A new rectangular stadium in Adelaide has been an ongoing discussion, especially in the last year, with the city’s A-League club seeking support to turn this dream into a reality.
Not only do the Reds hierarchy believe it is important for the State Government to support the only South Australian club in the A-League, but it is also vital to help grow the world game in the local market.
But a new stadium seems a distant dream right now.
Why can’t we be friends
Sports minister Leon Bignell has made it perfectly clear that until crowd numbers improve, any talk of a new stadium is mute.
United are also having issues as a current tenant with Adelaide Venue Management, who run Coopers stadium, and Chief Executive Anthony Kirchner in particular.
The lease at Hindmarsh is due to expire in May next year and there is much work to repair this relationship if the tenure is to be extended.
If Adelaide United is not managing the stadium itself under a new deal, it desires increased control in the overall operation as a major ground tenant.
The Reds have not ruled out a possible move to a new location at the end of the current deal.
Earlier this year, Norwood Oval was discussed as a potential home, but these discussions do not appear to have advanced past initial consultation.
It is hard to imagine the configuration of Norwood Oval being appropriate or met with fans approval for that matter.
Current fan demand
Last year, United bosses suggested the Reds had outgrown Hindmarsh stadium. Crowd numbers last season and this year would suggest this is not quite accurate.
Interviewed on 5AA last week, Greg Griffin was straight to the point as usual with his crowd expectations for the upcoming home clash against Sydney: “We will fill Hindmarsh Friday night.”
While weather played a part, it was disappointing the night contest against the best team only drew a crowd of 7021.
The first game at Coopers this season attracted a crowd of 11,689. The next three home games have not broken the 10,000 barrier.
The one home game this season at Adelaide Oval saw the biggest attendance of the year to date, in front of 19,416 fans.
Was this because it was against Melbourne Victory? The first home game of the year? Or helped by the fact the game was played in the city?
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Ignore code wars and embrace all
While there will always be those who engage in mindless bashing of other codes, plenty follow multiple sports and are not interested in the squabbles.
There is obviously interest in the A-League but not enough fans engaged in turning up on a more regular basis. An issue not just applicable to Adelaide United.
The majority of AFL fans in South Australia are Crows or Power fans. With plenty of seats available at Hindmarsh and with the AFL primarily not clashing with the A-League, it makes sense to try and win more support from AFL circles.
The relationship that exists between United and Port Adelaide is an interesting sub-plot, given the history United owner Rob Gerard and most notably Greg Griffin has with the AFL club.
Is it a major issue? Maybe not. But if you are a Power fan with some passing interest in football and are thinking about investing time and money in the local team, then why would you actively support an organisation that runs down the AFL club you support?
The commentary just does not seem to serve any purpose. Rather than risk the possibility of alienating a potential customer base, maybe best to not fan the flames.
Finance and marketing
Adelaide United need to continue to make their brand more visible and appealing to the general public.
Members and regular patrons will likely feel the product is good quality, deserving of the money they spend. But if crowd numbers do not reflect positively then ticketing cost is something to ponder.
As a friend of mine remarked at the last AU game we went to at Coopers, “There is something fundamentally wrong when a seat in the western grandstand tonight cost me more than attending some Premier League fixtures when I was on holiday.”
A general admission ticket at Coopers is $26 plus booking fee. Pricing may not require a complete overhaul, but simple supply and demand dictates the mix is not quite right.
Maybe Sydney FC are on the right track for the game at Allianz this week. Discounted food and drink prices is a nice reward. Currently many sporting venues require a personal loan before you can afford a beer and some hot chips.
Set the foundation for an upgrade
A lot of pundits share the view ‘build it and they will come’, with the AFL clubs’ move to Adelaide oval cited as a prime example of the benefits a stadium in the city provides.
Unfortunately, the best compromise on offer for Adelaide United from the State Government seems to be an expansion at Hindmarsh – if crowds start turning up on a more consistent basis.
There are plenty of factors for Adelaide United to consider in what they can do and where the long-term future of the club lies.
But there needs to be an upturn in attendance soon otherwise talk of upgrades and new stadium discussion will fall completely off the radar.
Leonard
Guest
According to this very useful site, http://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/stadiums_crowds.php?id=54 , visiting the [CROWDS] box shows that crowds anywhere near Hindmarsh’s 16,500 capacity are way back in the noughties of this century. Not surprising that the SA government doesn’t want to waste money on it (even though wasting Other People’s Money seems to be what it does most, so maybe it is a bit surprising that they are so reluctant). Warning: if the SA gummint gets involved, here is a likely scenario: ~ step 2: start building the new stadium; ~ step 3: draw up plans; ~ step 4: uninstall anything already built; ~ step 5: lay the concrete slabs; ~ step 6: do a wiring / IT network diagram; ~ step 7: uninstall anything already installed; . . . all preceded by ~ step 1: demolish Hindmarsh. Look at the aerial photos: seems to be plenty of space to put more seating (with maybe some head covering) in the behind-goal areas. How about the noisiest, most loud-mouth SA fans of the world game build it themselves? Especially those who take not heed of the author’s wise advice about avoiding code-dissing.
James
Guest
Ouch!
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Yeah, I can totally envision that. It's a very good location, and would nicely compliment the Adelaide Oval. I don't think it'll ever happen though. It's quite an important site (holds one or two war memorials from memory), and it's government owned. It would be quite an arm-wrestle with the government - not to mention veterans groups - to build something on the ground. I do genuinely like your thinking, though.
