There are several ways the NRL can maximise their crowd potential, the prime being improving crowd numbers for Monday night games.
Monday night games are obviously designed to look after Fox Sports’ best interests. The viewing numbers are massive for them and as a fan I love a game to watch when I get home from work after a long Monday.
However this timeslot has become a horror show for the home teams, as it generally means lower gate takings, with crowds of 10 to 12 thousand common.
There are plenty of issues that stop punters attending NRL on a Monday night. Finishing work at 5:30pm doesn’t give you enough time to get to the game, and the 9pm finish means getting home too late.
Another irritating issue is the lack of game day staff. The clubs seem unprepared for a late walk-up crowd, but it shouldn’t be a surprise. Many fans are unable to get to the game until right on kick-off, then are forced to miss up to half the game; you can’t blame them for not bothering with a Monday game again.
The recent Tigers vs Dragons game at Campbelltown saw thousands of people still outside the ground when the game kicked off. This delay was so bad that the final 200 people were let in for free. That’s all well and good for those people, but what about the many others before them who were forced to pay for a game that was basically decided by the time they got in the ground?
While this incident received media coverage, the Dragons vs Storm match at Kogarah the week before saw a similar problem. I was in attendance and saw the problems first hand.
Those arriving just before kick-off were forced to wait in significant lines to purchase a ticket, and the problem was even worse for members. My friend, who is a Red V member, needed to pick up his membership in order to get into the game. This saw him wait in a line for over half an hour and not enter the ground until after a quarter of the game had elapsed. Not the way to treat your members.
Yes pre-purchased tickets are an option, but if you work in an industry when you are not completely sure what time you will get out of the office then you can’t be sure you are going to attend until only a couple of hours before kickoff.
The clubs need to ensure they have adequate staff in the hour leading up to a Monday night game. I can see the clubs’ reluctance to do this, as why should they pay for more staff when the low Monday night crowds already see them lose money?
Maybe the NRL needs to provide funding to clubs to make sure the fans aren’t being locked out and Monday night football becomes a viable option to attend.
While this might only make a slight difference to attendance numbers, it would ensure that the NRL is doing everything in its power to get as many people to the game as possible.
Kaks
Roar Guru
You're not alone there. This is why Fox LOVE the monday night games. More bums on seats = higher ratings. The Monday night football is for fox, not for the NRL
Steve
Guest
Agree that the TPAs need some work but I doubt it's the reason the average fan is deciding not to attend the football!
Baldie
Guest
Ah yep just as I thought.
Crashy
Guest
I love how the solution for getting crowds back seems to be offering free / cheap tickets. That kind of seems a bit odd as the clubs rely on R E V E N U E to keep the club afloat. Once you offer free tickets, punters expect it, ala the Titans and Cronulla.
Crashy
Guest
A friend of mine high up at Fox Sports tells me last year's Monday night ratings fell a whopping 25%! The game is owned by TV and its a disgrace.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but don't most clubs already do this in some way or another. I think it will take more than cheap tickets to motivate people on a Monday Night.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
No doubt it's very attractive from a television standpoint, but it just isn't conducive to crowds and I don't think it ever will be. I know Melbourne Storm have traditionally been able to do alright with Monday games, especially using promotions. This probably has a bit to do with Melbourne's exceptional sports infrastructure and the culture of sport in Melbourne. But even so, these crowds were only good in terms of Monday night games and were not exactly setting the world on fire in the grand scheme of things.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
Its very true Kaks. To be honest, I hardly feel like doing anything on a Monday evening, that doesn't involve lazing about. Pretty much any other day of the week I can motivate myself. But not Mondays.
AR
Guest
MNF has been the broadcasting jewel in the NFL crown for years now, and the AFL flirted heavily with the idea - arranging a few Monday Nights at Docklands Stadium. In 2009, WB v Rich - 46,261 and Coll v StK - 46,880 showed there was some support for the idea. In 2010, Carl v Geel - 71,339 (MCG) suggested it could be a winner. So the AFL decided to make Carlton v St Kilda the regular MNF rivals for, initially, just one game a year, with a plan to increase it to involve other clubs. But over the years, interest dipped...*especially* from 2012 when all games became live against the gate. The Monday night Carl v StKilda attendances speak for themselves: 2010 - 42,866 2011 - 41,576 2012 - 38,823 2013 - 34,054 2014 - 26,708 The 2014 crowd was the last straw for the AFL, and it scrapped Mondays altogether. The fans were voting with their feet, and the comfort of live footy from the living room was taking its toll. Now, only Easter and Queens Birthday have Monday AFL footy.
bbt
Guest
Totally agree. A great atmosphere on the TV is an excellent marketing tool.
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
Just make it $10 GA entry, $20 families, $25 best seats ($50 for families). Subsidies the gate and get the crowds in for a cheap entertaining night. Has to happen every Monday.
Mals
Guest
Cheer mate. I imagine quite a few of the Cows Monday night games are away games.
marco
Guest
Yep. Foxtel bought monday night games. Not much can be done about it.
up in the north
Roar Rookie
That's where I stuffed up Bulldog sorry. Storm : 5 Tig's :3 Parra' :5 Warr' :1. But yeah it doesn't seem very balanced does it. I know the Cowbies have been trying for years to not have home Monday night games but it falls on deaf ears. It's a big deal in this part of the world I know.
Bulldog
Guest
The fact the Cows get 6 and Warriors get none is just crazy.... I would have thought it should be spread evenly over clubs
Bulldog
Guest
It is a bigger issue for the Cowboys than other clubs due to the geographic spread of their members. In my case I cannot attend Monday night games as I have to travel 4 hours each way to get to and from Tville which is impossible on the week night. There are plenty of Cowboys members and supporters in the same boat. It is the reason I get a bit annoyed with the whining from Sydney people who cannot be bothered to travel over the bridge to go to a game.
Kaks
Roar Guru
And the fact that you need to go to a game after working on Monday. Lets be honest, no one wants to do anything other than lounge on the couch after work on a monday.
bbt
Guest
Monday night football is here to stay. Foxtel love it and they pay the dollars. I agree that there should be better organisation so that fans can more easily get in. The idea of playing games close to public transport and the CBD is a good idea.
up in the north
Roar Rookie
Hold the phone I made a blue. There's a triple header on Easter Monday too. My bad.
up in the north
Roar Rookie
Good on ya Epiquin, I had to go and bloody check. Rnd 13, June 8th, I checked the calender and apparently it's Queens Birthday public holiday. And no I'm not telling you who's playing.