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Two disappointing crowds – and one downright turnout – have been the only dampener on an otherwise brilliant #RiseForAlex weekend so far.
Only 16,125 fans turned out to Parramatta Stadium to watch the Eels take on the resurgent South Sydney Rabbitohs, while in the Shire, creative counting somehow came up with a crowd figure of over 9,000.
Yesterday afternoon, only thirteen and a half thousand turned up to watch the world champion Roosters battle the top-of-the-table Penrith Panthers.
Why are NRL crowds suffering across the weekend? Simply put, the NRL and its clubs are pricing fans out of attending games.
Earlier in the season I spoke to Sharks CEO Steve Noyce, who assured me that $30 was what fans were willing to pay for general admission. A crowd of under 10,000 on a Friday night suggests otherwise.
I have never spoken to anyone who believes $30 is a fair price to watch an underperforming and under-fire Sharks side from a patch of grass on the hill.
The Cowboys, geographically the furthest opponent for the Sharks, are not a well drawing opposition. Neither side is flying high atop the NRL table, yet ticket prices were not adjusted.
One can argue the crowd was due to two under-performing sides playing in cold and windy weather. That argument cannot be used for the high-flying Roosters versus the even higher flying Panthers on Saturday afternoon.
Two Sydney sides, both in the top four, playing at a family friendly afternoon time in one of the best stadiums in the city.
I’ve long called for a dynamic ticket pricing structure, as seen in the English Premier League. Big games are priced accordingly, while games featuring less glamorous opponents are cut, sometimes quite significantly.
For instance, a Manchester derby between United and City will cost you well over what a clash between either Manchester side versus Stoke.
There was absolutely no chance that the Sharks versus Cowboys game was going to draw well. So why not half ticket prices and push up towards 15,000?
Earlier in the season a similarly embarrassing crowd turned up to watch the Tigers play out of Campbelltown, again against the out-of-town Cowboys. The Tigers offered $10 tickets for their next game at Campbelltown, against the Broncos. Over 10,000 more people attended the heavily discounted clash.
I understand most sides are not in a position to drop ticket prices too far, however I would have thought 15,000 at $20 would be better than 9,000 at $30.
The NRL works on supply and demand. Quality NRL games are worth $30 to watch, however the demand right now simply isn’t there. There has to be some flexibility, and prices should be dropped across the board.
The fact that State of Origin 3 did not sell out in rugby league mad Brisbane illustrates my point. There is no such thing as a dead rubber in Origin and Queenslanders were keen to watch their side send a message to the victorious Blues, but fans were simply not willing to pay the heavily inflated prices.
In good news, the NRL have decided to keep grand final tickets on par, at least in the lower priced categories.
Family tickets will be $5 cheaper across the cheaper categories, which is a step in the right direction.
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