The 2015 Attendance Comparisons Thread

[Rising Power]

Going on the statistics posted on here SANFL crowds have steadily declined over the last 25 years, other than a few years during the mid-2000s where they went up slightly but then fell again. With or without the AFL reserves in the SANFL competition, what are peoples' ideas of a 'pass mark' for average SANFL attendances say next year and 5-10 years time? 3000? 5000?

[Apachebulldog]

Going on the statistics posted on here SANFL crowds have steadily declined over the last 25 years, other than a few years during the mid-2000s where they went up slightly but then fell again. With or without the AFL reserves in the SANFL competition, what are peoples' ideas of a 'pass mark' for average SANFL attendances say next year and 5-10 years time? 3000? 5000?

Unfortunately the damage is done with the intro of the AFL sides also with us oldies now getting older and dying off crowds will only go further down i hope not.

Unless someone comes up with some super duper fantastic plan

I will say if you get between 500 to 2000 per game in the next five years it will be a good effort.

The AFL beast has killed off the SANFL.

RIP.

[spell_check]

4,679 today is the highest crowd at Woodville since Round 21 2000 - 4,707 vs Port
It is only the 5th attendance above 4000 this season; last year there were 10; 8 the year before.
That often quoted 4000 figure has now been exceeded twice this year with matches involving Adelaide; 4864 at Alberton is the other.

[another grub]

Hard to argue with those figures. Thank god for AFL in the SANFL.

[johntheclaret]

400 per game over 80 games so far is 32,000 down so far
It's like playing the GF at an empty stadium

[bennymacca]

400 per game over 80 games so far is 32,000 down so far
It's like playing the GF at an empty stadium

No, it would be like playing a grand final with 14% less people?

[stan]

Going on the statistics posted on here SANFL crowds have steadily declined over the last 25 years, other than a few years during the mid-2000s where they went up slightly but then fell again. With or without the AFL reserves in the SANFL competition, what are peoples' ideas of a 'pass mark' for average SANFL attendances say next year and 5-10 years time? 3000? 5000?

Unfortunately the damage is done with the intro of the AFL sides also with us oldies now getting older and dying off crowds will only go further down i hope not.

Unless someone comes up with some super duper fantastic plan

I will say if you get between 500 to 2000 per game in the next five years it will be a good effort.

The AFL beast has killed off the SANFL.

RIP.

These are my thoughts as well. I feel that its been over a long period with a decline. But in recently a few more have fallen away due to our AFL import teams.

[rocketeer]

These figures are damning and they don't even account for the number of paying spectators per game with crows members getting in for free. I'm guessing there were a lot that got in for free at Woodville on the weekend.

[cennals05]

Now we have Rucci on Twitter saying the SANFL is fantastic and all hail the reserves sides and that the crowd in one game on the weekend proves that it's a success.

I am sick of getting told how much I should be enjoying a product by people that don't even buy or have an interest in buying that product.

It seems the SANFL would prefer to listen to people that admire the SANFL from afar than those that actually still attend the games. How exactly are those people generating income for the SANFL clubs?

[johntheclaret]

400 per game over 80 games so far is 32,000 down so far
It's like playing the GF at an empty stadium

No, it would be like playing a grand final with 14% less people?

You can miss my point as much as you like Bennymacca. Based on the current average crowds, that's going to mean 36,000 less bums on seats for the year, or equivalent to approximately how many might attend a GF,

In cold hard cash it equates to just over $500k. Assuming those missing fans threw in just $5.00 in spends (I think that is a fairly conservative amount), on the day then you can add another $180k. Use the same analogy for lost merchandise sales and the clubs could be looking at something close to or possibly more than $1m.
Add into that the free entries mentioned elsewhere (albeit quite small numbers by all accounts) and you end up with a product in significantly worse position than when the reserves were admitted.

[bennymacca]

Agree with all of that

[therisingblues]

Going on the statistics posted on here SANFL crowds have steadily declined over the last 25 years, other than a few years during the mid-2000s where they went up slightly but then fell again. With or without the AFL reserves in the SANFL competition, what are peoples' ideas of a 'pass mark' for average SANFL attendances say next year and 5-10 years time? 3000? 5000?

