" policies that seem to influence who is on the payroll of some Sydney organisations.
3: Gate reciepts. The Warriors are a well supported side. They need 16,000 through the turnstyles each week to turn a profit and they average more than that. The same can't be said for most other sides with perhaps 3 or 4 exceptions.
4: Relatively low player costs. The Warriors don't need to spend up big to attract players. They have an excellent development structure providing juniors, and the fact that most of their players are Polynesians with strong local family ties means they are less likely to look elsewhere for bigger $$ as they prefer to stay in Auckland where their families are.

Mr Watson's deep pockets help when he decides to go with incentives like the free tickets, but it's his business acumen which is the real reason for the club's profitability, not his money.

 

[Wild Man From Borneo]

It adds alot more atmosphere to the game. This is good for people watching at home and people at the game. More people will be keen to go back and see another game.

 

[Ron Jeremy]

It's great for the game here & Great for the game in NZ how someone can have such a nice gesture......anyone who thinks otherwise have massive problems & besides i thought Penrith was the richest RL club??......why don't they go and purcahse some tickets for there fans??

 

[SpaceMonkey]

It's great for the game here & Great for the game in NZ how someone can have such a nice gesture......anyone who thinks otherwise have massive problems & besides i thought Penrith was the richest RL club??......why don't they go and purcahse some tickets for there fans??

Penrith are one of the clubs with massive Leagues club support from Panthers.