Now that we’ve decided we are to be a development club & are investing heavily in that area isn’t the ideal place to play most of our home games out at Campbelltown? There is talk of a partnership with UWS MacArthur in regards to the building of an Academy as well, yet to be confirmed of course. Campbelltown surely at some point will also have a new stadium as it is an area crying out for a large venue that can can cater for large sports & entertainment events. I live in Fairfield West but do some work out that way from time to time and it does appear to me to be a neglected area in terms of what it offers in the way of entertainment. A catholic club is about all they have. And then there’s the Badgery’s Creek Airport which will probably be in use 2025 or 2026 which would make it easier for travellers to access the area should it hold popular entertainment events. If the NSW government allow the proposed development of a new stadium in Penrith to go ahead the the MacArthur region must be next in my opinion.
If we are looking to base ourselves in an underserved growth area why wouldn’t we just move to Perth?
play at a modern stadium and build a junior academy at Liverpool or campbletown
One thing being lost in the stadium debate is that if we have genuine ambitions of being successful and growing the club then we need a stadium which can accommodate crowds of over 20K which neither LO or CSS can. We can't leave ourselves in a situation where we are turning away paying customers.
How many juniors do we have out of the Campbelltown region? If there's such strong support there why are there always terrible crowds? South West is not the answer imo.
One thing being lost in the stadium debate is that if we have genuine ambitions of being successful and growing the club then we need a stadium which can accommodate crowds of over 20K which neither LO or CSS can. We can't leave ourselves in a situation where we are turning away paying customers.
I disagree.
Average crowds over the past decade have hovered around 15,000. Take away big games (Anzac day, Roosters/Souths, Brisbane and Knights home games) and the average probably drops to around 10-12,000. There are plenty of places to play those occasional games which might be over 20,000 but to believe we NEED a stadium of that size is ignoring the historical facts.
2022 - 14,834
2021 - 10,364 (COVID)
2020 - 5245 (COVID)
2019 - 15804
2018 - 16205
2017 - 15696
2016 - 15214
2015 - 15078
The game is growing in women's involvement and Pacific rim countries, neither of which is likely to have a great affect on crowd numbers based on the inability of the elite men's competition being unable to match crowds for other sports. The key growth area for NRL is TV audience which is why TV rights are so important.
The paying customers are on Foxtel and Kayo - we're not turning people away at the gate. The only reason we (sometimes) sell out Leichhardt is because the infrequency of games there makes it a novelty.
My point is, I'd much rather have a $50M upgrade which handles 18,000 than wish for a $300M, 35,000 seat stadium which will likely never be filled.
@snake this has always confused me about the Campbelltown based option for the tigers. It seems pretty obvious that the majority of fans live east of parramatta so moving 45-60min away alienates the majority of existing fans. The counter arguement is that the south west is a growth opportunity but given we have played there as the tigers for 20 years to limited support it is by no means guaranteed it will succeed. Even when people point out that we got good crowds there in 2010 and 2011 I wonder how many of these were people travelling from the traditional regions to support a successful team vs locals. The club would know the location of their existing 20k members and even if you assume they are spread 1/3 at each venue I would guess many/most of the parramatta and Leichhardt members wouldn’t lock into 10+ games at Campbelltown for practical reasons (proximity). It would really be an all in decision that would likely set the club back 10yrs in memberships etc with the payoff being in the long run you think u gain new members in the south west to replace the inner west majority. It’s a high risk strategy, much lower risk in my view would be to select a centralised modern stadium that everyone could access and then pour infinite resources into providing development opportunities to junior players in your catchments. We have been trapped by this arguement about home grounds for over 20 years. I hope the club makes the right call. Reverting to 2 sub standard heritage grounds because it’s too hard to work out what to do is a cop out in my view. Unfortunately Lee sounds like he is an advocate for the south west option given then us where he is based.
A certain chair is full of themselves. I have no respect.
