Crowd; defend high prices
this season, the last one coming on Sunday even though they won 4-1 the weekend before.
Dome said last Sunday’s attendance had been ‘‘really disappointing,’’ and while there are a number of factors that go into turnout, he was confident they had their ticket prices right.
The cheapest adult tickets for Phoenix home matches, both men’s and women’s, are $32 (A$29.13) if bought in advance. That makes them the fifth-most expensive buy in A-League Men.
When it comes to standalone A-League Women matches, the Phoenix’s price is by far the most expensive – a reflection of the fact that both their teams will play at the same stadium this season, while other clubs play their standalone women’s fixtures at smaller venues.
‘‘At the end of the day, we have to survive as a club,’’ Dome said.
‘‘Put it this way, we’ve done the analysis and whenever we’ve done really cheap ticket deals . . . like if you halve your ticket prices, you don’t double your crowd, I’ll tell you that.
‘‘All you do is you cannibalise your base and you get fewer people along.
‘‘It’s a real juggling act about what that price point is.
‘‘At some stage you’ve got to go, well what’s the optimum number of games that we play in Wellington? How much can Wellington sustain a professional football club?
‘‘Everyone wants a professional football club that’s out there winning games, but you’ve got to pay people. You have to pay players and we’ve spent more on our playing group than we’ve ever spent, so that money has to come from somewhere. Somebody has to pay for that.
‘‘We’ve tried our best to get corporate sponsorship across the line and to raise dollars through all sorts of channels, so we’re not asking too much of fans because we realise that it is tough economically.’’
‘‘But at the end of the day, it’s like, do people value a professional football club? Do they want professional sports in Wellington or not? And if people don’t buy the product then I guess they are voting with their feet, right?’’