Gary Ablett signs autographs for fans during the opening of Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast.
This wasn’t the season for the Gold Coast Titans to plummet from preliminary-finalists to wooden spoon favourites; not with the Gold Coast Suns, pumped up with the AFL’s millions, moving into their beachside playground.
The Titans’ dip in performance has contributed to the Suns currently beating their more established neighbours in home crowd averages.
The Suns too hover around the bottom of the ladder – expectedly, given their heavy investment in youth in their first season – but there’s more to it than relative on-field performances.
The numbers read: Gold Coast Suns average home crowd at Metricon Stadium currently sitting at 18,309, the Gold Coast Titans at 16,109.
When the pair went head-to-head in direct competition on the night of July 23, the Suns attracted a near sell-out crowd of 23,302 against Collingwood, while 15,741 saw the Titans take on Queensland rivals, North Queensland Cowboys.
From their debut in 2007, the Titans’ crowd average has fallen by around a quarter. Even in their run to the finals in 2010, they recorded their lowest crowd average of 17,877 – close to 4000 less than their first season.
The Titans don’t have a Leagues Club to support themselves. They are privately owned – and, like all privately owned clubs, their fortunes lie with their owners’ corporations. Unlike the Suns, the level of support the Titans receive from the code is said to be minimal.
The NRL heavily subsidises other more needy clubs. And once its expansion plans roll out, the chances of the Titans receiving support will diminish. If the NRL expands in Queensland, be it Brisbane, Ipswich or Central Queensland, then the Queensland rugby league market contracts for the three current clubs.
The Suns, meanwhile, are heavily bankrolled by the AFL with draft concessions, subsidized tickets, a refurbished ground built to adequate specifications for the club’s fan base size, and millions put into spreading the code’s gospel with heavy advertising campaigns inside the Gold Coast, not to mention outside Queensland.
The campaign offering travel packages for away supporters to see their team play at the Suns while taking in a few days in Surfers Paradise, for example, is one way the code is activating its Gold Coast intrusion.
And the proof is in the pudding: the large contingent of Collingwood supporters in attendance on July 23, bumping up the crowd figure to 23,302 – 7561 more than were in attendance to watch two Queensland rugby league clubs battle it out.
The Suns can even afford to follow Collingwood’s example and send their players to Arizona for a two-week camp in November.
It’s a far cry from the AFL’s first expansive venture north in the days of the Brisbane Bears, who flirted with financial ruin in their early years.
The relative fortunes of the Suns and Titans make for a fascinating contrast.
In the summer, the focus turns to the much-maligned Gold Coast United.
While owner Clive Palmer went someway to addressing the future of his club in this recent interview (not very convincing, in my opinion), huge question marks remain given their lack of activity in the marketplace and failure to adequately replace the spine of their team.
United may have saved “about $2 million on player contracts” with one-year deals for the players signed, keeping them on their toes to perform, according to Palmer. However, the real question is around the traction gained off the field.
The most consistent performing club of the last two seasons – finals bound on both occasions and one game away from the grand final last season – with a team stocked with quality players, could only manage crowd averages of 5392 and 3434.
So without Shane Smeltz, Jason Culina, Bruce Djite, Zenon Caravella, Dino Djulbic, Bas van den Brink and Steve Pantelidis, how will a team expected to struggle this season appeal to the ambivalent Gold Coast?
How can the club possibly salvage the downward spiral without the drawcards it had?
Throw into the mix the arrival of the Suns, sapping the Gold Coast of corporate sponsors, market space, media attention and potential members who have committed to the Suns cause and only have enough disposable income for one club, and it’s difficult to see United reviving itself in its third season, despite Palmer’s reassurances.
Palmer’s recent claim of looking into the possibility of building his own brand new stadium to escape the costs associated with the club’s current deal at Skilled Park raises more questions.
Is that really the most pressing concern when the club’s crowds are so paltry? Wouldn’t the money spent on the new stadium be better served into growing the fan base and community engagement?
