Parramatta Stadium was half empty yesterday as the Eels beat Gold Coast Titans in an NRL thriller, despite Parramatta offering cheap family-day tickets to their supporters.
Just over 10,000 fans took up the offer, which wasn’t that many more than the 5,693 supporters who turned out in pouring rain to watch Melbourne Victory beat Chinese side Tianjin Teda last week.
Over in Adelaide, the lowest AFL crowd of the round to date – just 21,287 fans – turned out at AAMI Stadium to see Port Adelaide crash spectacularly to the Gold Coast Suns.
Like the Eels, Port suffered the indignity of running out into a half-empty arena. Interestingly, both they and the Eels were playing newly-minted Gold Coast expansion teams.
Critics will cite extenuating circumstances for the small crowds.
Both teams are out of form, the Eels game was broadcast on Channel Nine, AAMI Stadium is too far from the Adelaide city centre, it was a public holiday, and so on.
But the truth is probably more prosaic than that.
Parramatta Eels only get big crowds when they play a Sydney-based rival such as Canterbury or the Wests Tigers.
Occasionally a winning run like those in 2005 or 2009 lures the would-be fans out of the woodwork, but despite being one of the most popular teams in the NRL, the Eels can generally only call upon a base of around 10,000 fans to attend games.
AFL crowds in Adelaide seem to be heading backwards, with the much-vaunted ‘showdown’ between Port and the Adelaide Crows failing to sell out a couple of weeks back.
And while many will point to today’s fixtures in the NRL and AFL as proof that Australians still turn out en masse to watch live sport, the fact is teams across all codes are pulling in fewer spectators than they might once have hoped.
The ANZAC Day fixtures hint at part of the problem.
No longer content to watch teams through thick and thin, increasingly Australian sports fans are only showing up for the big events.
More concerned with being entertained than barracking for one side, these fans turn up to A-League grand finals to sample the atmosphere and be part of an historic event.
They’re the type of fans Sydney FC attracted in their inaugural season, pencilling in an A-League game as part of their cultural calendar before moving on to the next trend.
And while we should welcome all types of supporters through the turnstiles, the problem is how to maintain interest from non-diehard supporters in the face of so much competing entertainment.
This is where the cost of ticket prices plays a role.
A-League and Champions League tickets are not overly expensive, but factor in the cost of travel, the watered-down light beer, and the culinary disgrace Australian stadia call food, and suddenly the cost of attendance grows. At a time when many are struggling with current living costs, it’s no doubt a factor.
Why struggle with the traffic, the abominable food, and other inconveniences when chances are the match we’re interested will be broadcast on TV anyway?
It’s true Australians aren’t particularly interested in the AFC Champions League, but then neither are the Japanese or South Koreans or fans in the Middle-East.
And using crowd figures to gauge interest overlooks a broader problem: Australians are increasingly selective about the sporting games they attend, so unless it’s a big-match event or a run to the finals, smaller crowds could soon become the norm.
Matt H
Guest
I think any sane person would agree that: - in Melbourne AFL wins and it ain't going anywhere soon. Football in Melbourne appears to be a relatively healthy niche sport second. Rugby next and will nicely support one team only, and NRL runs below but will survive. - in Sydney, NRL is king, rugby is queen, football has it's niche and AFL has that ok for one team but two may struggle situation - in Brisbane rugby league is king and queen. Rugby and AFL do ok as long as they win. Football is a long long fourth, and I say this having played in Brisbane and my son playing too.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
What a difference a week makes. Round 6 of the AFL is set to be close to the worst average attendance in the past 6 years. Perhaps, AFL HQ should try to schedule Coll v Ess every week? North Melbourne attracted 16,014 to its game against an AFL team from Adelaide on a picture-perfect autumn day. When MVFC played a Football team from Adelaide in October 2010 - at the same venue - 16,269 attended.
Prince Imperial
Guest
The Victory ACL game could not even crack the top 100 pay tv programmes of the week despite being on in primetime on a weeknight. http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2011/04/pay-tv-ratings-week-17.html This article is directed at attacking other codes and reflecting the author's insecurities, when the obvious truth is that there is very lilttle public interest in the ACL.
Peter Wilson
Roar Guru
Are you serious? These are the Swans attendances over the last 24 years: http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ta-sydney-swans And the Brisbane ones: http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ta-brisbane-lions How can anyone in their right mind possibly say that this is going to be a record year for AFL in NSW and Qld. AFL is going backwards in NSW and Qld.
