I have to keep going back to the point that as far as I can see, backing the Nix as a project and aiming for a competitive, semi-pro NZ National League are mutually exclusive. The whole reason why we were allowed the Nix (and before them the Kingz/Knights) was because we didn't have our own pro league.
And I should also point out that comparing local football crowds today with those in an era where there was no Internet, hardly any weekend shopping, and bugger-all on TV and virtually nothing else to do with weekend leisure times is completely misleading.