Magpies and Power merger to be announced in a fortnight.

[ca]

No doubt I have missed the answer to my question, but if the merger is to go ahead, but crowds don't improve and things continue to go pear shaped, what would be the next step along the way?

Would it be that one of the Maggies or Power would have to be put out of their misery?

Serious questions, just trying to get my head around it all...

They will look for someone else to blame.

[Apachebulldog]

Yeah maybe blame Central's.

[Barto]

then again as Duncanson said at the magpies AGM if the POW was not included they would not be considering it. this has nothing to do with supporters but rather it is pokies.

Trying to keep the Magpies fans happy hasn't really worked and as stated the ones that haven't crossed over by now never will. Port Power probably would've been better off trying to keep the 35000+ people that rocked up in 1997 happy. If they get the POW onto their books it will be bye bye Magpies.

[Barto]

No doubt I have missed the answer to my question, but if the merger is to go ahead, but crowds don't improve and things continue to go pear shaped, what would be the next step along the way?

Would it be that one of the Maggies or Power would have to be put out of their misery?

Serious questions, just trying to get my head around it all...

They will look for someone else to blame.

Make a deal with them. Give them everything that they want but they have to sign off on folding up if they still cant make it.

[zipzap]

If the merger goes ahead why should SANFL sides play in a curtain raiser against the Magpies for the Power ???
I bet most supporters of the other 9 SANFL will not be attending, who wants to put up with 25,000 feral supporters, plus with all the one sided support imagine the advantage they will have at curtain raisers

Definition of optimism = 25,000

As far as I can see merging the two entities will far from guarantee bigger Power crowds. I'm willing to bet they will be smaller - they will lose the support of many who had a soft spot for the Power (mainly due to dislike of the Crows) but an innate hatred of the Magpies. I reakon there's more of those out there than one might think.

And FWIW I would be devastated if my club winds up playing curtain raisers for the pr*cks.

[Barto]

And FWIW I would be devastated if my club winds up playing curtain raisers for the pr*cks.

Curtain raisers are horrific. If people wanted to pay top dollar to sit at footy park, then they'd do that to watch an AFL game anyway.

[Apachebulldog]

I will not be forking out dollars to watch the Power play thats for sure !

[Barto]

I will not be forking out dollars to watch the Power play thats for sure !

I guess we're not all that different from Port supporters after all

[Booney]

At the end of the day, doesn't this merger mean the Magpies will definitely stay afloat for another x amount of years (and thus retaining the status quo now enjoyed in the SANFL) and providing a good capital raising avenue for the power (thus not having to get payouts from the SANFL/AFL)?

Sounds like a win-win for both clubs and for the SANFL as a whole.

How simplistic you make it all sound. Surely it cant be so.

I assume by the lack of discussion on what appears a formality the majority of punters feel that that truly is the case?

[Dutchy]

Seeing all AFL curtain raisers need to finish an hour before the main game I just cant see how the Magpies are going to be playing in front of anymore than they currently get at Alberton.

Are they hoping SANFL opposition fans will pay full AFL price to go see their club play and therefore increase revenue?

I can see the sense in them merging their resources off field but cannot for the life of me understand what they are trying to achieve by playing curtain raisers. Surely a 3.5k crowd at Alberton makes some nice revenue.

The SANFL comp deserves better than being put in front of an AFL game.

[CENTURION]

I only go to Footy Park once a year and it sure as hell won't be when Port OR the paahhr are playing.

[Barto]

I only go to Footy Park once a year and it sure as hell won't be when Port OR the paahhr are playing.

It's about time your yearly visits came to an end

[whufc]

I only go to Footy Park once a year and it sure as hell won't be when Port OR the paahhr are playing.

i saw you there twice this year mate.

[PhilH]

I don't buy into the who is the real Port? argument and find basing everything on 1990 / 1997 a wasteful distraction from what is fast becoming a major financial crisis for the whole SA football community.

Personally I am open to the idea provided Magpies are not a Power reserves side.

But I too have questions on how this can work from a financial viewpoint.

They are based around

- If the long term financial success of the Power is based on them gaining a larger share of the SA AFL market, how to they grow this share aligning themselves with only 1 of the 9 SANFL clubs.

- Where does this ONE Port leave Power fans who support other SANFL clubs? According to the 2010 Advertiser Footy Fans Survey only 79% of Power fans support the Magpies, 21% support other clubs. The closer the Power move to the old Port Magpies how many of that 21% will they lose?

-How will ONE Port be financially better off having Magpie home games as AFL curtain raisers given any extra bar, canteen & car parking money at AAMI goes to the SANFL and instead of all to Port if the games were at Alberton?

- North are correct that suddenly the Magpies have the larger data base sponsor base etc but they share that bigger pie with an a AFL club. How will a club walking the financial tighrope prioritise its allocation of funds. My guess is Power gets first priority, Magpies the crumbs. Time will tell.

[Booney]

I will re phrase it they have the balls to come out and make comment woo hoo !!

....but not the balls to stand by it. I have tried to find the article on the NAFC site but it is no longer there. Did they not have the fortitude to stand by what it is they had to say?

[beenreal]

I will re phrase it they have the balls to come out and make comment woo hoo !!

....but not the balls to stand by it. I have tried to find the article on the NAFC site but it is no longer there. Did they not have the fortitude to stand by what it is they had to say?

Exactly Booney!

Thank goodness it's been pasted into a number of other websites or pretty soon they'd be denying it ever existed.

I thought this extent of hysterical, paranoia being perpetrated by the Menzies Crescent Ostriches (NAFC) ended when society stopped looking for Reds under the Bed!

[Hondo]

-How will ONE Port be financially better off having Magpie home games as AFL curtain raisers given any extra bar, canteen & car parking money at AAMI goes to the SANFL and instead of all to Port if the games were at Alberton?

I assume that they would save money by running both games at the one Stadium in the one time slot rather than opening up Alberton Oval for an SANFL game (the costs of paying SANFL staff for an extra 3 hours might be << costs of opening up Alberton for the afternoon).

That plus the extra catering revenue that ONE Port share from the better facilities (and maybe more joint merchandise sales) at AAMI and from some people staying for 5 hours might mean they only need half the attendance they would need at Alberton to make the same or more money. The extra money that the SANFL get from the catering is also good for the SANFL as a whole.

Possibly there's also the intangible benefit of having all the Port people in the one place at the one time and having the whole thing feel like one club to shore up the supporter base for the future. Not sure how that translates to extra money in the short term.

Having thought about it for a while that's the best I can come up with without seeing the business plan.

[Booney]

I believe the curtain raiser proposal would not be a regular event, more a specifically targeted PAFC home game like a Collingwood or Essendon that usually draws larger crowds to Footy Park.

I also believe it would be a focus of having the currently fractured PAFC/PAMFC fans together for the first time in over a decade in an attempt to narrow the current gulf between the two groups.

As a paid up member and supporter and regular attendee to both PAFC/PAMFC games I find that part of the debate difficult to grasp.

[Apachebulldog]

I will not be going to Arctic Park to watch the Power Magpies but i love going to Alberton !!

[StrayDog]

I will re phrase it they have the balls to come out and make comment woo hoo !!

....but not the balls to stand by it. I have tried to find the article on the NAFC site but it is no longer there. Did they not have the fortitude to stand by what it is they had to say?

An excellent question.

Exactly Booney!

Thank goodness it's been pasted into a number of other websites or pretty soon they'd be denying it ever existed.

I thought this extent of hysterical, paranoia being perpetrated by the Menzies Crescent Ostriches (NAFC) ended when society stopped looking for Reds under the Bed!

Grow up.