Here’s hoping the fine citizens of Newcastle enjoy their rare Friday night out, having had to wait until Round 11 to play a home game under lights this season.
It’s a shame the Jets are considered little more than an afterthought these days, since the Novocastrians are one of just six clubs to have won the A-League, having lifted the coveted ‘toilet seat’ back in season three.
They’re also the club that brought Socceroos greats Ned Zelic and Paul Okon back home, as well as providing two Johnny Warren Medal winners in Nick Carle and Joel Griffiths during their glory years.
The Jets are a club with some serious pedigree, so why are they consigned to play seven home games on a Sunday afternoon this season?
The answer, like so much these days, seemingly comes down to metrics.
Failure to pack the punters in means the Jets and their long-suffering supporters are condemned to the graveyard slot on Sunday afternoons.
Their only other Friday night ‘home’ game is ironically in Coffs Harbour, and the fact that Tim Cahill and his Melbourne City side are the visitors has Newcastle-based fans tearing their hair out.
I won’t see the Newcastle – Adelaide game tonight because I’ll be at the Gabba with my good mate Grant Rieper watching the cricket.
We’re not exactly hardcore cricket lovers, but the lure of $20 Twilight tickets – or so they were advertised – will be enough for us to clock off early and head down for a couple of sessions.
The tickets, it should be said, weren’t quite $20. They were $20.50, plus the obligatory Ticketmaster booking fee, which meant in reality they were closer to $24 each.
Nor were they abundantly available, with the seats – not surprisingly – situated in the part of the ground that makes you automatically search for somewhere better.
But the point is that after a long period of burying their heads in the sand and pretending that the game was in rude health despite the fact that no one actually attended Test matches, Cricket Australia has finally acknowledged that high ticket prices might be one of the things keeping spectators away.
With the penny having belatedly dropped – it’s a good thing these executives are on the big bucks! – the result for the first day’s play was the highest ever non-Ashes attendance at the Gabba, with more than 26,000 fans shuffling through the turnstiles.
And it got me wondering – are we satisfied with the price of A-League tickets?
It’s a sensitive issue, but it’s one I had already been thinking about after seeing just how many kids piled through the gates at Suncorp Stadium for ‘Kids Go Free’ day last Sunday.
Will any of those children be back at an A-League game when their parents have to pay for the tickets? I certainly hope so.
But what does it say about our average ticket prices when so many parents are hanging out for the chance to take their kids to a game for free?
The Melbourne derby is the hottest ticket in town, but is $76.50 for a single adult ticket in the Gold section at AAMI Park too expensive?
Or do most A-League fans simply buy season tickets and not have to worry about match day prices anyway?
When you add on the cost of a Foxtel subscription, not to mention the astronomical fees many parents pay for their kids to play the game, being a football fan in this country is an expensive proposition.
The Melbourne derby should sell out by dint of its reputation alone, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see one or two empty seats given the cost of admission.
So are we happy with ticket prices? Or should we just accept a trend we’re seeing much more of in Europe – empty seats at some of our biggest fixtures?
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
I have often speculated as to the value of a Darwin based side participating in one of the Asian leagues instead of the A-League. The cost of participating in the S-League is significantly lower than the A-league and offers a stepping stone towards eventual A-league participation. It would also go someway as to strengthening our position in Asia.
northerner
Guest
But then, I guess it depends on what you really want for football in Australia. Do you want to grow the game by giving it plenty of TV exposure, or do you want to maintain it as the private preserve of those who already know about football? Do you want just dedicated, hard core fans, in the stands, or do you want people who've seen a few games on TV and think it might be interesting to give it a try, to be there as well? And by the way,what happens to the genuine fan who wants to follow his team at an away game but can't afford the time or the money to travel with them? As I've said, an Aussie fan faces a lot more challenges than a European one to get to games outside his immediate neighborhood. How is he served by your embargo on TV?
northerner
Guest
About 65% of Australians live in those cities which actually have A League teams. That leaves an awful lot of people who would have no easy access to A league at all were it not for TV. If I live in Melbourne and my team is playing in Sydney, I've got three choices: I catch the game on TV, I get on a plane, or I do an 11 hour drive, each way. A Parisian could be in Prague faster than I can get to Sydney. The distances matter, and if you want to build the A League, so does television.
