Poor AFL Crowds *Worst in 20 years*

[Furn2]

Membership are breaking records everywhere though, and you see games where the good reserve seating areas are half empty.

So why are people spend $3-400 on reserve seat membership and not going ?

 

[Furn2]

I don't go because pies and chips are too expensive.

$7.20 for a mid strength beer doesn't help either.

 

[walhawk]

I went to the game yesterday with my non-reserved seat membership. It was free. I parked my car down in a large car park near the Dockland for 7 bucks. There is many trams that go close to it, and trains that travel from out of Melbourne to Southern Cross which is literally next to the ground. I could go on...

Yes, but you barrack for North.
if you barrack for Hawthorn, Friday night was fully ticketed (can't use GA membership) as is Hawks v Cats. Also 3/4 away games in Melbourne are Category A which means virtually no GA even though we have paid for GA in our membership. Does make a difference to supporters of the bigger / better teams.

 

[Ron The Bear]

Reckon it's a combination of things. Tanking, salary cap rorts, PEDs - with most of the offenders welcomed back after a short break. Hird gets a $1M holiday in France. Demetriou gets $2.2M in bonuses after the most troubled season in football history. Franklin gets $10M for shit. The less fanatical are having second thoughts about contributing to the gravy train. Plus ticket price rises and the game being geared towards watching from home...

 

[Donakebab]

Had other commitments week one and two which I couldn't bail on, but usually attend every game.

However new pricing is super balls for non members, shit was already difficult for families on a budget, why make it harder?

 

[baz_machine]

Hird's fault

 

[Ridley This]

put a line through crowds?

 

[Handsuper47]

put a line through crowds?

Where are the AFL crowds at?

 

[Ichabod Noodle]

Don't be blaming the GWS St Kilda game.

There was 19.6K on Saturday beating the previous best between the two teams of 17.3K at Docklands in 2012 (11K at Manuka last year)

 

[MightyHawks]

Where's the, "I live in a state where the AFL dumps Hawks vs *insert boring team here* " option?

Don't worry the Hawthorn v North match was only NAB challenge

 

[caitsith01]

Considering that a lot of people have to get up in the morning for work, school or something else it doesn't make much sense to have Thursday, Monday and Sunday night matches. I'm not fond of it one bit.

I love it.

There are 9 matches per round, each team will only get one of these slots every now and then.

 

[Rory Walkerfield]

18 teams. Too many? One flag every 20 years on average too depressing for some?

 

[MightyHawks]

Reckon it's a combination of things. Tanking, salary cap rorts, PEDs - with most of the offenders welcomed back after a short break. Hird gets a $1M holiday in France. Demetriou gets $2.2M in bonuses after the most troubled season in football history. Franklin gets $10M for shit. The less fanatical are having second thoughts about contributing to the gravy train. Plus ticket price rises and the game being geared towards watching from home...

It is a bit rich the amount of pressure put on the average bloke to buy memberships / attend matches to allow players to earn large 6 figure salaries. It's embarrassing watching Wilson/Lloyd/Lyon/Hutchy give lip service to ticket prices when (1) they've never had to pay to attend themselves and (2) they are all very high income earners

18 teams. Too many? One flag every 20 years on average too depressing for some?

Yes it's harder to believe your team will ever win a flag again for a lot of people

 

[Rhysswans13]

If the AFL wanted to maximise crowds, they wouldn't be playing games on Thursday and Sunday nights.

Therefore it's not a huge issue for them.

Good point. Quite clearly here they are looking at maximising television ratings by placing low drawing teams in high rating TV time slots. Gotta keep Channel 7 and Fox Footy happy as they essentially dictate the AFL draw.
Also I believe ticket prices are very high if I had a family and was taking them to the footy. Add transport/parking and food and it becomes an expensive day.
One reason I strongly believe crowds are down is due to the fact that you can watch your team live in your own state and that we have a whole channel dedicated to AFL which means you don't need to leave your seat to watch a game. And even if you can't watch it live you can IQ it and watch it later in the comfort of your own home.

 

[caitsith01]

It's crunch time for the AFL as complacency has set in, Demetriou is jumping ship and for the first time in my life i am fearful about it's future. We're approaching round 3 and there is no vibe, crowds are lousy, the Essendon V Hawthorn attendance was a huge disappointment. Something is not quite right, admission pricing, food pricing, scandals, fixturing, the tribunal, screwing around with the rules and now the absurdity of Auskick is all taking it's toll on the average football fan. The game is in strife.

Add a couple more issues: there are too many damn teams. It used to be quite possible to keep track of all of them, know all their players, generally get a sense of what is going on across the league. Now there are just too many teams, games, players. Who has time?

Next, the TV situation. Half the games are now locked away from 70% of the public. Used to be footy on everywhere you went on a weekend, now there's often no FTA game on and people do something else instead. Certain teams now get sweet fa coverage in certain states, for example in SA we rarely see the Queensland or WA teams. Ultimately this means people are more out of the loop and less interested in footy generally. And of course no HD, no decent online options.

Next, the incestuous and blinkered AFL media. Mostly a boys club of retired idiot footballers mixed with ancient non footballers who think they know it all. Everyone living by the unspoken code so they don't get kicked off the gravy train.

Finally, Brian Taylor. Kinda makes me want football to die.