One thing being lost in the stadium debate is that if we have genuine ambitions of being successful and growing the club then we need a stadium which can accommodate crowds of over 20K which neither LO or CSS can. We can't leave ourselves in a situation where we are turning away paying customers.
I disagree.
Average crowds over the past decade have hovered around 15,000. Take away big games (Anzac day, Roosters/Souths, Brisbane and Knights home games) and the average probably drops to around 10-12,000. There are plenty of places to play those occasional games which might be over 20,000 but to believe we NEED a stadium of that size is ignoring the historical facts.
2022 - 14,834
2021 - 10,364 (COVID)
2020 - 5245 (COVID)
2019 - 15804
2018 - 16205
2017 - 15696
2016 - 15214
2015 - 15078
The game is growing in women's involvement and Pacific rim countries, neither of which is likely to have a great affect on crowd numbers based on the inability of the elite men's competition being unable to match crowds for other sports. The key growth area for NRL is TV audience which is why TV rights are so important.
The paying customers are on Foxtel and Kayo - we're not turning people away at the gate. The only reason we (sometimes) sell out Leichhardt is because the infrequency of games there makes it a novelty.
My point is, I'd much rather have a $50M upgrade which handles 18,000 than wish for a $300M, 35,000 seat stadium which will likely never be filled.
The Eels, Broncos, Cowboys and Warriors have all pulled regular season crowds of 20K plus this season alone. If you don't think we should aspire to be matching our numbers with these teams then you are doing our clubs potential a serious disservice. We already have over 20K members with the team at rock bottom and we could realistically have the highest attendance numbers in Sydney, that's where we should be aiming, not restricting our growth potential in a sub standard stadium.
You mention Foxtel/Kayo but not the corporate hospitality market which is where we have significant revenue growth potential, why would you limit this?
Also $50M will only scratch the surface of what is required at LO, a cosmetic face lift only which would just about make it a safe environment. To make it a modern stadium fit for the needs of a growing RL club it would need demolished and rebuilt from scratch and even if that was possible(unlikely) there is no chance of that type of funding being made available.
One thing being lost in the stadium debate is that if we have genuine ambitions of being successful and growing the club then we need a stadium which can accommodate crowds of over 20K which neither LO or CSS can. We can't leave ourselves in a situation where we are turning away paying customers.
I disagree.
Average crowds over the past decade have hovered around 15,000. Take away big games (Anzac day, Roosters/Souths, Brisbane and Knights home games) and the average probably drops to around 10-12,000. There are plenty of places to play those occasional games which might be over 20,000 but to believe we NEED a stadium of that size is ignoring the historical facts.
2022 - 14,834
2021 - 10,364 (COVID)
2020 - 5245 (COVID)
2019 - 15804
2018 - 16205
2017 - 15696
2016 - 15214
2015 - 15078
The game is growing in women's involvement and Pacific rim countries, neither of which is likely to have a great affect on crowd numbers based on the inability of the elite men's competition being unable to match crowds for other sports. The key growth area for NRL is TV audience which is why TV rights are so important.
The paying customers are on Foxtel and Kayo - we're not turning people away at the gate. The only reason we (sometimes) sell out Leichhardt is because the infrequency of games there makes it a novelty.
My point is, I'd much rather have a $50M upgrade which handles 18,000 than wish for a $300M, 35,000 seat stadium which will likely never be filled.
The Eels, Broncos, Cowboys and Warriors have all pulled regular season crowds of 20K plus this season alone. If you don't think we should aspire to be matching our numbers with these teams then you are doing our clubs potential a serious disservice. We already have over 20K members with the team at rock bottom and we could realistically have the highest attendance numbers in Sydney, that's where we should be aiming, not restricting our growth potential in a sub standard stadium.
You mention Foxtel/Kayo but not the corporate hospitality market which is where we have significant revenue growth potential, why would you limit this?
Also $50M will only scratch the surface of what is required at LO, a cosmetic face lift only which would just about make it a safe environment. To make it a modern stadium fit for the needs of a growing RL club it would need demolished and rebuilt from scratch and even if that was possible(unlikely) there is no chance of that type of funding being made available.
