Crowd tonight

[cruiser]

It looked a bit more to me too although they didnt have anyone sitting up in the top stands so that brings more people down onto the concourse. Considering the weather earlier and a three match losing streak, I thought it was OK. It means that despite the poor season so far, Sydney is averaging 30,000 a game at home.

[JF_Bay22_SCG]

Originally posted by ugg
Twas 31688. Looked a bit more to me, but I'm always a bad judge of crowds.

I reckon it was pretty much on the money. There were gaps around both half forward lines, but with both teams not going well a smaller crowd is to be expected.

was definitely noisy in the last quarter. That is all that matters to me!


JF
PS:- Port1978 and English Matty had to pay $29 for a set seat at the ticket window tonight. i asked for a Swans unreserved members guest past for them and the girl on the booth didn't know what the hell I was talking about.

[ugg]

The way Collingwood and Brisbane are going at the moment, the 3 blockbusters could be against the bottom 3 teams! Now there's a scary thought for Swans and AFL officials.

[Wil]

How long until all the home games are at the SCG?

I still think all home games and finals should be at the SCG...

[Matt79]

Originally posted by Wil
How long until all the home games are at the SCG?

I still think all home games and finals should be at the SCG...

Sorry Wil, disagree.

Whilst I agree that most home games should be at the SCG, the location of the ground at Moore Park, prevents a lot of people coming to the games. The majority of Sydney's population is towards the West and games at Telstra Stadium allow more people an opportunity to see the game.

I have read somewhere previously that more "first time" AFL watches go to Telstra Stadium then the SCG, simply because of the closer proximity for more people.

I also enjoy the "big event" feel that games at Telstra Stadium have. The food places outside the ground in the overflow (had a sensational bbq seafood platter for $10) and just listening to the band while talking to friends made for a great start to the evening.

At this stage I think the balance of 3 home games at Telstra Stadium and finals is right.

We need to continually attract new people not only to the Swans but to AFL football in general.

Cheers,
Matt

[Wil]

Originally posted by Matt79
At this stage I think the balance of 3 home games at Telstra Stadium and finals is right.

We need to continually attract new people not only to the Swans but to AFL football in general.

Thanks Matt that leads me to say that it should be one or the other. OR introduce a second team at Telstra.

But, AFL is a joke when it comes to home grounds. How many teams share the MCG and Dome? No wonder AFL is such a provincial sport.

[Mark]

Originally posted by Matt79
Sorry Wil, disagree.

The majority of Sydney's population is towards the West and games at Telstra Stadium allow more people an opportunity to see the game.

I have read somewhere previously that more "first time" AFL watches go to Telstra Stadium then the SCG, simply because of the closer proximity for more people.

I also enjoy the "big event" feel that games at Telstra Stadium have. The food places outside the ground in the overflow (had a sensational bbq seafood platter for $10) and just listening to the band while talking to friends made for a great start to the evening.

At this stage I think the balance of 3 home games at Telstra Stadium and finals is right.

We need to continually attract new people not only to the Swans but to AFL football in general.

Cheers,
Matt

This is complete garbage on so many levels !

1) Vast majority of Swans members (ie those who pay week in week out) live in Eastern suburbs or north shore. Therefore, your first point is irelevant for two reasons (availabilty of tickets at SCG & demographics).

2) Love to know where "you read" that reason more first time AFL watchers go to telstra is "simply because of its closer proximity" ? Think you will find you simply made it up to suit your point of view ?

3) The fact that there is a large population base in western Sydney does not translate to new members or even fans. This theory has been tried previously by NRL, NBL & soccer all failed.

4) Even people who like Telstra sradium admit that pre and post game options are very limited and cannot even vaguely be compared to the options in and around the paddington/moore park area. So one seafood platter does not make good facilities.

Try sticking to facts when arguing a point

[Charlie]

Originally posted by Mark
This is complete garbage on so many levels !

1) Vast majority of Swans members (ie those who pay week in week out) live in Eastern suburbs or north shore. Therefore, your first point is irelevant for two reasons (availabilty of tickets at SCG & demographics).

2) Love to know where "you read" that reason more first time AFL watchers go to telstra is "simply because of its closer proximity" ? Think you will find you simply made it up to suit your point of view ?

For an outside Sydney view...

1) The whole idea is to attract new fans, not to only cater to existing ones. It's great that we're strong in those areas, but you couldn't be arguing that we don't need more fans, are you?

2) The club itself claims that Stadium Australia matches attract a lot of first-time footy fans. Now, I'm not necessarily saying the club is an authoritative voice on the matter (or, for that matter, that they aren't)... but that's another argument.

[Dave]

Originally posted by Mark
This is complete garbage on so many levels !

1) Vast majority of Swans members (ie those who pay week in week out) live in Eastern suburbs or north shore. Therefore, your first point is irelevant for two reasons (availabilty of tickets at SCG & demographics).

