Crowds - The thread of Australian whining

Our crowds have actually been reasonably steady over 7 years. Season 1 was always going to be higher. 

The crowds lift at the end of season if we are doing well. 

Rugby crowds have rapidly been declining while ours have remained steady. Yet the nix are the ones who are reported to have small and declining crowds in the media. 

Kids free tickets don't work. They devalue the worth of a nix ticket as people modify their behaviour to only go when they can get a free ticket. Think the club are better off pushing a big kids event once a season and make a big day of it. I quite like the kids area with access to the pitch that somebody else mentioned - maybe you could make kids half price for that day too. It'd be best at the middle of the season when crowds are never going to be that big and casuals aren't interested. If you couple it with having games at the Hutt rec in the middle of the season you really could make a big event of it that the Hutt council would probably even be keen to piggyback on and help fund. 

Non playing players run a coaching clinic an hour before the game prematch warmups?

Great crowds in Aus but I do think that there still riding there National Teams World Cup performance earlier this year. 

Gosford crowd only 7237 last night - 10000 last week for big opener - so will they be on notice soon. Don't all have Sydney and Melbourne pop base to call on. Adelaide attracted great crowd at new Adelaide Oval game, but that's partly novelty factor.

We just have to keep winning. However, despite the owners refusal, a marquee striker would be a major help. Not just with our crowd, but just staying close to these big 4 Sydney and Melbourne clubs, who are taking the A league to a new level on and off the field. 

Think it might become an issue for the A league - despite the cap.

It's not the first time they played there, but don't think that they ever got a crowd that big. Don't think novelty would be a significant factor there.

Yeah they played the pre -season game against Malaga there, but it was the first official Hyundai A-League match to be staged at the redeveloped Adelaide Oval - Adelaide's an AFL town - converting the curious into reds supporters back at Hindmarsh will be hard for them, and that's where they're playing for the rest of the season. However, like us, winning results will help, and they look a good side.

I partially blame WCC, I hardly see Pheonix Posters or flags around town anymore. When Terry use to own the club, and John Morrison was in the WCC, they made a huge effort to market Pheonix around town. Thats how I see it. 

It wasn't, they played there against Melbourne Victory and Sydney there before, and got crowds between 23-25k.

Read what Tonya wrote though El grap... Didn't say it was the first Hyundai A-League game to be played at the Adealide Oval... DID however say 

it was the first official Hyundai A-League match to be staged at the redeveloped Adelaide Oval

Sorry I was talking about the redeveloped Oval, finished in March this year. Watched an AFL game at the new complex this past winter. Is such a better venue than it was. You'd watch anything there while the facilities are so new. 

' In first A-League game at the ground since its redevelopment, a club-record crowd in excess of 30,000 is expected.'

But yes, the rivalries with Victory and Sydney work for them bigtime - 16,504 v Melbourne at Hindmarsh last season, and 15.347 v Sydney

and the 2 you mention above.

Sadly we don't have any traditional rivalry that the floating fans can attach themselves too.

Spending money on such things at this stage of the season would bring minimal returns. Need to build the season membership at this stage of the season - which the nix are doing a good job at since we've got our highest ever membership. 

Am sure they'll start putting flags and posters up toward the final third of the season when they'll actually get a meaningful return on doing so. 

Though I guess it doesn't really cost the council anything to put flags on their own lamp posts. But if you have them up too long people probably stop seeing them after a while. Think it'd be better to put them up toward end of season so people can notice them when it matters.

I'm not sure what the angst is about crowd numbers. We have finished last and second to last in the two previous seasons. We have won only 5 of our last 20 home games????? I think 7000+ is good all things considered. Egg ball numbers have been in free fall. We have kept our core support despite the product being shiite for large parts of the previous two years.

The bottom line is that crowd numbers will improve when the team start winning regularly. Even Dome, who has been a bit of a doom merchant about crowd numbers concedes that if there is a bit of a buzz around the teams performances and the media pick up on it then the people will turn up. Wellington sports results have been crap for years....nobody has won anything. The city is just hanging out for some success. I am sure that if the Nix start regularly doing the business on the field than we will be picking up an extra few thousand to home games. 

