NRL's Greenberg on Brookie.

[mickqld]

This might be a little out there Todd but what about using the Suburban Grounds to your advantage ie.
22k is deemed as a sellout at Brookie - if there are 22k members they get preference.
So more or less you have to be a member to see them play at Brookie.
Think Lambeau for the Packers - holds 80k and each seat is pre sold.

The population of the US is 315 million, that's 12.6 times the population of Australia. 80,000 divided by 12.5 = 6,400 which suggests the Brookie average crowd outperforms the Packers by 2 fold.

That argument is a little skewed there. The population of the Greenbay metro area is 306,241 meaning 26% go to the games. The population of Manly ,Warringah ,Pittwater areas approx 240000 meaning only about 6% go to the games.

 

[Daveagle]

Crowds of 15,000 in hollow , souless, concrete stadiums that hold between 45 and 85,000 seats .

This will be the beginning of the end for fans enjoyment and attendance at rugby league games .

Being geared up for ease of tv coverage , the fan at the game is no longer a great concern .

 

[master blaster]

and could you imagine the joy for him applying the death knell to brookie

 

[bones]

I can see it now. Fast forward five years. Manly playing all games at Allianz in front of 10000 people. The Bulldogs playing all games in front of 25000-30000 fans at a new boutique stadium at Belmore.

 

[Brissie Kid]

Da AFL do it in Melbourne so dah, it wood work in Sydney with NRL clubs too bro.

Unfortunately for the above argument Sydney has completely different geographics to Melbourne and a pathetic traffic and public transport system. It is stuffed, especially on Friday & Monday nights, even Saturday nights.

Penrith fans won't go to ANZ or Sydney but they are some hope of a new stadium in the far west.

Thinking you can successfully put on a Manly home game at ANZ or SFS regularly is as dumb as it gets. A one-off game sure, but not a full season of home games.

Too many people in RL & media think the sun shines out of the AFL's posterior & that Melbourne & Sydney are the same cultures & geography.

.

 

[mickqld]

I can see it now. Fast forward five years. Manly playing all games at Allianz in front of 10000 people. The Bulldogs playing all games in front of 25000-30000 fans at a new boutique stadium at Belmore.

You forgot to mention the NRL subsidised transport and ticket prices for the dogs fans as well. Excuse (We have to compete with GWS) 😛

 

[MWSE]

This is such a gee up!

How many years of televising empty stadiums will it take for them to realise they have made the wrong decision?

 

[Damien2812]

If the NRL do decide to shift Manly games to allianz or ANZ stadium on a regular basis, think how many memberships the Manly club will lose. I for one won't attend any games at ANZ stadium etc if it becomes permanent!

 

[Brissie Kid]

How many times already is the Manly club having to cancel a supporters bus to Manly games in Sydney. Seems more often than not. And that's just one bus!

Plus no games at Brookie will kill the Leagues Club revenue won't it?

 

[The Who]

If the NRL do decide to shift Manly games to allianz or ANZ stadium on a regular basis, think how many memberships the Manly club will lose. I for one won't attend any games at ANZ stadium etc if it becomes permanent!

x 2

 

[wombatgc]

If the NRL do decide to shift Manly games to allianz or ANZ stadium on a regular basis, think how many memberships the Manly club will lose. I for one won't attend any games at ANZ stadium etc if it becomes permanent!

I think this is really what's behind the call to quit Brookie. They need to cull some Sydney clubs, so there using the venues as an excuse. Knowing full well Manly fans will never accept Allianz or Anz as there home ground.
It'll be shift or die.🙁

 

[mozgrame]

If the NRL do decide to shift Manly games to allianz or ANZ stadium on a regular basis, think how many memberships the Manly club will lose. I for one won't attend any games at ANZ stadium etc if it becomes permanent!

I think this is really what's behind the call to quit Brookie. They need to cull some Sydney clubs, so there using the venues as an excuse. Knowing full well Manly fans will never accept Allianz or Anz as there home ground.
It'll be shift or die.🙁

And forward with expansion.

 

[Fluffy]

I'm guessing the club would make a shedload more cash from corporates at the SFS, than they can out of Brookie.

This argument holds no water, as only a few of the 10,000 locals will be at the SFS/ANZ.

