A-League crowd crunch
Chiefs concerned with 91,000 drop in attendance figures
A-LEAGUE chiefs say poor crowds haven’t tempered enthusiasm for expanding the league and they are confident attendances will lift over the summer.
The first 10 rounds have seen 91,000 fewer fans through turnstiles compared with last season, a drop of 13 per cent.
The average A-League crowd stands at 11,902 this season and is likely to drop further given the traditional summer slowdown.
Past A-League seasons show waning attendances through summer as the sport contends with the popular Big Bash League, other sports and holidays.
It all means this season is likely to be the worst-attended since 2011-12 — the last year of disaster club Gold Coast United and a year before Western Sydney Wanderers entered the competition.
The numbers have spurred FFA into creating a crowd focus group, with a number of initiatives to be rolled out over summer.
That includes kids-go-free offers for at least one match for every club and an advertising drive targeted at families.
Clubs have also been given results of fan experience surveys that in some cases make for tough reading — but present areas for improvement.
Despite the impending crowd-pulling Twenty20 season next week, A-League head Greg O’Rourke said he saw soccer pulling in better numbers soon.
“I’m confident they’ll lift and for a couple of reasons,” O’Rourke said.
“We’ve got an excellent understanding of the factors driving the current metrics and we’ve got a number of initiatives that will be launched in December and January that we feel will address the situation.”
Poor crowds at powerhouse clubs Brisbane and Sydney FC are fuelling the downturn.
Melbourne Victory’s numbers are up, but inflated by five matches at Etihad Stadium, with Western Sydney also marginally up.
Perth is seeing a small increase, while crowds at Central Coast and Wellington are slightly up on last year.
The feel-good story of the season — the resurgent Newcastle Jets — are also benefiting off the field, with a jump of more than 10 per cent in crowds.
Melbourne City’s already small crowds are in free-fall.
O’Rourke acknowledged Tim Cahill’s exit won’t help City, which has recorded a five-figure attendance just once this season.
“He was a really big boost for us in year one. When he travelled he attracted fans. Not only did people go to see him at home, but they went to see him away,” he said.