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Memo NRL: the fans have spoken
Phil Gould
22 March 2009
www.leaguehq.com
TWO weeks ago, Phil Gould called for fans to have their say on what they liked - and loathed - about the game. The Sun-Herald was inundated with email and postal responses from a wide range of fans throughout the country. Responses ranged from 10-page notes to three paragraphs, but the message that came through was that supporters - the lifeblood of rugby league - welcomed the opportunity to have their say. The fans have spoken, and Phil Gould has compiled a document the NRL can't ignore. - Daniel Lane, Sports Editor
I love the passion and intelligence of our rugby league supporters. Amid all the opinions this survey produced, the one thing that kept hitting me was that fans deserve a voice in the running of the game.
The biggest issues for fans affecting game attendances were: Cost of tickets, parking and transport, Cost of the game-day experience including food, food quality and merchandise, Scheduling of games, Venues, Player loyalty and the effects of the salary cap, Player behaviour, Sensationalised reporting of incidents in the media, Crowd behaviour, The style of football and Match-day entertainment
Firstly though, I want to talk about the overwhelming impact this exercise had on me. I get the impression fans feel alienated from the game. They don't appear as close to their clubs and the players as they used to be. I sensed an overriding feeling of frustration they were being ignored.
Marie wrote: "We feel as though NOBODY is listening!"
Many fans have the perception they're not given due consideration on important matters.
The NRL would do well to provide a more formalised approach to co-ordinating fan feedback and listening to what they have to say.
Secondly, I noted many who wrote held high-profile jobs in the business community. From the quality and clarity of their thinking, it's obvious the NRL should be doing more to second the assistance of business leaders who have a passion for this sport, plus tremendous experience and knowledge when it comes to promotion, marketing and corporate acumen.
Fans want to help. They appreciate the reasons behind the "call to arms" regarding club membership and the need for clubs to increase revenue from game attendances.
MEMBERSHIP PACKAGES
Many regarded new membership offers as good value. Others noted their club's membership package differed in price and features to other clubs.
They appreciated membership packages did provide special privileges and opportunities. The fans want to get close to the players and their clubs.
Others saw the membership drive as a symptom of our game not maximising other revenue streams. They think the game has its hand out looking for money.
Students, pensioners and those just entering the workforce on meagre salaries said they couldn't justify the expense or would like cheaper categories of membership.
Many were happy to call the membership fee a donation, but felt packages could be improved.
Others felt if clubs wanted to increase the uptake of membership they needed to lower the price.
Joe Morris wrote: "The Bulldogs have just dropped the price of membership. What was the result? More members."
THE GAME-DAY COST
Many found it too expensive.
Many slammed the quality and price of food and drink at our venues. I don't think this is just a problem for rugby league. Airports, movie theatres, theme parks, the zoo; wherever vendors have a captive clientele it appears prices go up and quality disappoints.
"What about a family of four? Cheaper to stay home and watch a game on TV," Dean wrote.
"I would love to take my four-year-old son to matches more often, but these days we just can't justify the cost," said Eliot Grace.
SCHEDULING OF GAMES
This was a huge issue with fans. Simply put, the majority of fans prefer daytime games played on Saturday and Sunday; especially family minded supporters.
They understand the need for night games for TV broadcasters and they love their footy on TV - but they prefer daytime fixtures when it comes to attending games.
Our older fans don't feel safe travelling to night games. Parents don't feel comfortable taking their kids. Perhaps clubs need to consider door-to-door suburban bus services with security staff.
The NRL has a juggling act here. The more money TV makes the more money the game is worth. However, if the NRL is looking to the fans for financial support, then it's obvious they'll need to find ways to give them more daytime football.
VENUES
Fans like big stadiums for big matches such as grand finals and State of Origin, however, these venues get the thumbs down for club fixtures with smaller crowds. They feel the empty stadium kills the atmosphere.
The question here is: what does the future hold for suburban grounds? If we're still getting only 15,000 people to club games at local grounds in 10 years' time, will the game still be financially viable?
PLAYER BEHAVIOUR
Players need to wake up to the fact this is a big issue. Many wrote it was the No.1 deterrent to their support of the game.
The players need to wise up!
The media types need to wise up, too. Some headlines often do more damage than the original incident. Players and fans often see the media as the enemy.
PLAYER LOYALTY
This was another popular response. Fans don't like players changing clubs or leaving the game. Many disliked the salary cap. "My biggest disappointment with the game is the salary cap. Yes, it has possibly helped even out the competition, which would provide supporters of all teams with hope, but overall it punishes those clubs that are successful," Con Droulis said.
Len Currie wrote: "I earn $50k a year. My club wants me to donate $100 to give it to a player who earns $300k a year, only for him to turn around and leave to play for another club."
STYLE OF FOOTBALL
As is always the case, many fans wrote passionately about the style of football, the rules, the referees and the competition structure. Their observations deserve an audience. We'll talk more about this in the coming weeks.