 

[The Blue Baggers]

It's crunch time for the AFL as complacency has set in, Demetriou is jumping ship and for the first time in my life i am fearful about it's future. We're approaching round 3 and there is no vibe, crowds are lousy, the Essendon V Hawthorn attendance was a huge disappointment. Something is not quite right, admission pricing, food pricing, scandals, fixturing, the tribunal, screwing around with the rules and now the absurdity of Auskick is all taking it's toll on the average football fan. The game is in strife.

correct weight ... demetriou has left a mess for the next ceo

afl needs to go back to more friendly and consistent time slots for a start ....

and finally they need to remember you only get big money for tv rights if you are popular sport ... if the fan base drops so does the interest by the tv networks

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Membership are breaking records everywhere though, and you see games where the good reserve seating areas are half empty.

So why are people spend $3-400 on reserve seat membership and not going ?

Bang! why is no one asking this?

record memberships for nearly all clubs, but most crowds down across the board

the issue isn't pricing, these people have paid. so why aren't they coming?

 

[MightyHawks]

Bang! why is no one asking this?

record memberships for nearly all clubs, but most crowds down across the board

the issue isn't pricing, these people have paid. so why aren't they coming?

Some Geelong mates have 6 reserved seats and they make sure all the tickets are used - but it's a lot of effort and coordination

I'd guess that most reserved seat holders would only attend 9 or less of their 11 home games - do friends use the cards or not?

If people had individual match tickets rather than membership cards, there'd be less empty seats in those areas

 

[Modified Dog]

The game is on the nose. The AFL is on the nose.

I think the game itself has been in decline for a while now. Commentators are always telling us the game has never been better or tougher, but they are mostly just AFL mouthpieces with a vested interest in telling us how great the game is. People want to see contests, but the players, coaches, umpires and rules committee have done a great job of removing most of the contests from our great game.

I also reckon the Essendon drug-cheating scandal and the AFL's complicity in trying to cover it up has had more of a negative impact than many people think. I think it has eroded people's faith in the game. The media, Essendon and the AFL have constantly tried to hose down any suggestion that players will be suspended, but people don't like cheats and they don't like being bullshitted to. The booing of Jobe Watson over at Subiaco probably summarised how most people felt. We then had various commentators acting surprised and telling us all to STFU… (If you don't mind!!!)

I think people have had a gutful of hearing and reading about the whole drug scandal and they just want justice to be done. They want Essendon to be properly punished and their players suspended. But instead, we've got the AFL in damage control, thinking that wholesale suspensions of Essendon players will have a detrimental impact on the AFL's finances. Big mistake, in my opinion.

I think Free agency is another big, big mistake. I can understand the AFL and AFLPA had some well-meaning intentions, but in the end, it really amounts to nothing more than players' greed. Times are tough. People are losing their jobs, or working longer hours for less pay. Prices keep on rising and footy fans are being bled dry. Meanwhile footballers are walking out on their clubs and demanding $600,000 to $700,000 to $1,000,000 a year. This does nothing to boost interest amongst the rank and file supporters.

I've spoken to a number of people from a variety of clubs (mostly middle-aged dads) and their enthusiasm for the game has waned. The footy used to be magic, a place to escape the grim, mundane side of life, but lately the magic has disappeared. Football has become nothing but a business. Players are going to the highest bidder and clubs are prepared to do anything, even cheat, in order to win.

The AFL are openly disdainful of the loyal footy fan. They sold out the game to television. That's where all the money is these days. BT, Darce, Richo, Bruce and Dennis have become the stars of the show. The football is now just TV ratings fodder and it's played at all kinds of shitty hours just to satisfy the demands of TV execs. Of course the crowds are going to dwindle when the spectators interests aren't being catered for.

 

[W.C. Fry]

Bang! why is no one asking this?

record memberships for nearly all clubs, but most crowds down across the board

the issue isn't pricing, these people have paid. so why aren't they coming?

We have had our ground sold out for years. We only ever really fill it for a derby, even then there are spare seats.
Members just can't always make every single game.
So it comes down to what happens to the ticket when you can't go. When we are doing good you always have people asking if there is a spare membership this week. Even offers to pay for it. When we are doing bad you can hardly give them away. And thats in a state where half the population go for your side. I can't imagine in Melbourne many people knocking down the doors of friends to borrow a membership of a side they dont support.
Ticket re-sale works to an extent. But ticketmaster gorge so much out that its almost not worth it. My membership is about $40 a game. Im lucky to get $20 back if it does re-sell.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

We have had our ground sold out for years. We only ever really fill it for a derby, even then there are spare seats.
Members just can't always make every single game.
So it comes down to what happens to the ticket when you can't do. When we are doing good you always have people asking if there is a spare membership this week. Even offers to pay for it. When we are doing bad you can hardly give them away. And thats in a state where half the population go for your side. I can't imagine in Melbourne many people knocking down the doors of friends to borrow a membership of a side they dont support.
Ticket re-sale works to an extent. But ticketmaster gorge so much out that its almost not worth it. My membership is about $40 a game. Im lucky to get $20 back if it does re-sell.

Yep, and imagine trying to find a friend to take your ticket on a Thursday night, or after 7pm on a Sunday

 

[Synth]

Where is the "I actually attend" option for a more legitimate poll result?

 

[Rob]

Stadium deals are rubbish! Clubs aren't making enough money from games!

nek minnit

Ticket prices are too high! Families are getting ripped off!

FFS Victorians, make up your bloody minds.

 

[The_Eagles]

Im an Eagles member but the seats/legroom is too small so I dont go anymore much

**** subiaco oval, cant wait for the Swan River Stadium

 

[Doctor Feel]

Stadium deals are rubbish! Clubs aren't making enough money from games!

nek minnit

Ticket prices are too high! Families are getting ripped off!

FFS Victorians, make up your bloody minds.

Says the guy from the club with a clean stadium deal.

"Stadium deal is shit, so lets hit the fans for more cash." would be more appropriate.