With the WT admin going with a LO/CS home ground strategy, we can only hold game with maximum 18k crowds, which may be OK for many regular games.
But obviously they'd be a need for a larger ground to host bigger games.
If we were to host a regular fixture the same weekend of the year, every year, like we do with Easter Monday, who do you think our biggest drawing derbies would be against and what would be a reasonable expected crowd once established?
Top 8 2023
WT vs Parramatta
WT vs Souths
WT vs Penrith
Crowds in excess of 30K if we are winning
Top 8 2023
If you are playing at SFS you could probably get 30k for any Sydney team if scheduling was friendly.
Top 8 2023
When you look at our largest home crowds, you can see the advantage of having regular 'event" games such as the Easter Monday game.
Imagine if we added a regular event game against Penrith, South's and Dragons.
Having 4-5 games a year over 30k - helps establish us a one of the big clubs.
Good players want to be at a big club that regularly play in big games.
Top 8 2023
@frullens but what event opportunities are left?
It doesn't all need to be on long weekends - just on the same weekend every year - the game is the event- play for a trophy and build the tradition - even offer reciprocal rights for membership
But if you take long weekends there is:
- easter Monday- eels (locked in)
- Anzac weekend - Manly (strange choice, should change to a deby game
- queens birthday - (this year we play Titans away)
You could also match it up with:
- indigenous round (are we still having a focus on indigenous pathways - that seems to have disappeared since madge left?)
Top 8 2023
To make it an event you need some kind of marker that’s why every event across the league is on a public holiday. I can’t think of any that aren’t.
Top 8 2023
Winning teams draw crowds, so I don’t think it needs to be on a particular date. Like you said earlier, if tigers and dragons are both winning, that makes for a sellout. Assuming the opposing team is going well, I would rank our crowds as:
- Parra/Souths/dragons
- Penrith/Dogs
- Cows/knights/Raiders
- Brisbane/manly/sharks/Roosters
- storm/nz/titans
who knows where the dolphins sit at this stage.
@frullens neither of those are linked to a date.
Souths/Roosters is big due to being rivals for so long and the two teams in Brisbane creates an automatic rivalry.