An interesting article by Mathew Windley in the Herald Sun caught my eye today, regarding Melbourne Victory’s plans to grow their support.
Windley was interviewing Melbourne Victory CEO Richard Wilson about Melbourne’s ambitions for the future, Wilson asserts an intention to grow the existing 18,432 strong membership (season ticket holders) by over 30 percent over the next four years with the aim of reaching about 30,000 and prospectively aim for 50,000 in ten years time by 2023.
This at first seems slightly fanciful given Melbourne Victory’s membership growth has been generally flat over the past few years.
Or rather, it has held steady in the face of a second Melbourne-based franchise being introduced in addition to the league going through lean years.
But the A-League is set to go through a new phase with free-to-air (FTA) exposure on Australian television for the first time.
This will give all teams a boost, but in particular the Eastern Seaboard teams which play their home games in the timeslot that matches broadcaster SBS’s preferences.
More particularly still, being the team with the highest attendances in conjunction with the most telegenic (namely an atmospheric and fullish looking stadium when at AAMI Park) means that Melbourne Victory look set to feature in the league promoting Friday timeslot.
This is along with Sydney FC featuring Alessandro Del Piero and Western Sydney featuring the RBB but more importantly the television audience of Western Sydney.
It is feasible then that A-League teams like Melbourne Victory and Western Sydney Wanderers in particular (given their crowds will be a great form of promotion for those teams) can aim to facilitate some core membership growth on the back of FTA exposure.
Additionally there is the fact that for the inaugural over the next ten years the ‘second generation’ of fans who are brought along by the first generation will start to add to the base core of fans.
The matter of Melbourne Victory gaining 25,000-plus members will start to bring issues for the club given there isn’t much room for manoeuvre within AAMI Park.
Wilson’s vision of “In 10 years’ time, why wouldn’t you have 50,000 at Etihad Stadium each week if all the stars align?” is innocent on the surface but it is a slightly controversial vision.
That is because it potentially sets the Melbourne Victory administration on a collision course with significant elements of its pre-existing fan base who have a much different vision of playingat the purpose-built and rectangular AAMI Park each week or as much as possible (myself amongst them it has to be said).
Active supporters in general have a poor history with stadium management, playing at Docklands is considered acceptable given it has effectively been the difference between being in the red and in the black financially for the past few years.
That’s without going into the ‘vision’ of an AFL-owned Etihad Stadium whereby the leasing costs to the resident A-League club are not quite as sweet as they are now.
The terms of Victory’s deal with Docklands stadium a matter which has irked the AFL in the past, then it really is a case of ‘watch this space’ when the AFL comes to own Docklands.
Another issue lies in the scenario whereby if Western Sydney Wanderers membership were to explode, or in the future when multi-generationally strong.
There are some potential questions as to whether they in time will be able to play out of the suburban stadiums of Sydney’s west if they remain as they are now.
This is why the outcome of the NSW Government’s decision as to whether to build a 40,000-plus stadium in Sydney’s west or explore other options is of such importance to Western Sydney’s future as Luke Doherty discussed earlier this year on The Roar.
As a Melburnian I hesitate to speak on behalf of people from Western Sydney, but given their pride in where they live I think it’s fair to say they will have a strong preference to play in the heart of Sydney’s west well into the future and not in a stadium that straddles the border between east and west ala Homebush.
Amidst all of this, a rather serious number of questions are raised about the potential challenges in ensuring football’s capacity to grow well into the future.
Allan
Guest
Wanderers are less than 5 years away, in fact the only thing stopping them will be stadium size and seating allocation - something the GWS Giants will never have to worry about with their massive 5000 (inflated figures) crowd numbers.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
"5. finally correct me if i’m wrong. but the football capacity at AAMI Park is just under 26 000 isn’t it? never seen a MVFC crowd larger than that even to games that are sold out." We've been through this many times. The seating capacity of AAMI Park is 30,052 1. It was reported that WorkSafe requirements re:FoxSports TV coverage reduce the capacity to around 29k 2. MVFC have 18.7k members - these seats are paid for. Whether fans turn up is irrelevant - MVFC has the money in the bank. 3. MVFC's CEO mentioned at a Members Forum that approximately 5k seats are allocated to sponsors, corporates & promotions. 4. So, for 8 MVFC matches at AAMI Park last season, around 5k tickets were available for sale to the public. The majority would have been the more expensive Category A & Catevory B Reserved seats since MVFC Members fill the majority of the General Admission & Category C allocation. SOLD OUT means there were no more tickets available to be purchased. SOLD OUT does not mean, all the seats will be filled at the venue.
Nathan of Perth
Roar Rookie
Perth Glory's Home End and Shed Memberships just came out :D Home end is down to $206! Was $250 last year and $300 the year before that!