Crowds numbers are a factor for the Nix's on going success...but they are not critical. The recently released financial report said that ticket sales revenues amounted to only 10% of the clubs revenue. Last year the club lost $300,000.....down from $1.5 million previous.(fantastic job by Welnix) If, say the club makes $20 per ticket then thats only 15,000 extra tickets sold to reach break even point. All they need is to average  around 1000 more tickets per game than last years shiite season and they are there......IMO that is very possible..... if the team starts winning. Either that or take another game to Auckland. 

All this stuff about banners, marques, bouncy castles, kids days is only window dressing....get your on field stuff right and people will come. Last year we had a great midseason run...the buzz was there and we got 10,000 to one game(shame we got dicked 0-5 LOL)

Doh. Reading and comprehension clearly not my strong point.

The last part is a bit drastic

I agree to a degree. There was definitely an issue last year with the moving of games around. Not so much that they did but the timing was all wrong, it didn't allow an opportunity for crowd building momentum to build up in Wellington when it really needed to. I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't recognised this and that is why they are doing the Hutt Rec thing rather than going on the road. Thet might slowly be getting it sorted but, no doubt, a winning season would help.

7,237 in Gosford. 300,000 population
8,789 in Perth. 1,700,000 population.

Waits for Cockerill article.....

Move everybody = 5 more people through the gates. Taking one for the team.

The commentators for the Perth game were saying it was a record and how amazing the turnout was. Kinda thought that made our 7K look a lot better

Is this becoming a self fulfilling prophecy? The more the crowds get talked about and how average they are the more you're likely to disconnect with people?

In fairness to Wellington they've not had a decent sports team in the region either, so you're yet to see what the Wellington sports nuts will do when they have a team to back who gets results.

Jag . "Taking one for the team." In psycho babble terms, projection with Nigella. :-)

Heard an ad for the season passes on Radio Sport this morning - had a guy putting on a stereotypical gay accent saying "Black and yellow is the new black darling" and I thought god that's playing into what oval ball supporters regaurd as football stereotypes.

^ that is ridiculous

Last weeks radio add was kind of cringeworthy as well.  Felt like it was recorded before we lost the opener and hinted that we'd won.

Wow, homophobic stereotypes huh. Next week it'll be racist ones I take it? poor form from whoever is responsible.

"Football is the new football darling. Join the world."

"No, no, no, no.........

With it being Labour Weekend I do hope we can get a good crowd this Sunday. Promote promote promote!!  

The crowd at the Sydney Wanderers game was wicked - as per link

How'd that guy get all the way to halfway?

Security looked shabby, overweight, and probably needs an appointment to spec savers as he grabbed the wrong person

Being Labour weekend is a reason it may not be that good,heaps of people head out of town this weekend.Sadly i dont think that away result will convince many to give it a shot.Hope im wrong, but we need to start getting results at home to entice people along.

Just like our fun police. some of them look so frail - except Marley, some look overweight and some look shit scared. I don't know why as there has not been any real trouble over the last 7 seasons. Beer being spilt more than anything. Big crowd at that Sydney game, bet the police had fun afterwards.

It certainly helps out of towners like me get down for the game. Can't wait.

What an awesome crowd at that Sydney derby!!! Here's my opinion on bigger crowds to achieve this we need to create a spectacle , yes winning football is important but it's you guys the fever that will bring the casual fan. It's the crowd experience that you can't get at a rugby match. If you guys grow and get bigger and stronger and louder the fans will come. I've got mates now that are fans because we have taken them to the games when we know there will be an atmosphere and now there hooked we take regular trips to Wellington and go to every Auckland game. 

I love the Phoenix !! I mean damn I named my dog Phoenix but it's for the singing and the passion of the crowd more than the football we play. 

Grow the yellow fever and they will come!

I think Patrick needs to run onto the field with a flare, grab the mic off the ZM guy and demand everyone to download the app before getting spare tackled by Marley. If he does this every week, they will come.

Yeah, almost nobody comes to Wellington for long weekends. You find more people leave instead.

You also have the under 19s, which will take a few out of Wellington to Napier but not sure how many that would be. (Could be only 20-30)

One would think that the captive audience being football people and being out of town is not good for the Phoenix.

You'd be surprised - Wellington is a tourist destination in its own right - most people come on a long weekend to do some shopping though, not watch the nix.

High end fashion at Ryos, fine dining at Fritz', what more could one ask for?!

Always feels quieter and more empty in Wellington over long weekends. Maybe it's just that nobody but shift workers are working is what makes it seem that way.

Not quite as good as the Christmas break where there's often an eerie silence along Lambton Quay.