Truth Bomb
Guest
No, I'm talking about Australian soccer on a multi sports sight from an Australian football perspective. Get over yourself
Hubris
Guest
Lionheart, I miss Fuss too. He was the finest example of his pathology I have ever seen. Nemesis tries, but is ultimately a bit ersatz. Still, I guess something is better than nothing, right? Do they call you Lionheart because you are especially brave? I would like a nickname as strong as yours.
anon
Guest
Click on the 'Football' tab and what page does it take you champ? http://www.theroar.com.au/category/soccer/ LOL To avoid confusion, just call your game soccer. It's the worst attended of the four football codes despite being played in summer in order to not compete Australian Football and the Rugby codes. For the worst attended football code in the country to claim sole domain on the word football just smack of arrogance and ignorance of Australia's sporting history.
anon
Guest
90% of Australia live in urban areas, with the vast bulk of those people in the capital cities.
Buddy
Guest
Well that's personal opinion. We are holidaying in the north west and that was an opportunity. My point is that it is supply and demand and people pay huge prices for many sports around the globe!
northerner
Guest
Australia: area 7.7 million km2 population 23 million France: area 644,000 km2 population 66 million. France is smaller than four of the Australian states and one of the Territories yet has almost three times the population. Amazingly, that means that the average Frenchman is within easy distance of a football stadium, and there's plenty of transportation infrastructure to get him there, simply because of population density. If he had to drive 400 km each way to attend a game, do you think he'd do that? No, I don't think so either. The A league absolutely has to be accessible via TV to all those Aussies who happen not to live next to a football stadium.
Caltex & SBS support Australian Football
Guest
I'll reiterate. Here on the Football Tab “Australian Football” is Football Federation Australia—if you are looking for Aussie Rules, look at the top menu bar for guidance. (AFL)
Steve
Guest
N...... Your comments have a distinct leaning towards a very synical view to AFL. Do you feel threatened or is it something else that bothers you?
Truth Bomb
Guest
Nah, Australian football is Australian football....
Caltex & SBS support Australian Football
Guest
Here on the Football Tab "Australian Football" is Football Federation Australia---if you are looking for Aussie Rules, look at the top menu bar for guidance. (AFL)
promotion
Guest
Just checked the website of Paris St. Germain. On the front page they have the prices for the next 3 games: Paris - Lorient from 22 Euros / 31 AUD Paris - Monaco from 39 Euros / 56 AUD Paris - Lille from 29 Euros / 42 AUD Regarding the much lower quality of the A-League the prices are out of touch. Prices need to be lowered and free-to-air cancelled. Football fans need to go to the stadium in every city and every small town. They need to be able to afford it and they must have a chance to be promoted through promotion - relegation. THAT is the spirit of Football.
Truth Bomb
Guest
Another soccer article with no mention of Australian football and fuss has managed to post at least 500 words worth of comments about Australian football....hmmmm
Truth Bomb
Guest
Correct
Agent11
Guest
They did have the Rexona Australia's Greatest Athlete contest and Billy Slater (NRL) won it, two years in a row. The AFL players who participated weren't up to scratch..
Nemesis
Guest
"In the AFL you know you’re getting the best athletes of any ball sport in Australia." By any rational analysis AFL gets the rejects who know they will never make it in higher paying sports. They get the tall guys who know they can't make it as pro Basketball players. They get the guys who have reasonable kicking technique from playing football, who know they can't make it as pro Footballers. They get the guys who are sprinters, middle distance runners who know they can't make it as Olympians. They get the guys who like to catch and carry an oval ball but know they can't make it in the NFL. AFL players = the ones that other sports reject. Not my opinion. It actually happens. AFL actively recruits rejects who could not make a living playing other sports. Heck a group of amateurs from Ireland regularly give the best AFL players in the world a spanking - these amateurs from Ireland are proven to be better technically, tactically, physically & mentally than the best AFL players in the world.
northerner
Guest
anon - you know, I know, and the whole of Australia knows, that Goodes was booed because he was a black man standing up for his people - and for no other reason at all. You can try to sugar coat it but it was racism, pure and simple. Claiming that it was "staging" that was being booed was just a convenient cover for folks who didn't want to admit, even to themselves, what their real motive was: he wasn't booed when he staged, after all, but every time he touched the ball. It was a disgrace and a blight on the AFL and everyone with an ounce of sense knows it.
Mitcher
Guest
Good lord, the convenors of this well meaning site must be inconsolable when they see another outbreak of these 5 or so unhinged individuals racing down the rabbit hole. If any one of them were representative of the sport they purport to defend with their lives, then shame would be upon each respective sport. Fortunately, they are not. For what it's worth Mike, I think my Wanderers membership price is frozen as a foundation member. Might be wrong as money management is not my strong point. My Swans membership a bit steeper but still worth the investment. The odd cricket ticket once or twice a year into the budget too. All adds up I guess.