2) Love to know where "you read" that reason more first time AFL watchers go to telstra is "simply because of its closer proximity" ? Think you will find you simply made it up to suit your point of view ?

3) The fact that there is a large population base in western Sydney does not translate to new members or even fans. This theory has been tried previously by NRL, NBL & soccer all failed.

4) Even people who like Telstra sradium admit that pre and post game options are very limited and cannot even vaguely be compared to the options in and around the paddington/moore park area. So one seafood platter does not make good facilities.

Try sticking to facts when arguing a point

Yes, but you are missing the main fact that the SCG is a @@@@hole joke of a "stadium" that needs to have a date with a bulldozer.

BTW I would say that Western and North Western Sydney are the biggest potential (if not already) growth areas for AFL in Sydney. You only have to look at a team like Baulkhum Hills that has so many kids playing junior AFL that they field 2 under 9's teams.
Blacktown will also be getting a new AFL ground soon and the Magpies are already sticking their beaks into the area.

This alone helps translate to new fans.

We lived at Clovelly before moving to Seven Hills. My first son could have played junior rugby there, he plays junior AFL here.

P.S. Who gives a stuff about post game options? I go to the game to watch football not to go clubbing down Oxford St.

[Nico]

One of Mark's points really jumped out at me.

He mentioned pre and post game options and I assume here he is talking about food outlets, restaurants, cafes.

Being from Melbourne that to me is not what most people going to the footy even consider. The local pubs such as the Cricketers Arms in Punt Road get their fair share of pre gamers, but it is tiny and a couple of others in Wellington Parade the same, but these numbers are only a fraction of a total crowd.

Most Melbournians just head for the footy and then head home after the game. Only as a much younger bloke did I have a couple after the game and then we did not make a welter of it. Usually got sozzled inside the ground.

So is it a necessity/standard in Sydney to spend an hour or two before and after a game at an establishment. Not knocking the practice, just noticed a possible difference in culture.

[cruiser]

Originally posted by Nico
So is it a necessity/standard in Sydney to spend an hour or two before and after a game at an establishment. Not knocking the practice, just noticed a possible difference in culture.

No, its not. I always go home straight after a game. Besides, there's a pub with a big outdoor drinking area at Homebush.

[Dave]

Originally posted by Nico
So is it a necessity/standard in Sydney to spend an hour or two before and after a game at an establishment. Not knocking the practice, just noticed a possible difference in culture.

Not for me. But then again I was born in Melb.

[Mark]

Originally posted by Charlie
For an outside Sydney view...

1) The whole idea is to attract new fans, not to only cater to existing ones. It's great that we're strong in those areas, but you couldn't be arguing that we don't need more fans, are you?

2) The club itself claims that Stadium Australia matches attract a lot of first-time footy fans. Now, I'm not necessarily saying the club is an authoritative voice on the matter (or, for that matter, that they aren't)... but that's another argument.

Was not arguing either of those points Charlie, just pointing out the outright nonesense of the original post.

As i think you are aware, i would love us to have many many new members, i just dont think Homebush is the answer. We have now been out there a number of years and had two finals years on the trot (ie good form), yet our membership is stagnant (in Syd)!. This either means it has not translated to new members or old ones have stopped renewing and we have a glut of new ones, which do you think it is ?

I dont dispute that "Stadium Australia matches have attracted a lot of first-time footy fans" what i do dispute is the "simply because of its closer proximity" assertion which had no basis in fact whatsoever. As you are aware, at the begining of the Homebush experiment many free/promotional tickets were floating around, plus all stadium members could suddenly go to matches for (effectively) nothing. So no suprise "Stadium Australia matches have attracted a lot of first-time footy fans" However, it is easier to get tickets to homebush, no argument. This undoubtedly allows people to "have a look" which can only be a good thing, but it does and has not translated to new members IMHO.

And those who think that facilities around the ground are not important to the vast majority of a Sydney AFL crowd on a Saturday night are living in a dream world.

[motorace_182]

The quicker we play all home games at Telstra the better. The SCG is a disgrace with pathetic viewing. the ground dimensions alone arent up to AFL standards... we dont have a complete 50m arc for frig sake! Telstra has amazingly easy access via public transport, has awesome food and beverage catering, quality staff that actually know something and even with 30,000 there is a sense of atmosphere. Please move ALL games there ASAP!

[barry]

Originally posted by motorace_182
The quicker we play all home games at Telstra the better. The SCG is a disgrace with pathetic viewing. the ground dimensions alone arent up to AFL standards... we dont have a complete 50m arc for frig sake! Telstra has amazingly easy access via public transport, has awesome food and beverage catering, quality staff that actually know something and even with 30,000 there is a sense of atmosphere. Please move ALL games there ASAP!

Yep. Homebush is heaps better than the arciac SCG.

Even 30,000 is ok out there. They dont bother with the top decks, and that makes it quite compact.