After all, the poor crowd averages only exacerbate the high rental costs, hence the unpopular crowd cap of 5000.
United’s poor crowds and rugby league’s struggle to get an NRL franchise going, perpetuate the belief that the Gold Coast is a mirage for sporting codes and clubs – tempting them with the idyllic setting and promise yet disappointing with barren crowds and little interest.
As documented in previous columns, there are good reasons why the Gold Coast market is a tough nut to crack – greater competition from the entertainment sector, a transient population and poor transportation options for a population spread out on the long stretch of beachfront, in an area lacking the cultural roots of Australia’s more established cities.
The fastest growing region in our country it may be, but it remains to be seen whether it can sustain AFL, NRL, A-League and NBL clubs. But the Gold Coast highlights the following traits:
– The financial might of the AFL, as witnessed by the spend and support of their expansion clubs.
– The NRL’s inability to match that spend/investment.
– The A-League trying to carve out its own niche, reliant on the dollars of private owners who, compared to AFL clubs, are left to their own devices with no guarantee of getting it right.
– The fact that there’s possibly not enough support and corporate dollars to go around in the face of growing competition from other entertainment sectors.
With this in mind, rather than just being an evil seductress, perhaps the Gold Coast (and Queensland at large) best typifies the trends in the sporting landscape, without the unique characteristics and allegiances of the sports-mad Melbourne, fickle Sydney and the lands rugby league forgot – Adelaide and Perth.
Follow Adrian on twitter @AdrianMusolino
Benny
Guest
@Emric - Because the Gold Coast has 540,000 people living in a 50km long narrow stretch of suburbia, while also being only 1 hour drive south of Brisbane with 2 million people. The GC is also one of the highest growing urban areas in Australia, with much of the growth coming from people from southern AFL states who bring with them a culture of attending AFL games (NSW does not have the same culture of patronage to NRL games). Tasmania on the other hand has 507,000 (less than on the Gold Coast), spread out across a whole state. Hobart has 212,000 people and Launceston has 106,000 people and are 2.5 hours drive between each other. Tassie is also not growing in population at anywhere near the rate than that of the Gold Coast. Also Tassie will go an see a few Hawthorn games without demanding their own team.
Queensland's game is rugby league
Guest
And I should just accept your opinion because... ? You're no expert on this matter. Stop acting as if you're qualified to define what is and isn't correct.
Queensland's game is rugby league
Guest
"Neither did I encounter people who hate AFL like Q girl & think Qld’s sport is RL." If you're saying you didn't meet a single person who thought that rugby league was the most popular sport in QLD then please forgive me for believing you're a liar.
Queensland's game is rugby league
Guest
"There are thousands of born and bred QLDers playing Australian football, do yourself a favour and get out of the sheltered workshop." How would you know? I'd be surprised if there are more than 5,000 born-and-bred Queenslanders playing Aussie rules. I'd be surprised if more than 10 of the born-and-bred Queenslanders playing Aussie rules aren't rejects who failed to make it in rugby league, rugby union and soccer.
Queensland's game is rugby league
Guest
Why would I watch Aussie rules? I'm not interested in watching g@y p0rn and I don't like watching mediocre athletes play a game that lacks complex skillsets. Accept it, nothing exciting happens in Aussie rules.
Queensland's game is rugby league
Guest
If the price for admission at Suns' games were the same as the Titans then they'd struggle to get 5,000 past the gates when playing non-Victorian clubs.There's a reason the AFL has made the tickets dirt cheap for the Suns. They konw it's the only way they can survive in a rugby league stronghold.
Queensland's game is rugby league
Guest
"The info is a few years old but at least it is accurate, unlike the “facts” that you lot trot out." So you're an expert who can tell which one source is accurate and another isn't, huh? What makes you an expert? The only reason you say your source is accurate is because its results support your pro-AFL agenda. You have no objectivity and lack credibility.
