View Full Version : Expansion Ray Hadley: 20,000 Freebies were given to SOO
Is true, that's pretty damning
Off the Wall
http://www.leagueunlimited.com/article.php?newsid=16268
When Rusty Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court rode into Rabbitohs boardroom on their cash and kudos laden steeds, supporters, not only of South Sydney but of a healthy NRL, felt hope soar in their hearts. Now, a year on, with the Rabbitohs sitting on one from ten starts and losses of $4 million, the South Sydney saviours themselves are looking a little battle-worn.
But it's only one club's story of woe. There are other clubs in similarly dire financial positions, and it may be about to get worse.
As part of its push into Western Sydney the AFL has been doing its homework on the problems facing the NRL and its Sydney clubs. It has not taken long for the AFL to work out that the extraordinarily generous deal the owners of Sydney’s ANZ Stadium (formerly Olympic Stadium) offer Sydney NRL clubs would put them on the ropes if it was withdrawn.
Currently five NRL clubs host home games at ANZ Stadium and benefit from a $100,000 a game guarantee, regardless of crowd size, that the stadium owner offers. Apart from the Bulldogs, who regard the stadium as their home ground, the Wests Tigers, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St George Dragons and even the Parramatta Eels now play a number of home games at ANZ thanks to the generous hiring arrangement.
The AFL has worked out that if it acquired the debt laden ANZ Stadium - to be the base for its planned Western Sydney team – it would be able to put even greater pressure on struggling NRL clubs by ending the lucrative deal the current owners offer.
It is now an open secret that four or five of the nine Sydney NRL clubs are in a desperate financial situation, thanks to their leagues clubs slashing grants to the football clubs.
It has now been revealed the AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou spent half a day at ANZ Stadium last month meeting management. While the fact that the ground is to be the home for the new Sydney AFL club was already on the agenda, the AFL is not denying the possible purchase of the stadium is back on the agenda. The AFL early in 2007 made an unsuccessful bid to acquire the stadium, but it might find the owners, and the ANZ Bank, more interested this time.
The latest NRL club to fall into financial difficulty is the South Sydney Rabbitohs (again). In a board room coup yesterday part owner Russell Crowe ousted fellow part owner Peter Holmes a Court as Chairman. The club is wallowing at the bottom of the premiership table, drawing embarrassingly low crowds at ANZ Stadium.
Last week Holmes a Court could not guarantee its survival. Now the Rabbitohs legend who fought their takeover all the way, George Piggins, has offered to buy the club back from Crowe and Holmes a Court and relocate it to Bluetongue Stadium at Gosford, and pick up the $8 million grant the NRL has on offer to any club relocating to a new area, such as the NSW Central Coast.
The Sydney media has wasted no time bagging Holmes a Court, and even Crowe, over the way they have run the club: Armani suits, expensive pre season jaunts to the USA and so on.
With the other cash-strapped Sydney clubs, there is no obvious way out for them. Crowds at ANZ Stadium are poor generally poor, and look even worse in a facility that can seat over 80,000. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that the aforementioned subsidy from the stadium owners is saving a couple of NRL clubs from going under.
No wonder the cashed up AFL is again looking at buying ANZ Stadium. Even if it doesn’t go ahead, the mere fact it is sniffing around is giving more than one NRL club a lot to worry about. And the credibility of the NRL claim that Sydney crowd numbers are up (even by 1% or 2%) is not helped by reports from the likes of Ray Hadley that of the 67,000 crowd at the State of Origin game at ANZ last week, around 20,000 were freebies.
Sounds like the NRL are using the same crowd-counting formulas used by the Melbourne Grand Prix.
magpie_man
1 Jun 2008, 22:21
ray hadley, lol.
funkyfetlock
1 Jun 2008, 22:29
I knew Rugby League was in trouble in NSW but I didn't realise it was that bad. Seriously having to give away 20 000 tickets to their showcase game and still having 13000 empty seats speaks volumes about the state of the game.
I have said for a long time that Rugby League is dying very slowly and will continue to do so for many years. I think now that the end is going to come quicker for Rugby League than i or anyone else has predicted.
and let me guess we'll all convert to AFL.
Newspapers have been writing about league's demise since the 1930's.
major , major , majar and general :o
.
