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With the Roar owners now committing to the club financially into the future, is it turnaround time? Can we get back to the 14,000 to 17,000 fan average of seasons one-three? Or has the horse bolted?
I think it’s ridiculous to imagine that all the eight inaugural A-League clubs would get it right, and The Roar are the one club who didn’t.
A little short history of the club for those who are not fans:
It started off on the wrong foot. Financed initially by the Queensland Lions, a generally disliked club in the Brisbane Premier League (mainly because it could afford to recruit all the best local players), it already put many Brisbane football fans offside.
Despite that drawback, it increased crowds from 14,600 in season 1 to nearly 17,000 in season 3.
But it was still not a sweet smelling rose garden.
The home winning record was pathetic and the crowd average was topped up by late surges in season 2 and 3, resulting in crowds of over 30,000 against Sydney FC.
At most games, though, fans including me, left the stadium with an empty feeling.
For new clubs with no long-standing emotional attachment, winning helps to bridge the gap somewhat. To add insult to injury, management put up ticket prices astronomically along the way.
So by season five, ticket prices were on average close to double that of season one. It’s not rocket science to see that value for money wasn’t there.
Call it a backlash, whatever, it hurt the club at the gate.
Some diehard fans simply couldn’t afford it, especially families.
The new owners have committed to reducing ticket prices to where they were two seasons ago. Allowing for inflation, this is probably about right given the value for money equation. Also, committing to more connection with the Brisbane Football community and community at large.
But is it enough to one bring in the Brisbane football fans (who surely by now have realized that this club is in no way connected to the Queensland Lions), and two the lost fans and general sporting public who didn’t see “Value for Money?”
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.