Analysis Should we be pursuing a secondary market post-Hobart? If yes, then where?

[Ichiro #51]

I believe the Dees played a home game in Darwin in years past. As well as Alice which they still do. Then Gold Coast being prepared to give it up and switching to Cairns does raise some concerns that clubs who have been there and done that found the juice not worth the squeeze.

 

[My Left Foote]

Wrong thread

You started it.

 

[Augustine]

Sometimes I wonder whether North should have just kept the damn Canberra contract going instead of jumping to the Gold Coast all those years ago.

 

[lockheed]

Sometimes I wonder whether North should have just kept the damn Canberra contract going instead of jumping to the Gold Coast all those years ago.

I believe that we were offered an extension in Canberra, but that the AFL ensured that the Gold Coast offer was more lucrative, in the short term at least.

We might have been turfed out, though, when GWS came along.

 

[kool kangas]

I believe that we were offered an extension in Canberra, but that the AFL ensured that the Gold Coast offer was more lucrative, in the short term at least.

We might have been turfed out, though, when GWS came along.

l think you will find that the AFL will now have either GWS or Sydney as one of the teams playing there in the future,

 

[Lomas]

l think you will find that the AFL will now have either GWS or Sydney as one of the teams playing there in the future,

It's all GWS locked up.

 

[Luke72]

Sometimes I wonder whether North should have just kept the damn Canberra contract going instead of jumping to the Gold Coast all those years ago.

It might’ve worked if the film crew wasn’t some bloke with a borrowed camcorder. Fruity’s mark deserved much better.

 

[Mr north man]

When the Tassie team come in with a spanking new stadium they will still only have 11 or 12 home games. With all the money invested I think that they’ll be looking to fill it with events as much as possible. I reckon we stay in Tassie and play 2 games there. We’ve already invested a lot of time and money and it’s something for the Tassie members.

Recon we will sell our home game against Tasmania for an amount that supporters will never know

 

[fusion]

The AFL has resisted these opportunities in the past due to unfair competitive advantage in the fixture (as if the AFL doesn't rig the fixture for their own benefit). However, I think they will reverse course on this as it will become a politically expedient solution to the Perth clubs whining about unfair travel requirements across a season.

Do they do a Crows v Power game during gather round, or do they play non SA based teams? I cant recall, but I dont think the AFL really care about an unfair competitive advantage.

I think it’s a waste of time trying to develop a fan base in country areas or interstate. We’ve been doing this since the 90s, and did we ever develop a 10-15k sustainable membership base in Canberra, Sydney, Gold Coast, Tasmania or wherever else we’ve played?

If we really need the cash, sell 2 home games. One to the Eagles/Freo on an alternating basis, where we play over in WA, and one against Tasmania in Tassie.

 

[travelli]

CAIRNS

 

[lockheed]

From a financial perspective, if we can be financially viable and competitive, playing all our home games in Melbourne, why would we want a secondary market?

If we can't, then we must. Hopefully, then, we could get by with selling only two of our games.

 

[shinboner magic]

How are we suppose to grow our membership in Melb when we go 6 weeks without a home game.
Fans are paying the price of 11 games membership for only 7 games.
Numbers will keep dropping away because of this as the older generation dies off

 

[Dan]

How are we suppose to grow our membership in Melb when we go 6 weeks without a home game.
Fans are paying the price of 11 games membership for only 7 games.
Numbers will keep dropping away because of this as the older generation dies off

^THIS!!!^

 

[Colby Cheer Squad]

How are we suppose to grow our membership in Melb when we go 6 weeks without a home game.
Fans are paying the price of 11 games membership for only 7 games.
Numbers will keep dropping away because of this as the older generation dies off

The implication that we should just revert to 11 home games and the membership numbers will eventually compensate for the lost Hobart revenue seems to be based on the well-worn cliche, "If you build it, they will come." We all saw Field of Dreams. Problem is, as great as that movie might have been, it is not, and never has been a valid fundamental of business planning to simply create a product or service and expect to succeed. I've lost count of the number of companies I've seen go broke by investing too heavily without doing appropriate market research, costings, and revenue forecasts to see if the business model for their product stacks up. On the other hand, there have been several very smart business people associated with NMFC who have tried to get the 11 home game model to break even but it's just so much easier said than done. And in the meantime, we'd be losing $2 million + per year at a time when other clubs are disinclined to provide support for a failing Melbourne club while the league expands into Tasmania. Especially with the uneven number of teams and the awkward bye for one team every week.

