The key point here, which the FFA seem oblivious too, is that support for a club takes time to develop. And it doesn't happen via 1-2 games per season. People who turn up to these games are generally just coming for the novelty which quickly wears off.
Real support (the type of support that makes people buy memberships and turn up to games in seasons like 12/13) comes via an emotional attachment to the club. The type that you gain by growing up going to games as a kid, or by travelling through the lows of 12/13 as well as the highs of 09/10. It doesn't happen overnight, in fact it takes years. But every time I see a kid on the bus in a Nix shirt, I can see that growing here in Wellington.
As soon as they turn it into the NZ Phoenix, and take half the home games around the country you lose all of it. The passion and loyalty gets replaced by a desperate appeal to the next great 'spectacle' to draw in punters.
Good luck with your metrics then.
Exactly. 'NZ Phoenix' is insanity. By necessity a rebrand would involve changing the colours. My guess is they would go with black and white stripes like Juventus. It's the kind of thing that will look great on a billboard for a few months, but will fall completely flat when you are actually walking into the half empty stadium. And then you have ripped away the emotional attachment that people had. It sounds innocuous but it's actually a really big deal.
Melbourne Heart is a case in point. They changed to Melbourne City and the average attendance shot up to a new record for one season... but has now come crashing down to its lowest ever. They have alienated a lot of loyal supporters who will never come back.