Couldn’t agree more.
SFS is looking pretty spectacular, can’t wait until it opens.
The Eels, Broncos, Cowboys and Warriors have all pulled regular season crowds of 20K plus this season alone. If you don't think we should aspire to be matching our numbers with these teams then you are doing our clubs potential a serious disservice. We already have over 20K members with the team at rock bottom and we could realistically have the highest attendance numbers in Sydney, that's where we should be aiming, not restricting our growth potential in a sub standard stadium.
You mention Foxtel/Kayo but not the corporate hospitality market which is where we have significant revenue growth potential, why would you limit this?
Broncos, Cowboys and Warriors are single team towns. Parramatta's average crowd is 17,500 - slightly above average. They have memberships over32,000 and a new, modern stadium. The average game there is just half full. You're implying with 50% fewer members we're going to get 20% higher average attendances. We can't get a decent crowd on a beautiful day in one of our core areas for a game we should have won.
Saying it doesn't make it so - the statistics and facts don't support your premise. SFS looks like another monolithic stadium which will have the atmosphere of a funeral with less than 20,000. It's nice to know it's there if we need it.
Corporate hospitality is trivial compared to TV rights. Like it or not, the NRL is selling their soul to TV and Gambling.
FWIW, we've averaged a crowd of 14,755 since inception. Our highest years were 2009 (17,943) and 2011 (17,852). We've never looked like averaging 20k even when competing for titles (and before every game was televised).
Nothing would make me happier than having 25,000 at every game but I'm a pragmatist - it's not going to happen.
Thanks for posting that video Mike, the SFS is looking top class.
The Eels, Broncos, Cowboys and Warriors have all pulled regular season crowds of 20K plus this season alone. If you don't think we should aspire to be matching our numbers with these teams then you are doing our clubs potential a serious disservice. We already have over 20K members with the team at rock bottom and we could realistically have the highest attendance numbers in Sydney, that's where we should be aiming, not restricting our growth potential in a sub standard stadium.
You mention Foxtel/Kayo but not the corporate hospitality market which is where we have significant revenue growth potential, why would you limit this?
Broncos, Cowboys and Warriors are single team towns. Parramatta's average crowd is 17,500 - slightly above average. They have memberships over32,000 and a new, modern stadium. The average game there is just half full. You're implying with 50% fewer members we're going to get 20% higher average attendances. We can't get a decent crowd on a beautiful day in one of our core areas for a game we should have won.
Saying it doesn't make it so - the statistics and facts don't support your premise. SFS looks like another monolithic stadium which will have the atmosphere of a funeral with less than 20,000. It's nice to know it's there if we need it.
Corporate hospitality is trivial compared to TV rights. Like it or not, the NRL is selling their soul to TV and Gambling.
The SFS has a capacity of 42500 and has been acoustically designed to maximise the atmosphere even when the stadium isn't full, hardly monolithic.
We can and should target the same or higher membership numbers than Parra, they are at the top of their success curve at the moment and we are at the bottom. If we don't set ourselves ambitious targets then we will never get to the top of the game.
By the way our memberships for this year at sitting just under 21k which is not 50% of 32k.
Abdo made an interesting comment on the stadium on that chanel 9 show with Gould, he said every Sydney club has a strategy of home game attendance some a mix of local stadia and then 10% big marquee games at the bigger stadiums but ultimately it is the choice of each club.
Gould then made the comment no way for a club game SFS would get remotely full or near 42k
Abdo then went on to say nrl and club plans are to have smaller stadiums where it is encouraged if you are a member you can get into the football and that way it drives memberships.
Don't know if I necessarily agree with Abdo but if we play at boutique LO and CSS whe we are flying the only way you are at the game is with memberships I guess.
The club has publicly stated that we have 400,000 fans which makes us a bigger club than other “super clubs” like the panthers. The idea that we couldn’t get more than 5% of our fans to a stadium to watch us play (let alone the fans of the other 8 Sydney opposing teams) is just silly in my view.
