@gallagher said in [Questions you've always wanted answers to \.\.\.WT/s](/post/1125180) said:
Why do you think people like Leichhardt and Campbo?
Average crowds since 1957? Half of those stadiums didn't even exist in 1957.
Just so everyone is aware this is a Roy Masters article, quoted below. Very very spurious analysis of data. He opens his argument by saying that the data shows folks need to be seated at refurbished grounds (because grounds with seats and not hills have the highest average attendance), then goes on to note how the SFS has 12th-ranked averages, despite everyone being seated, which is apparently not a compelling case for a knock-down, but also "of course the Roosters play there and their crowds suck".
I'm not necessarily for V'landys pro-boutique policy, but he's operating in 2020 not 1957. It's a very different thing talking about attending Leichhardt Oval in 1960 vs 2020 - the population, the sentiment, the game, the revenues, the transport, people's free time etc.; you can't compare game-day experiences or supporter preferences over 60 years.
More interesting would be an analysis of crowds over, say, the last 5 and last 10 years - modern data. Plus an impact study on the effects of low at-ground viewership on at-home experience. I understand one of V'landys major concerns is the game looks bad when played at unfilled stadiums, i.e. 16,000 at LO is better than 16,000 at ANZ.
Personally I'm also guessing that V'landys is taking particular note of the FFA and the more tribal-style attendances they are achieving at smaller grounds.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/will-suburban-grounds-really-bring-back-nrl-crowds-20200303-p546eo.html
>If ARLC chairman Peter V’landys is successful in extracting money from the NSW Government to refurbish suburban stadiums and ensure the venues are filled for TV, he must negotiate for everyone to have a seat.
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>That’s the message from 60 years of attendance data at grounds where NRL games are played. The nostalgic affection for suburban venues, such as Leichhardt, Belmore and Kogarah ovals, may be built on an illusion.
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>ARL Commission Chairman Peter V'landys talks about the state of the NRL
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>The romantic notion of standing beside the fig tree at North Sydney Oval with a can of beer, in the company of mates, watching a McKinnon graze his knees and elbows on the sun-baked cricket pitch, might nourish the memories but didn’t make the turnstiles click.
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>Of rugby league’s 435 fixtures at North Sydney Oval, the average crowd was 7855 - lower than the average of 9397 at Campbelltown Sports Stadium, which is bottom of the 21 grounds shown on the accompanying table.
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>A bright young league lover who uses the pseudonym @theNRLeconomist on Twitter compiled 60 years of attendance data, removing all representative and finals crowds, to produce average stadium attendances for regular season fixtures only.
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>The sentimental grounds, such as Leichhardt, Belmore and Kogarah, with their hilled areas, are down the bottom of the table, while the arenas where everyone is seated - even the unpopular ANZ stadium - are near the top. Parramatta Stadium, now replaced by Bankwest, was a relatively new venue when opened in 1986.
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>It is ranked 11th with an average crowd of 12,841 but wasn’t converted to an all-seater stadium until 2002, with a reduced capacity of 21,000.
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>So, if V’landys is successful in extracting compensation from the NSW Government for the expected late delivery of the renovated stadiums at Homebush and Moore Park, he must provide seating for at least 15,000 spectators at the selected suburban venues.
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>TV loves a packed arena but the data demonstrates it is more achievable when everyone is seated, rather than standing. Furthermore, code bosses point to a higher yield, in terms of food, beverage and merchandise sales, at venues where everyone is guaranteed a seat.
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>Rugby league is a winter game and fans, especially the Silvertails, won’t sit on the muddy Brookvale hill. Sea Eagles supporters also refuse to travel to Homebush, where you pay $9.25 for a beer in a plastic cup but at least can find a seat amongst the 83,500 available.
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>The average crowd at ANZ stadium, home to the Rabbitohs, Bulldogs and occasionally the Eels and Dragons, is 17,525, or 50 percent more than Brookvale’s 11,499, despite the near-sighted needing binoculars to see the action at Homebush.
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>The NSW Government can justify use of taxpayers’ dollars when refurbishing suburban grounds which are used by the A-League in the summer time. This is good news for Campbelltown Sports Stadium, with the new Macarthur A-League team scheduled to use it as a home base.
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>The Queensland and Victorian Governments ensured Suncorp and AAMI stadiums are first-class facilities because of their year-round use by A-League teams, Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory and City.
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>Allianz Stadium, with seating for 42,000, is ranked 12th, with an average attendance of only 12,482 - not a compelling case for a $730m rebuild. However, it is home to the Roosters, who traditionally attract small crowds, and is also used by the Waratahs and Sydney FC. Its access and parking problems have been partly addressed by the new light rail from Central.
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>The Rabbitohs, currently an ANZ Stadium tenant but historically based at Redfern, are perfectly positioned for a tug of war between Sydney’s two new rebuilt modern stadiums.
