3,185. It was the difference between the attendance figures at the home games of Western Sydney Wanderers and Brisbane Roar on the weekend. The difference in atmosphere, however, was huge.
Tickets to Wanderland are the hottest in town. It’s partly due to the A-League new boys’ incredible on-field success but mostly because Parramatta Stadium is the perfect fit for everyone.
Having a home end like the Red and Black Bloc helps, and credit must go also to the fans that rocked up to those early fan forums and demanded it be the new club’s HQ.
Lyall Gorman listened and thank heavens he did, for Wanderers home matches have now become an example that needs to be followed.
The success of this club has verified a long-standing desire in the game for boutique stadiums in the A-League.
So back to Brisbane. There were 12,624 fans at the game against Melbourne Victory on Saturday – and 15,809 on hand to see Western Sydney cement their premiership favouritism 24 hours later.
Not much between them, really. Yet comparing the atmosphere at each is chalk and cheese.
People come away from Western Sydney games as if they have been part of some sort of religious experience.
Helping drive the buzz is the feeling of exclusivity, that you might miss out. On the other hand, there will always be plenty of unsold tickets at Roar games.
This is not just about Brisbane. It’s about stadiums that are too big for clubs.
And it speaks to the theory that the atmosphere at a sporting event directly correlates with the number of vacant seats in the building.
As the A-League enters a period of consolidation it is something that cannot be repeated enough. It’s elementary.
It is why as a general rule, Melbourne Victory games are just better at AAMI Park than in Docklands.
It is also why it’s easier to find yourself getting sucked into a game on television when the crowd has a part to play in the contest.
15,000 fans in a stadium with a capacity of 20,000 is infinitely better than the same amount in a cavernous 50,000-seater.
Apart from on special occasions, Suncorp Stadium will always manage to make a decent Brisbane crowd seem sparse and disconnected.
The club was extremely close to moving to Ballymore Stadium in the early years of the A-League but never did.
It is an old and dusty facility, but imagine a minor renovation and a crowd of 10,000 barmy Roar fans at Herston. It might be Wanderland-esque.
That is the argument pushed by fans in favour of a shift away from Lang Park, and after watching in real time the success of Western Sydney, it’s time to weigh up the pros and cons again.
Yes, crowds have to grow in the A-League. And they have been. But what has been behind the growth?
We are slowly appreciating that the unique atmosphere at football games is a trump card in the battle for hearts and minds.
To best leverage this opportunity we should be downsizing where appropriate and possible.
NUFCMVFC
Roar Guru
I find this all quite ironic in a way I remember the talk in season 1 was about how great it was for the professional image that football had moved out of obscure and near derelict suburban or even rural grounds and into top notch stadiums, now we are going full circle with the talk about how it is good we are moving some games from cavernous and near empty high end stadiums to the more intimate boutique stadiums Of course at the end of the day I think they are a bit dependent on eachother, MVFC did well by hosting many games at Docklands in a stadium the greater sporting public are familiar with, but this is now balanced out with a world class and modern boutique stadium. It seems to affect attendances by about 2-3k though I have noticed even though it's literally across the road from the MCG
Australian Rules
Guest
Just because you reeeeallly don't like AFL and its home, the MCG? Wow. Guess you're not as passionate about MBV as you make out.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
I am very surprised by that number. I would have expected it for Championship promotion playoff, and maybe occasionally for some big clubs looking to advance from League One could get close, but would have expected below that the figure to rarely break 30k. Just goes to show how wrong I can be.
apaway
Roar Guru
Kickass Two things hold that back: SFS memberships are sold on the basis of being able to attend A-League games and SFC games get a pretty healthy members roll-up. Secondly, while the SFS has many issues to deal with in regards to transport facilities to and from the ground, Leichhardt and Kogarah would be MUCH worse, with no parking facilities.
apaway
Roar Guru
Timmuh Lower League promotion play-offs usually attract crowds in excess of 70,000.