Gary
Guest
Your theory doesn't hold up in Perth. Explain why the Perth Glory are struggling to get a miniscule crowd whilst the Rugby Super 15 side the Western Force plays to near capacity in the same stadium week after week. The same goes for the AFL Dockers and Eagles matches at Subiaco (capacity approx 40,000). In fact there are plans to build a new stadium for AFL and to expand nib Stadium to cater for the Rugby crowds. Despite the fantastic numbers palying junior football (the Association variety) it seems that the evidence is overwhelming that at least in WA people other than the diehards just aren't interested in the A League.
Fake ex-AFL fan
Guest
Pete - In assessing AFL crowds in QLD I'm using the yardstick clearly established by British Association football fans - namely that aggregate crowds are the key figure. And I can assure you that more people will attend AFL games in QLD in 2011 than any other year in the history of the competition. Feel free to doubt this fact, but keep in mind that at about this stage of last year's AFL competition a number of your fellow BAF fans (including I believe yourself under a different user name) were making all sorts of dire predictions for AFL crowds. Funnily enough those predictions dried up as the season progressed and it became clear that the AFL was headed for another massive year. I expect something similar this year. If you'd like to utilise a different yardstick - say average crowds - then I'm happy to do that as long as we apply it consistently across all competitions.
The Cattery
Guest
Monday's game got ratings of 1,053,000, including 102,000 in Sydney and 101,000 in Brisbane, which isn't too bad considering they were two Melbourne teams. This is the reason why the AFL is about to sign off on a TV rights deal of $1.025 billion (with contras of at least $50 mill not even included).
Peter Wilson
Roar Guru
You really are a fake. Where is any evidence to support your nonsense claims. QLd attendances are way down on last season, so how are they going to "smash any records". The Swans have been in Sydney for over 30 years and they still have lower ratings than the Iron Chef and come a distant last every time. Attendances for the Swans are lower than they were in 1997. Don't get too cocky about this season yet Fake, you have been blessed with sunny autumn weather and the four or five best attended Melbourne AFL teams haven't played out of Melbourne yet. The way the AFL stacked the draw this year, you should have been way ahead of last season already.
The Cattery
Guest
Of that majority of Sydney siders who do not watch sport of any description, you will find many types, including those who will watch live sport of the right type if it is offered to them. It's all about presenting a different option to the Sydney market, of providing the choice.
Titus
Guest
And what is it about AFL that will attract people who don't like sport to it?
Fake ex-AFL fan
Guest
Note my use of the term AFL/NRL. In Melbourne it is more likely to be the former, in Sydney of course the latter.
The Cattery
Guest
Titus no one need drop anything. The AFL's business planning is not predicated on what one single individual wishes to do or not do. The majority of Sydneysiders do not watch any live sport of any description. The AFL will hope that some of them will take an interest in the AFL over the coming decades. Seeing that the AFL has already managed to get two crowds of 10,000 to Blacktown for pre-season games over the past 12 months, I would think that they are on the right track.
Fake ex-AFL fan
Guest
Titus - I guess the question is how lucrative is the British expat market in Sydney? Most of the Brits I know in Melbourne at least follow an AFL team whilst of course retaining a loyalty to the sport of their homeland. I assume in Sydney their support would be split across Union and League, so perhaps not too many available for the AFL to target.
Titus
Guest
Well if 250 000 people play the game they can't all be rushing home to watch the AFL.
Titus
Guest
Why are we going to drop our games for your game? Personally I find it to be an inferior game to Football, I would possibly watch games on TV but I am put off by the attitude of people like yourself and the approach of the game to expansion, TV figures would suggest I am not alone. Your only hope is that we follow more than one code and from that perspective you are going about it all wrong.
Fake ex-AFL fan
Guest
Titus - I guess we just differ with our definition of extremely limited popularity. I look at the national league for British Association Football and see attendances in free fall, tiny TV audiences and zero mainstream interest. I take that as evidence of limited popularity. You see a few kids kicking a soccer ball around on a Saturday morning before their parents rush home to watch or attend the AFL / NRL match of the day and you see a sport that is booming. It's all a question of perspective I guess.
Sherrin-Burley-Faulkner
Guest
No, unless you have been living in a bubble, you may have noticed that it is actually expanding.
The Cattery
Guest
Certainly, one imagines there has to be a limit to growth. But given the AFL has only really got serious about the two big Northern markets in the last few years, I suspect there is plenty of room for growth yet.
Titus
Guest
So it's reached a growth limit. I guess it was siilly to expect the growth to go on forever considering the limited market. I believe this was part of the criticism by media buyers, the TV audience isn't growing and it isn't likely to.
Titus
Guest
You will be doing well to find a an AFL game, I certainly don't see any. I've seen the posts but never anyone using them. Football however is everywhere, its certainly not suffering from "extremely limited popularity".