finders
Norm Smith Medallist
With Goughs attitude - which is how the MCC has treated the VFL/AFL for 100 years why oh why did the AFL get rid of Waverley?
While AFL Park was around the League had a great bargaining chip which is now gone forever.
Maybe time to send more blockbusters to the Dome and let the MCC squeal.
The cricket idiots shoud realise its FOOTBALL MONEY that built the MCG NOT the few poorly attended cricket matches played there during the summer.
Demetriou blames MCC for drop-off in crowd
Samantha Lane | April 26, 2008
AFL chief Andrew Demetriou yesterday blamed the stubbornness of the Melbourne Cricket Club for the less-than-expected turnout to yesterday's Anzac Day clash.
Sitting in the MCG crowd yesterday Demetriou felt frustrated, but ultimately powerless, to do anything about the mass of vacant seats in the MCC reserve and the attendance figure of 88,999 — a crowd that the league boss said was about 5000 down on what he expected for the April blockbuster.
"The MCC has refused to change its policy, which undoubtedly now is an outdated policy," Demetriou said, referring to the refusal of the MCC to pre-sell tickets for its entire members reserve.
"It's been a source of frustration for not only me but also my predecessors for many years. We would have expected today to be getting in excess of 93,000 to 94,000 when you look at the previous crowds.
"For large events like this, you've seen today, it doesn't work. It's extremely disappointing that in a day where we know that ticketed games, particularly for major events, work … that this can still be happening.
"The rest of the ground was full. We sold out the (AFL controlled areas of the) game weeks ago and many, many people were desperate to get a ticket to this game."
MCC chief executive Stephen Gough conceded last night that the attendance in the MCC reserve was down, but suggested Demetriou should butt out.
"We're not tied by what the AFL wants or how the AFL does it. That reserve is ours and we can do with it as we see fit," Gough said.
"If Andrew thought there were 94,000 likely to turn up he's the only one who thought that because we'd said all week that it should be somewhere between 87-90,000."
In a break from convention, the MCC tried pre-selling tickets for around 20% of its members' reserve for yesterday's match — around 4000 seats — and will do so again twice later this season.
Last year's Anzac Day clash between Essendon and Collingwood drew 90,508 spectators.
While AFL Park was around the League had a great bargaining chip which is now gone forever.
Maybe time to send more blockbusters to the Dome and let the MCC squeal.
The cricket idiots shoud realise its FOOTBALL MONEY that built the MCG NOT the few poorly attended cricket matches played there during the summer.
Demetriou blames MCC for drop-off in crowd
Samantha Lane | April 26, 2008
AFL chief Andrew Demetriou yesterday blamed the stubbornness of the Melbourne Cricket Club for the less-than-expected turnout to yesterday's Anzac Day clash.
Sitting in the MCG crowd yesterday Demetriou felt frustrated, but ultimately powerless, to do anything about the mass of vacant seats in the MCC reserve and the attendance figure of 88,999 — a crowd that the league boss said was about 5000 down on what he expected for the April blockbuster.
"The MCC has refused to change its policy, which undoubtedly now is an outdated policy," Demetriou said, referring to the refusal of the MCC to pre-sell tickets for its entire members reserve.
"It's been a source of frustration for not only me but also my predecessors for many years. We would have expected today to be getting in excess of 93,000 to 94,000 when you look at the previous crowds.
"For large events like this, you've seen today, it doesn't work. It's extremely disappointing that in a day where we know that ticketed games, particularly for major events, work … that this can still be happening.
"The rest of the ground was full. We sold out the (AFL controlled areas of the) game weeks ago and many, many people were desperate to get a ticket to this game."
MCC chief executive Stephen Gough conceded last night that the attendance in the MCC reserve was down, but suggested Demetriou should butt out.
"We're not tied by what the AFL wants or how the AFL does it. That reserve is ours and we can do with it as we see fit," Gough said.
"If Andrew thought there were 94,000 likely to turn up he's the only one who thought that because we'd said all week that it should be somewhere between 87-90,000."
In a break from convention, the MCC tried pre-selling tickets for around 20% of its members' reserve for yesterday's match — around 4000 seats — and will do so again twice later this season.
Last year's Anzac Day clash between Essendon and Collingwood drew 90,508 spectators.