There was one interesting point from Peter Sertori: "League struggles to attract a wider audience that wasn't brought up on a diet of league. You hear a lot of people (particularly more casual observers) say that league can seem repetitive. There is an element of truth in this. Unless you've got some emotional investment in the result, the game of metres is not that spectacular, especially to the fringe league watcher.
"To the unconverted I'm sure it's just plan dull.
"League does need to introduce some contest for the ball. Too many games are so structured you can look away and not miss a lot."
THANK YOU
As promised, I'm sending all correspondence to the NRL. Again, I sincerely thank you for your submissions.
TELEVISION COVERAGE David Gyngell Head of Channel Nine
"CHANNEL NINE would look favourably upon any proposal to provide live games on free-to-air television from 4-6pm on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. This would suit those fans who prefer daytime football. Any change to the current structure, however, would require the assistance of the NRL and Fox Sports.
CATERING Jim Kurbulis Kurbulis Catering
"WE ONLY get to host three games at Campbelltown and three at Leichhardt and that means we have to throw out a lot of stock because we can't use it the next day. There are some things that can be frozen, but most is perishable. The costs for food at grounds take into account such things as staff, the depreciation of the equipment we have at two grounds but use only [a total of] six times a year. We use casuals on game night and we pay them top dollar because we don't use them regularly. We need to also have a plumber and electrician on standby. We need to do that because if a deep fryer doesn't work we have to get it operating immediately. We can't tell a crowd of people they can't be fed because something isn't working. We do offer fresh fruit salads, sandwiches and healthy alternatives but what we've found is we throw most of it out because most people go straight for pies, chips and hot dogs. The option is there, though.
"As for the costs, we charge $5 a beer, $3 a pie, $3.50 a bucket of chips and $4.50 a hot dog. I think that stacks up well."
TICKETING PRICES Scott Longmuir CEO Wests Tigers
"BEFORE the Super League era, the ARL would set prices for all grounds. Post Super League, a more decentralised approach was taken by the NRL, and the clubs could set their own gate prices. In setting prices clubs need to consider a number of factors, particularly demand and supply and what the market can bear, which includes the prevailing economic climate.
"The admission helps to cover such things as the costs of staff, police, security, the big screen and stadium hire [at Leichhardt and Campbelltown] , the entertainment - and that can include cheer girls, skydivers or bands. Gate receipts alone don't pay the players' wages.
Memo NRL: the fans have spoken
Phil Gould
22 March 2009
www.leaguehq.com
TWO weeks ago, Phil Gould called for fans to have their say on what they liked - and loathed - about the game. The Sun-Herald was inundated with email and postal responses from a wide range of fans throughout the country. Responses ranged from 10-page notes to three paragraphs, but the message that came through was that supporters - the lifeblood of rugby league - welcomed the opportunity to have their say. The fans have spoken, and Phil Gould has compiled a document the NRL can't ignore. - Daniel Lane, Sports Editor
I love the passion and intelligence of our rugby league supporters. Amid all the opinions this survey produced, the one thing that kept hitting me was that fans deserve a voice in the running of the game.
The biggest issues for fans affecting game attendances were: Cost of tickets, parking and transport, Cost of the game-day experience including food, food quality and merchandise, Scheduling of games, Venues, Player loyalty and the effects of the salary cap, Player behaviour, Sensationalised reporting of incidents in the media, Crowd behaviour, The style of football and Match-day entertainment
Firstly though, I want to talk about the overwhelming impact this exercise had on me. I get the impression fans feel alienated from the game. They don't appear as close to their clubs and the players as they used to be. I sensed an overriding feeling of frustration they were being ignored.
Marie wrote: "We feel as though NOBODY is listening!"
Many fans have the perception they're not given due consideration on important matters.
The NRL would do well to provide a more formalised approach to co-ordinating fan feedback and listening to what they have to say.
Secondly, I noted many who wrote held high-profile jobs in the business community. From the quality and clarity of their thinking, it's obvious the NRL should be doing more to second the assistance of business leaders who have a passion for this sport, plus tremendous experience and knowledge when it comes to promotion, marketing and corporate acumen.
Fans want to help. They appreciate the reasons behind the "call to arms" regarding club membership and the need for clubs to increase revenue from game attendances.
MEMBERSHIP PACKAGES
Many regarded new membership offers as good value. Others noted their club's membership package differed in price and features to other clubs.
They appreciated membership packages did provide special privileges and opportunities. The fans want to get close to the players and their clubs.
Others saw the membership drive as a symptom of our game not maximising other revenue streams. They think the game has its hand out looking for money.
Students, pensioners and those just entering the workforce on meagre salaries said they couldn't justify the expense or would like cheaper categories of membership.
Many were happy to call the membership fee a donation, but felt packages could be improved.
