Nix banking on large home crowd
Wellington Phoenix have issued a rallying cry to the New Zealand sporting public ahead of their long-awaited return from Australia, hoping a packed out Sky Stadium will help alleviate the multimillion-dollar costs they have incurred while basing the team in Wollongong as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Phoenix have already sold 11,000 tickets for the A-league clash against Western United next Saturday – their first game in Wellington in 433 days – and have set their sights on challenging the 20,336-strong crowd that attended the derby match between Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers this month.
‘‘The opportunity to bring the games back here and get some backing from supporters is really, really important for us and really, really important to the club,’’ chairman Rob Morrison said yesterday.
‘‘We’re really hopeful that Wellington – and Auckland – will get behind us. It’s a one-off chance for the fans, for football supporters, and people [who] appreciate the Phoenix being around, to give us a hand.
‘‘If I translated all the messages that I get around what a great thing it is to have the Phoenix in Wellington and what a great thing you and the ownership group do for the city, if I translated those wishes of support into ticket sales we’d sell the ground out every time.
‘‘It’s an opportunity for people to stand up and be counted and go ‘Yep, we like the Phoenix. Yes, there are other things we could be doing, but this is a one-off’. It’s not a big imposition, it’s an easy time for people to get to the ground, bring their families along and 20,000 should be an achievable target.’’
Morrison said relocating New Zealand’s only professional football club to Australia in order to continue playing in the A-league during a global pandemic had come at an enormous cost.
The Phoenix typically experience annual losses of $1 million, but an analysis by KPMG for Sport NZ at the outset of the pandemic last April projected their next loss to be around $3.3m.
Morrison said he expected their loss for the current season to come in somewhere between those two figures.
‘‘It is truly expensive. I don’t think we would’ve made it without the support from Sport New Zealand and the New Zealand Government, and not just us but professional sport in general,’’ he said.
The Phoenix sit ninth on the A-league ladder, four points adrift of the top six, but are one of 10 teams still in the hunt for the finals series.
They play runaway leaders Melbourne City this Sunday before travelling home to Wellington on Monday.
The Blues have freshened up their back three for their first dig at an Australian side since February last year, though they are waiting to see if head coach Leon Macdonald will make the trip with them to Melbourne.
When assistant coach Tana Umaga unveiled his squad to travel for tomorrow night’s opening fixture of Super Rugby transtasman against the Rebels, not only did it contain a rejigged back three and a surprise starter at tighthead prop, but Macdonald was in the doubtful travelling category.
‘‘He had a bit of a sniffle this morning, so we’re trying to take every precaution and make sure we play our roles in that,’’ said Umaga after yesterday. ‘‘I’m sure he’ll be fine.’’
Asked if Macdonald would travel with the team later yesterday, Umaga said: ‘‘I’m not sure. He’s got to keep in touch with the doc. Whether he travels today or tomorrow, he’ll get over there at some stage.’’
If Macdonald was not well enough to travel, forwards coach Tom Coventry would likely step into the No 1 spot, with Umaga taking the chief support role.