Sorry Rising, apart from 1998, which marked one of the biggest resurgences by a single club in SANFL history, and a big crowd puller at that, I am having trouble understanding how this statement is true.
Take out 1998, and the year that the 8 -years-consecutive-wooden-spooner's first minor premiership since 1978, and grand final appearance since 1983 occurred, the highest crowd average is 3280, in 2011!
If you were to mark trends then the period from 1997 to 2003 sustained average crowds not below 2966. This is a pretty good consistent run.
2004-2006 saw crowds not above 2881. These are the three lowest averages pre-reserves debate.
2007-2012 had average crowds reminiscent of the 97-03 era, across the 6 years the lowest average was 2937 and as mentioned 2011 had the highest post-power return.
In 2013 the Power began stacking the Magpies with their reserve players, contravening SANFL rules of the era, and making a mockery of a sovereign competition. The year was also punctuated with increasing uncertainty about the introduction of composite AFL reserve sides in the SANFL. Many SANFL followers lost interest in the comp' on the back of these developments, the SAFooty blog was rife with dissatisfaction at the developments. If you are to consider the impact of AFL reserves in the SANFL, you must consider 2012 as part of that.
So on the whole I'd say crowds were pretty consistent post-power and pre-AFL reserves, apart from that one year Sturt got the bandwagon out.

Based on all that, I reckon average crowds of around 3100 would be a pass mark.

[therisingblues]

Now we have Rucci on Twitter saying the SANFL is fantastic and all hail the reserves sides and that the crowd in one game on the weekend proves that it's a success.

I am sick of getting told how much I should be enjoying a product by people that don't even buy or have an interest in buying that product.

It seems the SANFL would prefer to listen to people that admire the SANFL from afar than those that actually still attend the games. How exactly are those people generating income for the SANFL clubs?

Well put!!!
It's like introducing shiny, non-absorbent toilet paper to all supermarkets and after no one buys it, praising it up because it's so shiny now.
Meanwhile you are still using the extra soft, rose-scented variety because no one wants to wipe their bum with shiny, non-absorbent toilet paper. But you still insist that other people should.

[johntheclaret]

Now we have Rucci on Twitter saying the SANFL is fantastic and all hail the reserves sides and that the crowd in one game on the weekend proves that it's a success.

I am sick of getting told how much I should be enjoying a product by people that don't even buy or have an interest in buying that product.

It seems the SANFL would prefer to listen to people that admire the SANFL from afar than those that actually still attend the games. How exactly are those people generating income for the SANFL clubs?

Well put!!!
It's like introducing shiny, non-absorbent toilet paper to all supermarkets and after no one buys it, praising it up because it's so shiny now.
Meanwhile you are still using the extra soft, rose-scented variety because no one wants to wipe their bum with shiny, non-absorbent toilet paper. But you still insist that other people should.

that is one "off the beaten track" analogy TRB

[westcoastpanther]

Now we have Rucci on Twitter saying the SANFL is fantastic and all hail the reserves sides and that the crowd in one game on the weekend proves that it's a success.

I am sick of getting told how much I should be enjoying a product by people that don't even buy or have an interest in buying that product.

It seems the SANFL would prefer to listen to people that admire the SANFL from afar than those that actually still attend the games. How exactly are those people generating income for the SANFL clubs?

Well put!!!
It's like introducing shiny, non-absorbent toilet paper to all supermarkets and after no one buys it, praising it up because it's so shiny now.
Meanwhile you are still using the extra soft, rose-scented variety because no one wants to wipe their bum with shiny, non-absorbent toilet paper. But you still insist that other people should.

that is one "off the beaten track" analogy TRB

Yep, it's got hairs on it that one....

[Wedgie]

Quite appropriate really as the SANFL is going down the poop hole.

[Rising Power]

Going on the statistics posted on here SANFL crowds have steadily declined over the last 25 years, other than a few years during the mid-2000s where they went up slightly but then fell again. With or without the AFL reserves in the SANFL competition, what are peoples' ideas of a 'pass mark' for average SANFL attendances say next year and 5-10 years time? 3000? 5000?