Others felt if clubs wanted to increase the uptake of membership they needed to lower the price.
Joe Morris wrote: "The Bulldogs have just dropped the price of membership. What was the result? More members."
THE GAME-DAY COST
Many found it too expensive.
Many slammed the quality and price of food and drink at our venues. I don't think this is just a problem for rugby league. Airports, movie theatres, theme parks, the zoo; wherever vendors have a captive clientele it appears prices go up and quality disappoints.
"What about a family of four? Cheaper to stay home and watch a game on TV," Dean wrote.
"I would love to take my four-year-old son to matches more often, but these days we just can't justify the cost," said Eliot Grace.
SCHEDULING OF GAMES
This was a huge issue with fans. Simply put, the majority of fans prefer daytime games played on Saturday and Sunday; especially family minded supporters.
They understand the need for night games for TV broadcasters and they love their footy on TV - but they prefer daytime fixtures when it comes to attending games.
Our older fans don't feel safe travelling to night games. Parents don't feel comfortable taking their kids. Perhaps clubs need to consider door-to-door suburban bus services with security staff.
The NRL has a juggling act here. The more money TV makes the more money the game is worth. However, if the NRL is looking to the fans for financial support, then it's obvious they'll need to find ways to give them more daytime football.
VENUES
Fans like big stadiums for big matches such as grand finals and State of Origin, however, these venues get the thumbs down for club fixtures with smaller crowds. They feel the empty stadium kills the atmosphere.
The question here is: what does the future hold for suburban grounds? If we're still getting only 15,000 people to club games at local grounds in 10 years' time, will the game still be financially viable?
PLAYER BEHAVIOUR
Players need to wake up to the fact this is a big issue. Many wrote it was the No.1 deterrent to their support of the game.
The players need to wise up!
The media types need to wise up, too. Some headlines often do more damage than the original incident. Players and fans often see the media as the enemy.
PLAYER LOYALTY
This was another popular response. Fans don't like players changing clubs or leaving the game. Many disliked the salary cap. "My biggest disappointment with the game is the salary cap. Yes, it has possibly helped even out the competition, which would provide supporters of all teams with hope, but overall it punishes those clubs that are successful," Con Droulis said.
Len Currie wrote: "I earn $50k a year. My club wants me to donate $100 to give it to a player who earns $300k a year, only for him to turn around and leave to play for another club."
STYLE OF FOOTBALL
As is always the case, many fans wrote passionately about the style of football, the rules, the referees and the competition structure. Their observations deserve an audience. We'll talk more about this in the coming weeks.
There was one interesting point from Peter Sertori: "League struggles to attract a wider audience that wasn't brought up on a diet of league. You hear a lot of people (particularly more casual observers) say that league can seem repetitive. There is an element of truth in this. Unless you've got some emotional investment in the result, the game of metres is not that spectacular, especially to the fringe league watcher.
"To the unconverted I'm sure it's just plan dull.
"League does need to introduce some contest for the ball. Too many games are so structured you can look away and not miss a lot."
THANK YOU
As promised, I'm sending all correspondence to the NRL. Again, I sincerely thank you for your submissions.
TELEVISION COVERAGE David Gyngell Head of Channel Nine
"CHANNEL NINE would look favourably upon any proposal to provide live games on free-to-air television from 4-6pm on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. This would suit those fans who prefer daytime football. Any change to the current structure, however, would require the assistance of the NRL and Fox Sports.
CATERING Jim Kurbulis Kurbulis Catering
"WE ONLY get to host three games at Campbelltown and three at Leichhardt and that means we have to throw out a lot of stock because we can't use it the next day. There are some things that can be frozen, but most is perishable. The costs for food at grounds take into account such things as staff, the depreciation of the equipment we have at two grounds but use only [a total of] six times a year. We use casuals on game night and we pay them top dollar because we don't use them regularly. We need to also have a plumber and electrician on standby. We need to do that because if a deep fryer doesn't work we have to get it operating immediately. We can't tell a crowd of people they can't be fed because something isn't working. We do offer fresh fruit salads, sandwiches and healthy alternatives but what we've found is we throw most of it out because most people go straight for pies, chips and hot dogs. The option is there, though.
"As for the costs, we charge $5 a beer, $3 a pie, $3.50 a bucket of chips and $4.50 a hot dog. I think that stacks up well."
TICKETING PRICES Scott Longmuir CEO Wests Tigers
"BEFORE the Super League era, the ARL would set prices for all grounds. Post Super League, a more decentralised approach was taken by the NRL, and the clubs could set their own gate prices. In setting prices clubs need to consider a number of factors, particularly demand and supply and what the market can bear, which includes the prevailing economic climate.
"The admission helps to cover such things as the costs of staff, police, security, the big screen and stadium hire [at Leichhardt and Campbelltown] , the entertainment - and that can include cheer girls, skydivers or bands. Gate receipts alone don't pay the players' wages.