Kasey
Guest
Nathan: Can you explain PSLs a bit more please. As I understand it, if I’m a fan of the Gooberville Goobers NFL team and I want a season Ticket in their new Gooberville taxpayer funded stadium I might have to spend ~US$10k for a PSL which only confers on me the rights to purchase a season ticket for that seat alone. I may transfer the PSL as I would any other piece of property, but it seems a bit excessive to pay for the right to purchase a Season ticket (which will cost $US700-odd on top of the PSL) doesn’t it? As well as an Anglophile I am a bit of an Amero-phile when it comes to sport but still am yet to get my head around PSLs. cheers.
What's the fuss(ball)
Guest
cheers cliffclavin
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Fussball, Because all those sixpences at the gate pay players, build club rooms and do many other worthy things for the club.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Towser, Whatever. It. Takes :)
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Turns out they weren't even digging in to watch the actual match .. they were trying to simply watch the Gala team training at the stadium! :-) They'd obvious just watched "Escape to Victory"
Realfootball
Guest
Needing to move and being able to move are, unfortunately, very different propositions.
Ian
Guest
just reading ........'rubbish comment removed'..........made my afternoon
Kellett_1992
Guest
Yeah I got over doing that cause I get flooded with emails. It's when I do want the emails, that nothing interesting occurs. Oh well.
Kasey
Guest
mate here's a tip. comment early in the piece and have the follow up replies sent to your email address. that way you can go back and look at what was posted if it is removed *mischievious grin*:)
Kellett_1992
Guest
Damn it! I always miss out on seeing these types of comments. :(
Kasey
Guest
c'mon Fuss you're a smart bloke I would have thought it was obvious? they always try to turn the topic to the subject of crowds, safe in the knowledge that one steered that way, they can play their "mine is bigger than yours and thus 'better' 'trump' card." You live in victoria, its the standard MO for denigrating Sockah.....first point out that the crowds in the A-League are smaller than those in the AFL, then make the triumphant point that this 'proves' Aussie Rules is better than Sockah! Much Hilarity and 'good-game' bum slapping ensues:)
Towser
Guest
Yes advertising or mainly lack of ,particularly for certain matches,the blame doesn't lay solely on the shoulders of the Bakries. Yet I can give you a clear example of where it does help. In Season 4 the club was clearly on the decline as we know as Roar fans & the reasons why.(full impact seen season 5 ),despite some positive results. However towards the end of the season 2 matches were advertised Roar vs Sydney & Roar vs Perth. I remember it quite clearly because it shocked me to see it around the place on advertising hoardings The Ad was based on the possibility of the Roar making the finals. Attendance was 19,100 for the Sydney match & 17,300 for the Perth match. These were also back to back home matches. All other crowds were from 9-13000 with the average usually around 12,000. Certainly wouldn't do any harm judging from that to get the "Roar" out there. Theres an ideal opportunity coming up(providing results go our way) in the last 2 matches of the season to provide the same final build up Ad as we saw in 2009,particularly with Del Piero on the park for the last match.
Realfootball
Guest
Agree with this 100%, and with Towser on Suncorp - forget moving, focus on building support. History clearly indicates the potential is there. There has been ZERO marketing of the Roar in Brisbane by the club's various owners. It is remarkable just how much support the club pulls in week after week this season, given the circumstances.
Realfootball
Guest
Sorry mate, being in a similar position, I disagree on the live crowd aspect. Well, in part. I agree that it won't keep people like us away, sure, but I think the sense of theatre pulls in the less committed fans who can then become dedicated fans. Add to that the publicity that sellouts produce, and you have a potent entertainment package - as distinct from a football package. My hunch, which can never be proven of course, is that if the Roar had been playing out of a 20k stadium in our two glory seasons, we would have been filling it. There is no doubt in my mind that Brisbane have been hindered in building a broader supporter base by Suncorp stadium, and the endless empty seats.
Evan Askew
Guest
Good point. Thats what Dinamo Kiev do. They play out of the 15kseater Lobanovsky stadium for most league games and play at the city stadium for games against Shaktar and in the Champions league.