The Corporates can not make up the revenue lost by disenfranchising the masses, who also spend at the Ground and on Club Merchandise.

I fear that the Business of Sport has no understanding of what makes people actually attend season games :-/

Re the AFL attendances, Ralphie - their game does not translate to TV as it is a 360 degree activity sport.
My friends in Melbourne reckon that once the technology is worked out to broadcast it properly, that they will not be sitting in the cold either 😎

Even RL is a largely enhanced game at the grounds, as you see all the action unfolding, not just the close ups that they broadcast.
That is why I attend, to get the feel of the game, which just adds to the joy of a Manly win

I am not even sold that there would be an increase in revenue from the corporates. We have our local corporate income now which get 10 games a year. The SFS splits their corporate dollars over 30 maybe more games per year. Therefore their corporate intake would have to be at least 3 times more (im sure the SFS trust takes a cut as well) to even break even. If we were to actually be making money the corporate income would have to be 2 or 3 times that again, so their corporate income may have to be close to 10 times our to even offset any fan loss. Thats a big difference.

 

[vidmar]

The supporters bus has been cancelled twice this season - both for Monday night games.

One at Kogarah and one at Campbelltown - go figure?

 

[Brissie Kid]

I think this is really what's behind the call to quit Brookie. They need to cull some Sydney clubs, so there using the venues as an excuse. Knowing full well Manly fans will never accept Allianz or Anz as there home ground.
It'll be shift or die.🙁

Manly is the only NRL club across the entire northern & north western side of Sydney. To play them out of ANZ or SFS will kill them off & leave no club in half of Sydney.

People are never going to see the Roosters as a "Sydney" club representing all of Sydney metro area. Same with Sydney Rabbitohs or Sydney Bulldogs or Western Sydney Eels.

They tried Sydney Bulldogs and Sydney Tigers in the mid 1990s and those clubs went backwards with support.

RL's jewel is that it holds Sydney over the other codes. Rationalising down to four "Sydney" clubs is just going to make it easier competition for AFL, A League and rugby to make gains.

.

 

[bones]

TODD Greenberg starts at the NRL on Thursday. He guides David Riccio through his plans for the game, his Bulldogs legacy and talks about the futures of Israel Folau and Ben Barba.

DR: Given Dave Smith's baptism of fire, are you the saviour of the NRL?

TG: I think I am. What others think is irrelevant.

DR: What drew you to this role at the NRL?

TG: It all came down to the fact that the Bulldogs did not win a single premiership during my time there. I needed more power to achieve this and what better way than to get a high profile job at the NRL.

DR: How has Dave Smith outlined your role?

TG: Does it really matter? I will have his job within 5 years anyway.

DR: What's the first thing you believe the game must fix?

TG: The Bulldogs must, I repeat MUST, be number one.

DR: Given your time with the Bulldogs, how would you describe the relationship between clubs and the NRL?

TG: The relationship between the Bulldogs and the NRL will flourish from here on. The relationship between the NRL and the other 15 teams may suffer, but they need to realise that this is a business we are running.

DR: We all know Des Hasler is headstrong. He gets what he wants. Did you leave the Dogs because you were no longer the one calling the shots?

TG: No. I left because Des told me to leave. My role from here on is the same.....Do as Des says. However, the difference now is that I am in a position of more power. Des is not silly.

DR: No CEO has dealt with the drama, scandal and controversy as you did at the Bulldogs. How close did you come to walking away?

TG: I never came close to walking away. Never entered my head. I simply had to come up with a believable alternative that the public would fall for. We had to cover up the truth or Benny would have missed the entire season.

DR: It's funny now that the way you handled that turmoil has been the making of you?

TG: Thanks I appreciate it. However it's simply because I covered it up so well. I didn't expect it to go any other way.

DR: What are biggest issues facing the game on the field?

TG: First and foremost, the Bulldogs need to be the least penalised team in the NRL. Everything else will fall into place once this happens.

DR: Is one of your goals to implement a model used in the AFL, where every Sydney team either plays out of ANZ Stadium or Allianz, with less games played at suburban grounds?

TG: If you look at the game's strategic plan and they talk about averaging 20,000 a game by 2017, then the only way we can do that is by moving all the strong Sydney teams away from their home grounds. Plans are also under way for a new 35000 seat boutique stadium to be built on the Belmore Sports Ground site.

