Phoenix on track for largest home crowd
WELLINGTON: The feelgood factor generated by the Wellington Phoenix has captured fans in Auckland and could result in its largest home crowd for an ALeague regular season match.
A return to Eden Park for tomorrow night’s game against Melbourne Victory was initially considered a financial risk, but tickets have been snapped up, with club officials hopeful they can surpass a crowd of 20,000.
General manager David Dome had set an attendance target of 15,000, but that looks like being comfortably surpassed, with tickets for extra bays being made available at New Zealand’s biggest sports venue yesterday.
The most substantial Wellington ALeague home crowds came during the 200910 finals.
Nearly 33,000 watched the victorious minor semifinal against Newcastle at Westpac Stadium.
Phoenix’s record attendance in the regular season is 20,078, against Adelaide at Eden Park seven years ago.
Three subsequent visits to the famous test rugby ground have drawn smaller crowds and the club has not been back since 2014 because of excessive costs.
However, a revival of fortunes this season under Mark Rudan and the chance to see the Victory’s Japanese star, Keisuke Honda, has sparked a response.
‘‘It’s always hard to gauge and is never an exact science, but, given past ticket purchase patterns, Friday night’s match could very well be the club’s largest ever crowd outside a finals match,’’ Dome said in a statement.
The sixthplaced Phoenix is on track to reach the finals, having exceeded all expectations.
It has drawn with the defending champion Victory in their two clashes this season.
A large crowd will be important for the Wellington club, the future of which beyond next season is still to be determined.
Under an agreement with the FFA, the Phoenix must improve its crowd and broadcast numbers among other ‘‘metrics’’ to have its licence extended.
The inclusion of Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison on a working group to determine a new, clubdriven operating model for the ALeague is regarded as a positive outcome for Wellington’s prospects. — AAP