Ken Spacey
Guest
Completely left field idea, what about the Torrens Parade ground? Looks just Long enough, natural rise along one side and new stands can go over or imcorporate existing buildings. Besides some temp stands (retracting like Basketball stadia) could be used but the location is killer and close to central train station, many bus routes and the tram. One of Cooper's weaknesses is that the many fans from out north have to pass reasonably close but still have to make a second trip because they can't get off an walk but here journey's end is a five minute walk. Site links into Adel oval and very close to Uni fields for warm up areas etc and Adel Uni campus buildings begin behind what would be eastern goal.
Jake
Guest
Hindmarsh is an inner city suburb, the stadium is close enough to the CBD. The Reds don’t deserve a new or upgraded stadium. Greg Griffin needs to realise that the Reds are a B grade sporting organisation, therefore they don’t deserve an A grade stadium.
Tommo
Guest
Alice Springs or Mt Gambia
Mark
Guest
But I thought Greg Griffin was a business genius who could run football better than the FFA and was going to turn the A-League into a powerhouse. Are you telling me he can’t even get people to show up to watch his own club? Surely not. It must be Steven Lowy’s fault, right?
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Where the hell would a second rectangular stadium even go in Adelaide? I'm genuinely asking here.
Nick Symonds
Guest
Or an AFLX licence.
pacman
Guest
A couple of years ago I attended a League 2 match at Cambridge United. Paid at the turnstiles for a concession ticket (65yo +), and it cost me 24 quid ($AU45). The spectator facilities were abysmal, but the playing surface extraordinarily good (put the Qld Govt Suncorp to shame). It depends where you are in UK. For instance "In terms of cheapest adult home match-day tickets, the lowest price in the division is Liverpool's at £9 and the highest is Chelsea's at £47." And this is this year, after admission prices have either been frozen, or reduced by a small percentage. The problem we have with the A-League, or for that matter, just about any commercial undertaking in Australia, is our lack of economies of scale when comparing with overseas markets. We have high costs, and at present, and possibly for the foreseeable future, a small market. We need some innovation. One suggestion. Distribute free admission tickets to all junior players and their junior friends, for EVERY home match. The only stipulation - an admission paying adult for every say, 3 juniors. This could encourage (enforce) many adults to attend with 1 or 2 juniors. The spin offs are obvious. I have witnessed a similar approach with the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba a few years ago. Auskick participants were rewarded with, among other things, a free admission ticket for 2 children and 2 adults. Ground attendance was 27,000 with the announcer proudly informing spectators that 7,000 Auskick participants were amongst the crowd. Easy mental arithmetic indicated that there were about, in total, 20,000 freeloaders, possibly more, and unlikely less. Now admittedly, A-League clubs can not afford to be this benevolent, but free admission for juniors should surely be within their remit? Something to think about?
Peter
Guest
Yeah I know but surely you are captialising on that win and managing to convert some of those people into more regular fans the next year.
Kangajets
Guest
Peter Grand finals draw out the once a year fan .
Peter
Guest
It was only a couple years ago United won the double. The Grand Final had 50,000 there. How can you be sitting in the top six now and getting crowds of 7K??
Fadida
Guest
The average Premier League ticket price is £32 pounds. This isn't too say that AU tickets aren't too expensive, because they are. 15k fans at $15 is much better than 7k at $26. My eyes tell me that AU crowds are transient because of a) the weather, the ground is 3/4 open so extreme heat or wet has at least a 25% effect b) fairweather fans. More than anywhere AU fans seen to be quick to jump on and off the team. Typically crowds start low as fans wait to see how the team will go and then jump to 12k plus if the team look like doing well. This year is one of the exceptions.
Fadida
Guest
The average Premier League ticket price is £32 pounds. This isn't too say that AU tickets aren't too expensive, because they are. 15k fans at $15 is much better than 7k at $26. My eyes tell me that AU crowds are transient because of a) the weather, the ground is 3/4 open so extreme heat or wet has at least a 25% effect b) fairweather fans. More than anywhere AU fans seen to be quick to jump on and off the team. Typically crowds start low as fans wait to see how the team will go and then jump to 12k plus if the team look like doing well. This year is one of the exceptions.
albatross
Roar Pro
Ticket prices for A-L fixtures should be reduced - with power prices going through the roof and wages (and the economy pretty stagnant) even $26 for general admission needs to be considered carefully by many of us.
Whiskers
Guest
ADelaide United should consider getting the third AFL licence for the city, then leverage off that for the soccer team with dual memberships etc
Ken Spacey
Guest
Bignall is a hypocrite because Port Power became a big drawing product due to the massive investment into AO and other govt backing. At one point a big fixture at Coopers actually outdrew a Port game at the old AAMI venue. AU are not getting enough from total revenue and are paying too much. Kirchner says AU mislead us about crowd projections but I get the feeling that Reds fans are running an employment program for AEC staff, so my money is going to them and not my club. The Olympic games temp seating shows you can get 20,000 as is and there is plenty of scope to at least 25,000 with some imagination. The reds are the only major tenant so they should get more say. The AEC folks occupy too much of the facility and the decision to reduce change rooms from four to two has made Lady Reds double headers more difficult and drawn criticism of the club that should be directed at stadia mgt and government. The govt. are pushing city fringe development so AUFC and Coopers can benefit from that or be seen as being in the way. But the residential popoulation within a five K radius is going to increase sharply in next decade. Coopers could be the main entertainment/social/cultural hub if it's done right.
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
Drop it to $15 and you probably would sell a few more tickets. But I doubt you'd sell that many more that there wouldn't be a drop in revenue. Halving prices won't double crowds.
marcel
Guest
KJ..Telstra do a $20 deal to some games if you are a customer...not a huge saving ..but every bit helps