AZ_RBB
Guest
only skimmed through the discussion but a few points. 1. Victory hitting 50 000. is a very real possibility. But I don't believe that should result in the club playing at Docklands every week. AAMI Park is much more appealing on tv and i'm sure more enjoyable for those at the ground. even if it means a lot of people miss out on tickets some weeks. which takes me to point 2. 2. One of the best things about WSW towards at the end of the season was the scarcity of tickets. A seat at Parra Stadium was the hottest ticket in town and that created even greater hype and excitement. When Victory do eventually (hopefully) outgrow AAMI Park they shouldn't be afraid to keep most games at that stadium. It also drives membership. One of the main reasons im getting WSW membership next season is to ensure i get a seat at those big games. 3. Parra Stadium is a perfect stadium in a perfect location. Moving south west to a purpose built stadium will annoy a lot of fans whereas Parramatta is truly in the heart/middle of the clubs catchment area. Olympic Stadium should be utilised for at least 1 derby. Would welcome an expansion of Parra to 30 000 some time in the near future. 4. WSW Membership numbers. i'm expecting all 7000 foundation members to renew. from there it's just a matter of at what point does the club want to cap memberships. 5. finally correct me if i'm wrong. but the football capacity at AAMI Park is just under 26 000 isn't it? never seen a MVFC crowd larger than that even to games that are sold out.
Post_hoc
Guest
My money is on Victory achieving this, my money is on the A league being massive in 10 years time, Victory won't be the only ones looking at this sort of membership
Post_hoc
Guest
I can dislike SFC, as a WSW fan, and will cheer for most teams that play against them, but as last year showed both of us need the other, brings out the best in the crowds. The bets bit about it is they have two very different philosophies on display at the moment and some people will be attracted to either one, why anyone would go for SFC I have no idea but hey some people eat McDonald pickles as well.
Post_hoc
Guest
But would you want those fans purely for the 'numbers' they represent. SFC should not be asked to move their home game from SFS, nor should Wanderers. If you want to see that game buy a membership, they are pretty cheap. If WSW fans don't want to travel to the SFS for the match that is their own fault. I am pretty certain that WSW v SFC will sell out Parramatta, and if SFS are firing, the SFS game will go high 30's. That is a great result. ANZ is not an option we should consider, Parramatta is WSW home. I think we will average 12,000 to 14,000 easily next season. I think we will get over 10,000 members (up from 7000 this year) It is not hard to sell an extra 2000 to 4000 seats on average.
kylesy sky blues fan
Guest
This, the Heart are fine and are due for a breakout season on the field which I think will drag a few of the derby-only Heart fans to matches. It's clear at Derby matches they have a big red and white fanbase who aren't being given a reason to actually attend every second week, but whom clearly want one. With a good season and a good marque, 10k excluding derby matches looks pretty achievable, perhaps even going past that figure with some clever work by the marketing department.
kylesy sky blues fan
Guest
You saying SFC would movie it? And betray our own fans, too? We only got 26k at a less-restricted capacity stadium for the derby (SFS), and while I think we could easily touch 35k at SFS this coming season (2013-14) and possibly even sell the game out, I don't think it reasonable to think a move past 45k would increase that at all. Having said that, ANZ is between both sets of fans so you would probably get bigger numbers from the 'away' side travelling to the match than you would at Parra (obviously) or SFS (too far from majority of Western Sydney, and more difficult for them to get to).
Sky Blue
Guest
If any club can do it, it's Melbourne Victory.
Ballymore
Guest
I like the WSW approach of not moving to a larger stadium, I'd love MVFC to play exclusively at AAMI. Does their deal with Etihad have an expiration date?
Soccer Logic
Guest
I think Victory could switch to a membership system that limits seated memberships to about 7,000. Other memberships would be GA and a Premium GA. Alternatively Membership could end up as it has in Europe where it simply gives you the right to/first preference at ticket sales
Football United
Roar Pro
That would be good as it would be like olympic park where only the most committed fans get in. Can't see the club or police liking the idea of angry fans getting locked out outside though.
Football United
Roar Pro
West brisbane/Ipswich is much more likely and a better option. Gold Coast needs to stand on it's own feet (even if it's just in the NPL) and Ipswich provides a better sense of identity and 'local base' for a new team
Football United
Roar Pro
They don't have the right, that's up for the clubs to decide and wanderers will not agree to move from parramatta. It would fly in the face of their membership strategy
Michael-Newcastle
Guest
Great article, I was getting a bit tired of the divisive pieces. It's going to be really interesting to see how attendances and memberships respond to FTA. It must be a bit of an unknown, but I'd expect a significant increase over the next three years.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Brendo I don't have any data, but I'm keen to know the source of your data - is it "gut-feeling" or something more tangible?
MV Dave
Guest
As Fred says above 30,000 members is a definite possibility in the short term with 20,000 full members and 10,000 non reserved seating members/Etihad game memberships. If that occurs then MV may need to look at more Etihad games with the proviso that the seating is brought into a rectangular configuration.
MV Dave
Guest
You should be more worried if GWS can draw more than 5,000 to their next game...
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party
Guest
I have a feeling there will be a tit for tat membership battle between MV and WSW this coming season to determine who's got the bigger fanbase.