The AFL has posted a record attendance in the regular season for the second successive year. The total of 6,511,255 for the 22 home and away rounds surpassed last year’s figure of 6,475,521.
It means last year’s overall season total of 7,049,945, including finals attendances, is also under threat.
“The 2008 season again affirms the AFL as the No.1 spectator sport in Australia, when combined with the fact that our clubs built a record tally of 574,091 club members for the premiership season,” said AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou.
“This was an outstanding result considering the impact of the Olympics in the latter part of the season, which had an effect on three weeks of our year, and our commitment to play matches in Darwin, Carrara, Launceston and Canberra with limited capacity,”
Collingwood again led the club-by-club home ground attendance with 651,345, an average of nearly 60,000.
This was up on the Magpies’ figure last year of 603,881
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September 1st 2008 @ 11:21am
Michael C said | September 1st 2008 @ 11:21am | Report comment
It’s interesting, that over the last 4 years, the AFL has been trending above 6 million aggregate for H&A season, and hit records in 3 of those 4 years.
All this during the advent of the HAL, Melbourne Storm dominating the NRL, the FIFA WC, Olympics in a friendly timezone,
and also absorbing virtual ‘exhibition’ H&A games in Darwin, Canberra, Gold Coast and Hawthorn playing in Launceston.
Not a bad effort at all.
Perhaps, Simon Hill needs to make “Smell the fear” style comments a little more often.
And, unlike the NRL – who ‘busted’ thru the 3million barrier last year – - that was on the basis of an extra team and therefore 12 more regular season matches. The AFL has been a constant 176 match season since the inception of Port Power back in the mid ’90s.
Who knows what the future holds, but for now, it’s a pretty good ‘engagement’ for the AFL with it’s fan base, and that’s got to be a solid foundation.
September 1st 2008 @ 11:42am
Redb said | September 1st 2008 @ 11:42am | Report comment
MC,
I think we’ve said a few times this whole win lose scenario between AFL and other codes is just a load of BS. If less people go to an AFL game its not because another code has attracted them away, it has more to do with the appeal of that particular game.
Even if Victory and Storm crowds grew it would only be due to fans adding these codes to their AFL sporting diet not substituting and vice versa in the AFL’s expansion areas of GC and WS.
Many generic fans will still jump aboard the latest bandwagon based on who is winning and this applies to all regions within OZ.
Redb
September 1st 2008 @ 12:01pm
jimbo said | September 1st 2008 @ 12:01pm | Report comment
Congratulations to the AFL.
Not my favourite sport and don’t quite understand why it is so popular, but it is one of the best run competitions in the world and the FFA could learn from them – especially with Buckley CEO of the FFA.
A-League has had a slow start but hopefully can get back into gear as they approch their hay making time and post a fourth straight year of record attendances.
September 1st 2008 @ 1:31pm
Roddy said | September 1st 2008 @ 1:31pm | Report comment
Just goes to prove 1 thing: Australian Football is a vastly superior spectacle than the other codes. It’s faster, more skillful, more attacking and more free flowing than soccer and both thugby codes put together. And this translates into truly world class attendances that other sports can only dream about in their wildest fantasies. Simply put, Football is the best spectator sport on earth. And it’s AUSTRALIAN. Embrace it. Celebrate it.
September 1st 2008 @ 2:14pm
Michael C said | September 1st 2008 @ 2:14pm | Report comment
Jimbo -
I like your optimism…….including the implication that season one set a record attendance figure……….(or, were you meaning by default a record relative to any NSL season?)
September 1st 2008 @ 2:30pm
Redb said | September 1st 2008 @ 2:30pm | Report comment
Jimbo,
Good comments.
I for one think the A League needs to consolidate its support with existing teams by building superior playing lists and lifting the salary cap or include two marquee players.
Melb Victory will have a good year with attendances building from a sluggish start and probably end up not far away from it’s season 2 crowd averages.
Redb
September 1st 2008 @ 3:21pm
Justin said | September 1st 2008 @ 3:21pm | Report comment
Roddy – you ever watched the Muppetts?
September 1st 2008 @ 3:54pm
Lazza said | September 1st 2008 @ 3:54pm | Report comment
“Simply put, Football is the best spectator sport on earth”
Yet it is “incredibly weak” in 55% of the Australian TV market? Roy Masters isn’t just a RL head having a pop at the AFL, he’s absolutely right, check the ratings.
September 1st 2008 @ 4:09pm
Spiro Zavos said | September 1st 2008 @ 4:09pm | Report comment
No matter what football code you follow you have to concede that the AFL has got it right over the decades in establishing a competition that people want to see live, rather than on television. In Sydney the reliance on poker machine money to subsidise the local rugby league teams gave officials the excuse to treat spectators very badly. I used to take son number 1 to Kogorah Oval in the 1980s and it was never a pleasant viewing experience.
The team songs, the traditions of the clubs passed on from one generation to the next, the colours, the whole pageant of an AFL game make it a great viewing experience.
The other codes, especially rugby union and rugby league, could learn from the AFL presentation of its games.
Having watched the 2007 RWC in the south of France, I’d love it if rugby union officials put on the same sort of presentation, the bands, the trumpets, the drums and the crowd enthusiasm for major matches here.
September 1st 2008 @ 4:22pm
Roddy said | September 1st 2008 @ 4:22pm | Report comment
Justin – No, but I see you’re very familiar with them!
And I love it how thugby fans desperately cling to ratings figures. There’s only one TV figure that really matters…AFL: $780, 000, 000. And the next one will top $1billion with the expansion to 18 teams. Yep, AUSTRALIAN Football is no.1 in AUSTRALIA by a long long way. And will continue to be for another 150 years…