Queensland's game is rugby league
Guest
UK Steve, How original, copying something that I said to one of your mates. Get a life.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
It wont help the Gold Coast Titans, but if I was a Brisbane consortium, I'd definitely talk to the QRU about renting, or preferably buying, Ballymore. You're better off making money with a 20k crowd than losing it with a 30k crowd. If you dont control your grounds, you control nothing.
ClipperWithChipsOnBoth
Guest
Found the link. 300k a match for the Titans to play at their stadium, outrageous. http://www.smh.com.au/business/stadium-rent-to-cost-a-bomb-for-brisbane-20110719-1hn8v.html#ixzz1SnTaHJxh The Titans pay $300,000 per game rental, while their rivals for the wooden spoon, the Sydney Roosters, pay $40,000 a game for hiring the SFS.
Dingo
Guest
Ok bilbo, Qgirl and other rl perpetrators of all things mythical, here is the lowdown on merchandising. Get your tissues ready. "AFL licensed product also maintains its position as Australia’s number one licensed sports brand with retail sales of more than $150 million in 2006." http://www.superbrands.com.au/BrandDetails.aspx?id=72 MEDIA RELEASE Monday, February 25, 2008 "A record $113 million in NRL merchandise sales has sparked one of the most competitive tender processes in the game’s history." http://www.classicsports.com.au/PressReleases/NRLMediaRelease/tabid/4429/language/en-AU/Default.aspx The info is a few years old but at least it is accurate, unlike the "facts" that you lot trot out.
Tony
Guest
Southport been there 25 years!
Tony
Guest
Certainly getting better crowds than Palmer & Searle predicted......or wanted
Tony
Guest
Says it all!
Tony
Guest
Was there for a Sun's game. Stayed a week. Didn't see nearly enough AF goalposts......you know, the ones with those annoying point posts. Neither did I encounter people who hate AFL like Q girl & think Qld's sport is RL. Everyone I met in bars & shops seemed pleased that all codes were present on the GC. Some even acknowledged that Aussie Rules was our indigenous code. If NRL games only get 50% more than AFL I would be worried if I was an RL fan!
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Really impressive.
Dingo
Guest
Did you read this bit. "Fail"
UK Steve
Guest
QGIRL - first up, it's fantastic that they give you internet access at The Park. Wow you've got quite a list here - musculoskeletal disorder, fumble the ball, inability to kick the ball between two goal posts, really clumsy, don’t have the upper body strength, lack co-ordination, can't tackle and not that fit. Gee, is there anything they can do? Not bad to be getting paid about $1m a year with all of those physical deficiencies.
stabpass
Guest
@ Q girl, "I am yet to meet a single born-and-bred Queenslander who plays Aussie rules. The only kids who played it at school were the few Victorians who moved here. I only knew 3 or 4 kids who actually played it at the schools I went to. " In some instances the sheltered workshops, you obviously attended, are great concepts, however they dont allow people to live in the real world. A very underated QLD sporting legend is the great Danny Dickfos, born in QLD of maori descent, he played 65 games for the Brisbane Bears, a true cult figure, he is still playing QAFL at the age of 41, having played over 250 games. And of course who can ever forget the book written called the 6 degees of Danny Dickfos. There are thousands of born and bred QLDers playing Australian football, do yourself a favour and get out of the sheltered workshop.
Queensland's game is rugby league
Guest
"every person involved in Australian football in QLD is a Victorian." I never said every Aussie rules footballer in Queensland is a Victorian. The two best "Queenslanders" in the AFL at the moment were born in Victoria and Tasmania and didn't move here until they were about 10. I think that say sit all. It proves that the only Queenslanders who play the game are the ones who are too weak, sooky and unskilled to cut it in the local rugby league comps. I am yet to meet a single born-and-bred Queenslander who plays Aussie rules. The only kids who played it at school were the few Victorians who moved here. I only knew 3 or 4 kids who actually played it at the schools I went to. Over 2,000 kids would have attended the schools I was at.