DR: How soon before we see this change?

TG: Depends. If Manly need to win their final round match this year to make the top 4 , then im sure we can fast track it in for that week.


DR: Some footy questions: will Ben Barba be at the Bulldogs in 2014?


That all depends on how quickly I can organise Israel Folaus Bulldogs contract.
 

DR: Do you believe that Origin should be played over three straight weekends?

TG: No. I see no point in tampering with our showpiece event on the rugby league calendar. The Bulldogs aren't overly affected by Origin. You only need to look at the 39-0 thrashing the Dogs gave the Storm without their Origin stars to see that the current system is working.

DR: Should the game introduce a marquee player clause in the salary cap?

TG: Yes. The game needs Israel Folau at the Bulldogs.

DR: That turmoil you went through at the Dogs is now happening at Cronulla. How closely do you plan to work with the Sharks board through the ASADA investigation?

TG: Not very closely at all. The sharks are where I want them. There are, however, another 14 teams I'd like to get into that same situation.

DR: As a result of the inquiry the Sharks have no major sponsor, just as the Dogs were, what advice will you give the Sharks?

TG: There is no advice I can give them that will help them . They will not be able to compete with the Bulldogs once my plans come to fruition.

DR: What is a bigger threat to the NRL: the A-League, AFL or Super 15 rugby?

TG: None of the above. The biggest threat to Rugby League is me.

DR: Lastly, you live in the suburbs, love a beer at your local pub and cop plenty of stick from your mates and brothers when you say or do something they disagree with. So I'd advise you to answer this question with them in mind - can you please bring back Sunday afternoon grand finals?

TG: Let's get this straight. It is not what the fans want that matters. They are, after all, just fans.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

The NRL keeps looking at the AFL crowds in Melbourne. Melbourne is different on any number of fronts.
1. It's a damn boring place with nothing else to do but go to the footy, whereas as cosmopolitan Sydney is anything but boring.
2. Melbourne has public transport that works with few fans travelling for more than 30 minutes to get to the big grounds.

This strategy is doomed to failure.

100% correct about Melbourne being different. However … while I've never lived there, I have visited plenty and I don't agree with your point 1.
Point 2 on the other hand is a very important point, and it is the reason why Sydney needs a proper stadium on the north side. There will be some in the game arguing for Parramatta as the venue for a third modern stadium, but it is too close to Homebush. Brookvale it is, and it must be in conjunction with better transport and parking facilities.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

Last week I attended 4 venues, ANZ, Allianz, Leichhardt and Brookvale

The last 2 on the list left the others for dead, the atmosphere and closeness to the action was outstanding. I like Allianz as well having attended a few games there but the atmosphere at ANZ left a lot to be desired, have been to a lot of games there and it was the flattest one I have attended even though it was a full house

 

[Jerry1]

Manly wouldn't survive outside brookie. Unless it was moved to say blue tongue where we have good local support. Impossible to get into the city on a Friday night or Monday night to get to games if you work regular hours.

Would be the death knell for us.

Some one posted earlier about tv broadcasts from Telstra and anz - it doesn't inspire corporate sponsorship seeing a fith of the ground occupied.

Truth is that Sydney probably has too many teams. Compare it to AFL. How many clubs in Melbourne vying for the same corporate buck.

 

[ManlyArmy]

The NRL keeps looking at the AFL crowds in Melbourne. Melbourne is different on any number of fronts.
1. It's a damn boring place with nothing else to do but go to the footy, whereas as cosmopolitan Sydney is anything but boring.
2. Melbourne has public transport that works with few fans travelling for more than 30 minutes to get to the big grounds.

This strategy is doomed to failure.

100% correct about Melbourne being different. However … while I've never lived there, I have visited plenty and I don't agree with your point 1.
Point 2 on the other hand is a very important point, and it is the reason why Sydney needs a proper stadium on the north side. There will be some in the game arguing for Parramatta as the venue for a third modern stadium, but it is too close to Homebush. Brookvale it is, and it must be in conjunction with better transport and parking facilities.

Parking and transport is our issue at the moment, struggles when its a packed house. If we upgrade to 25,000, imagine the traffic and transport issues around the place. A solution would be underground parking off site, so that there would be a clearer passage for increase in buses to and from Brookvale.