So numbers weren’t in fact on par, with good reason, but not on par.
5k for the BKK game was not painfully silent 7k for Jeonbuk was great fun. Both far better than the 5k for Eastern at Kogarah.
You hate Allianz, we get it, but Kogarah draws smaller crowds, and has worse atmosphere. That’s why ACL Cove, small as it was vs Sanfrecce, beat open air Cove at Kogarah for all but the biggest regular season Kogarah games.
I literally said I love it for a derby, or any game where we’re pushing 20k tbh, I just personally think we shouldn’t bring every game there when we know we’ll have attendance far less than that, and that it’s going to look like a T-34 might emerge from the mud during the rugby code overlap.
Except what your asking for is essentially impossible. All of the major stadiums that can host a top league game are shared between multiple codes. There’s always going to be that risk. Also need to think about the fact that it’ll mean not actually having a set home ground. If we move the important and massive games to Allianz, would that make it our home ground? Or would it be Kogarah/Leichardt depending on which one would be chosen as the main stadium.
Throw in the fact that your optics and marketing suddenly get thrown into the mix. We market ourselves as the top team in Sydney, rather than a suburban team. We’re meant to be the biggest and best team in the city, shifting most games to a suburban ground suddenly changes that and, whether you like it or not, gives a fairly big edge to WSW with their stadium.
For good or for bad, we’re stuck with Allianz and I don’t think there’s anything that could really change that, baring another 20k stadium being built in a central location. In which case we should move there and say bye to Allianz permanently.
Wake me up, when September starts.
Our average crowds anywhere but Allianz are about 10k lower than at Allianz, and it’s not because we’re selling out the smaller suburban venues.
I love Leichhardt but for most of the city it’s harder to get to than Moore Park and there’s less to do before or after the game. Same for Kogarah, except anybody who loves that stadium is a threat to themselves and others.
There’s one other stadium in the city that’s feasible in terms of transport and surrounding activities. We’re unlikely to move to that stadium.
Shifting games to various stadia during the season is a great way to alienate members and make it harder to get casual fans to attend games on impulse. We are not a travelling circus, we are an institution.
It’s worth mentioning that we’ve actually had some pretty great success playing out of said stadium
If only there were some way to make Allianz feel more intimate, by being able to configure it in different “modes” (for arguments sake, lets call this “club mode” and “competition mode”) with, oh I don’t know, some kind of barrier or “curtain” to block off the top tiers?
Such a curtain could even have LEDs in it to make it more visually interesting.
Does feel like I’ve heard this idea somewhere before though…
It would be great to have a smaller stadium if it was close to Allianz, and use it for any games outside of the derby, the Big Blue, and a home Grand Final, but I accept that isn’t realistic.
If next season follows the path of last then we may be playing at Tramway Oval for 2026/27.
Our crowds have actually been a really good silver lining. We’re sort of sitting steady at around the 12k mark which is actually a pretty decent bench mark over the past two years. Don’t think there were any major fluctuations that weren’t related to midweek games or absolutely devastatingly heavy storms.
Just pretend said curtain exists… And you’ve saved $50m+.
Your sitting withing 10m of the pitch , mostly undercover unless it rains sideways.
Does it really matter there is an empty seats on an upper deck 50m away.
Very different to say Accor (with all the discussion about the Rabbitohs at the moment) where that moved in lower deck is totally exposed.
Just like I pretend there’s cup holders, and everytime we score or we come close to scoring and I jump up from my seat and knock over 2 beers at my feet, costing me nearly $25 worth of Hahn Super Dry?
Fuck the curtain, I would lose my cup holders.
Hello, officer? Yes I’d like to report a crime. Someone is selling Hahn Super Dry for 12 bucks a pop.
Put a fucking arrest warrent out for Justin motherfucking Hemmes.