Sorry Rising, apart from 1998, which marked one of the biggest resurgences by a single club in SANFL history, and a big crowd puller at that, I am having trouble understanding how this statement is true.
Take out 1998, and the year that the 8 -years-consecutive-wooden-spooner's first minor premiership since 1978, and grand final appearance since 1983 occurred, the highest crowd average is 3280, in 2011!
If you were to mark trends then the period from 1997 to 2003 sustained average crowds not below 2966. This is a pretty good consistent run.
2004-2006 saw crowds not above 2881. These are the three lowest averages pre-reserves debate.
2007-2012 had average crowds reminiscent of the 97-03 era, across the 6 years the lowest average was 2937 and as mentioned 2011 had the highest post-power return.
In 2013 the Power began stacking the Magpies with their reserve players, contravening SANFL rules of the era, and making a mockery of a sovereign competition. The year was also punctuated with increasing uncertainty about the introduction of composite AFL reserve sides in the SANFL. Many SANFL followers lost interest in the comp' on the back of these developments, the SAFooty blog was rife with dissatisfaction at the developments. If you are to consider the impact of AFL reserves in the SANFL, you must consider 2012 as part of that.
So on the whole I'd say crowds were pretty consistent post-power and pre-AFL reserves, apart from that one year Sturt got the bandwagon out.

Based on all that, I reckon average crowds of around 3100 would be a pass mark.

Fair call, looking at the table again the numbers bobbed around between 2.8k and 3.2k over that time but there were a few consecutive years where it was under 3k which is probably the bit that I focused on.

[am Bays]

Now we have Rucci on Twitter saying the SANFL is fantastic and all hail the reserves sides and that the crowd in one game on the weekend proves that it's a success.

I am sick of getting told how much I should be enjoying a product by people that don't even buy or have an interest in buying that product.

It seems the SANFL would prefer to listen to people that admire the SANFL from afar than those that actually still attend the games. How exactly are those people generating income for the SANFL clubs?

Well put!!!
It's like introducing shiny, non-absorbent toilet paper to all supermarkets and after no one buys it, praising it up because it's so shiny now.
Meanwhile you are still using the extra soft, rose-scented variety because no one wants to wipe their bum with shiny, non-absorbent toilet paper. But you still insist that other people should.

that is one "off the beaten track" analogy TRB

Yep, it's got hairs on it that one....

It would sh!t a few people off, higher up in the SANFL world though....

[Pseudo]

... saying the SANFL is fantastic and all hail the reserves sides and that the crowd in one game on the weekend proves that it's a success.

It must be good because we are told so. Now what does that remind me of...

"It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank
Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grammes a week. And
only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was
to be REDUCED to twenty grammes a week. Was it possible that they could
swallow that, after only twenty-four hours? Yes, they swallowed it. Parsons
swallowed it easily, with the stupidity of an animal. The eyeless creature
at the other table swallowed it fanatically, passionately, with a furious
desire to track down, denounce, and vaporize anyone who should suggest that
last week the ration had been thirty grammes. Syme, too--in some more
complex way, involving doublethink, Syme swallowed it. Was he, then, ALONE
in the possession of a memory?"

[johntheclaret]

... saying the SANFL is fantastic and all hail the reserves sides and that the crowd in one game on the weekend proves that it's a success.

It must be good because we are told so. Now what does that remind me of...

"It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank
Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grammes a week. And
only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was
to be REDUCED to twenty grammes a week. Was it possible that they could
swallow that, after only twenty-four hours? Yes, they swallowed it. Parsons
swallowed it easily, with the stupidity of an animal. The eyeless creature
at the other table swallowed it fanatically, passionately, with a furious
desire to track down, denounce, and vaporize anyone who should suggest that
last week the ration had been thirty grammes. Syme, too--in some more
complex way, involving doublethink, Syme swallowed it. Was he, then, ALONE
in the possession of a memory?"

That's so 1984 it's outdated thinking