Patrick,
It will come as no surprise to you I was angry when I started the thread - my anger originates from what, in my opinion, was the hypocrisy of the stadium management increasing costs to members when they have a stated objective of supporting membership growth.
I haven't responded to some of the answers given as they are either factually incorrect (e.g. surpluses are not used to pay maintenance, surpluses are after maintenance costs have been accounted for) or they don't address the problem as I see it (e.g. having a greater variety of food options and craft beer that are more or less the same cost as current food options doesn't solve affordability issues for families) or I simply don't believe them (e.g. Spotless have a contract that is, in effect, in perpetuity).
I believe there are major issues with the stadium's cost structure and there is poor collaboration between the providers of the range of services that make up the match day experience.
Whilst I think my questions are very valid my spleen however is better for the venting - just feel free to delete the thread if you are uncomfortable with the content or discussion.
The previous stadium management regime was utter sharke. Your criticism would be best aimed at then. Shane and his team have come in and are effectively trying to undo years of neglect. This doesn't happen overnight.
If you think a $5 increase in members parking is such a big deal, then go and park on the street. It's free. It's also not that far away from the stadium.
You may choose not to believe that the Spotless deal is entirely perpetual, and you wouldn't be wrong. However it is a (very) long term contract signed by the previous regime that is now screwing over the current regime. Prices of food there are under complete control of Spotless, so aiming that criticism at the Stadium is unfair.
The Phoenix don't have to get an attendance of >10,000 to cover the stadium costs, they have to get 10,000 to break even on the matchday. There's other costs that go into putting on an event at the stadium, and they are all included in the 10,000 figure. Thats why the Lions can get away with smaller crouds because they do everything on the cheap and the match day experience of patrons suffers as a result.
Yes, there have been issues between the Nix and the Stadium lately (the training session thing that played out in the media the notable one). Yes, the stadium could effectively throw money away and make it much cheaper for the Nix to play matches there. But all that would do is make the Stadium completely financially unstable, and the last thing we want is a big hunk of concrete sitting there that nobody can use because it went bankrupt and nobody could afford to bail it out.
In a couple of weeks we are going to have Shane on the podcast and I will put your question about what they are doing to help the Nix/Hurricanes improve their crouds to him. I'd love for you to listen to that interview with an open mind and don't go into it ready to dispute everything he says.
Patrick,
A few final comments and I'll let it go:
Re: Parking cost increase - fortunately for me the cost increase is not material - my anger doesn't originate from the $ amount but my perception of the hypocrisy of the cost increase.
Re: Stadium costs - stadium revenue has gone down 2% in the last 5 years, over the same time costs have increased (excl. dep'n and financing) 13%. At some point in time those respective trajectories force most businesses to review their operating model and cost structure - the stadium should be no different - at the moment they operate as a cost+ business.
I will listen to the pod cast (with an open mind) and would also appreciate you asking Shane; Does he see a problem with the sustainability of the stadium's cost structure? and, another question if you're wanting suggestions; What opportunities does he see for greater collaboration between the providers of the services that make up the match day experience?