 

[Forever North]

Just an idea but why not play 3 ‘home’ games against WC/Freo, Sydney and Tasmania in their home state on the proviso we play them only once there during the h/a season.
Ideally I prefer 11 home games in Melbourne but……$$$

 

[Gasometer]

If we stay in Hobart until TAS arrives can we at least play Rd 24 in Melbourne

Last Saturday is the last game I can make it to

Putting gear away on August 4th is abysmal

But then again we’re play Finals in 2026…

 

[desie]

It might’ve worked if the film crew wasn’t some bloke with a borrowed camcorder. Fruity’s mark deserved much better.

Fruity’s mark was in a non-televised game at the MCG, hence the terrible quality.

They even went to the trouble of dubbing a Drew Morphett commentary over the top of it after the event.

 

[Jonnoo]

Is an extra 4 games at Marvel a season an absolute no no? Maybe the stadium is looking for more games and we can negotiate some kind of a decent deal to give them 4 extra games a year? Our crowds don't seem too bad this year given our ladder posi. Perhaps it's nowhere near as lucrative as the Tassie $.

I don't know enough about the dollars so this is probably more wishful thinking than reality. Hopefully it's at least being assessed.

 

[koshari]

CAIRNS

No way, conditions up there for much of the season are not favourable for afl.

 

[Cunnington Cartel]

Is an extra 4 games at Marvel a season an absolute no no? Maybe the stadium is looking for more games and we can negotiate some kind of a decent deal to give them 4 extra games a year? Our crowds don't seem too bad this year given our ladder posi. Perhaps it's nowhere near as lucrative as the Tassie $.

I don't know enough about the dollars so this is probably more wishful thinking than reality. Hopefully it's at least being assessed.

I think that it’s worth considering the fixtures that we’re actually shifting to Hobart. They’re primarily low-drawing games against interstate opponents. Those types of games would typically be loss makers at Marvel with sub 20k crowds.

There’s usually one Hobart game per year against a Victorian club, but with the exception of the couple of games against Richmond about 8 years ago, they’ve always been against small-to-mid sized Victorian clubs. So, for the majority of instances we’re trading loss-making games, with guaranteed profitable games due to the Tas Government funding. Perhaps we could shift 1-2 back to Marvel, but we have to pay the bills at the end of the day. It’s tough, but there has to be better options for our club than Darwin.

2024

Adelaide
Port
Geelong
West Coast

2023

Port
Giants
Melbourne
Suns

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

From a financial perspective, if we can be financially viable and competitive, playing all our home games in Melbourne, why would we want a secondary market?

If we can't, then we must. Hopefully, then, we could get by with selling only two of our games.

Such a shame the timing didn't allow us to be the ones in Ballarat, particularly given we already said we would do that and had VFL ties with the Roosters at the time. All home games in Victoria, even if not all in Melbourne, should be the aim.

 

[shinboner magic]

Such a shame the timing didn't allow us to be the ones in Ballarat, particularly given we already said we would do that and had VFL ties with the Roosters at the time. All home games in Victoria, even if not all in Melbourne, should be the aim.

Do the dogs get any financial benefits from playing there

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Do the dogs get any financial benefits from playing there

They don't have to pay for Docklands.
I think they get something from Vic govt and Ballarat council, but not sure. The big thing is, They don't have to pay for Docklands. Even with AFL ownership and improved deals that place is ridiculously expensive.

 

[davefromjerra]

Two games only. If looking at Cairns, play in late July or August. Ideally against the Queensland teams.

Definite no to playing our home games at opposition home grounds.

 

[Colby Cheer Squad]

Sometimes I wonder whether North should have just kept the damn Canberra contract going instead of jumping to the Gold Coast all those years ago.

I believe that we were offered an extension in Canberra, but that the AFL ensured that the Gold Coast offer was more lucrative, in the short term at least.

We might have been turfed out, though, when GWS came along.

Let's be honest, the board at the time, or at the very least, the Chairman, had every intention of relocating to the Gold Coast when we turned our backs on Canberra and took up the 3 games per year on the Gold Coast.