League is mostly a TV game these days - Sydney people are doing it tough and just can't afford to go and it's the same in other places - I went to the Raiders on Friday night - $30 general entry, I was drinking UDL's at $9 per can - luckily I wasn't hungry.
But like I said - it's a tv game now as witnessed by the ratings for Origin 1
From the Australian
MORE than two million Australians tuned in to see NSW-Queensland State of Origin match last night.
It makes the rugby league showcase the most watched match since OzTam television ratings began in 2001.
An average of 2.092 million viewers watched NSW clinch the 2008 Origin opener with a 18-10 win over Queensland in Sydney.
The audience peaked at more than 2.4 million.
NSW had the largest audience as an average of 897,000 tuned in, while the game brought in 710,000 Queenslanders.
About 283,000 Victorians also tuned in.
The match was shown live in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, while it was delayed in Perth.
According to OzTam figures, it was the highest rating Origin match since it began collecting the data in 2001.
The previous highest result for an Origin match was 2.02 million, which was recorded in 2007, 2006 and 2002.
Last night's pre-match show was also a big winner for Nine, scoring almost 1.5 million viewers.
More than a million Australians kept watching after the game had finished.
Program's like Ugly Betty on Seven, and Big Brother and the US series House, both on Ten, couldn't compete.
The ABC's combination of Spicks and Specks and the New Inventors were the nearest competitors with around 1.1 million viewers each.
AAP
Reports of the demise of rugby league are a little premature
KingsCrow
1 Jun 2008, 23:59
Do New South Welshmen even like sport?
Honestly, WTF.
And lets be honest, anyone who comes on an AFL footy forum and keeps trying to say that the NRL is stronger then ever is in serious ____in denial.
Sydney people are doing it tough and just can't afford to go and it's the same in other places - I went to the Raiders on Friday night - $30 general entry, I was drinking UDL's at $9 per can - luckily I wasn't hungry.
It's now on the list
Official RL excuses
1 .SL stuffed us up completely and we haven't recovered .
2 .We play to our "heartlands"
3 . It's a television game - couch potatoes count as real interested viewers .
4 .The game is popular but the team isn't
5 .It's the Sydney transport system -
6. It's the weather - too hot , too cold or perfect for doing something else .
7. It's the media - too little media , the unfair media ,the negative RL media , too much AFL media .....Our supporters can't read the media (nice pictures though)
8. It's the lack of developement by the NRL ,ARL , NSWRL and BRL.
9. We're facing development from AFL , FFA and Netball .
10. That popular crowd drawing team is down .
11. That unpopular drawing team is dominating .
12. The mergers put people off , merged teams don't represent their region , merged teams are too powerful ..
13. Dropping South Sydney put people off and put more off by coming back and will lose the rest by relocating..
14. When they gonna build big stadiums at (below) .... the crowds will be enormous
a. Lang Park - now built , no excuses..
b. SFS - long time built not used much .
c. Telstra Dome - state of the art boutique stadium not used as too costly (low crowds)
c . Melbourne Olympic Park - latest holy grail for for crowds
d . Perth MES - now upgraded , latest official nrl crowd count 1710 .
15. The government won't finance new stadiums .
16 . Our stadiums are too big and look empty deterring more people - never more relevant .
17. When they gonna have double headers , triple headers ...we can then claim the one crowd for both games !
18 . The new pokie tax is gonna kill off the leagues clubs - never more relevant.
19 . We don't have the AFL's draft , management , development , clout , and aggressive approach to expansion ..
20. We don't have a decent game ,(but that's the least of our problems)
21. Sheduled against us was an another big game of .....RU , AFL, AL , NBL , ANL , WNBL.......
21. We sheduled a game against another big game of .....RU , AFL, AL , NBL , ANL , WNBL......
22 . There was a lot of sport on TV. ........golf , tennis , lawn bowls , motorsports , bowling , darts , WWWWE
23 .There was some good shows on TV .
a. Bloke's World returns
b. Iron Chef
c. Bert's big brother idol lost on celebrity dancing singing skating survivor
24. The report is not valid because it only shows interest not real support like ratings where the person
gets off his butt and ............ sorry where the person changes the channel on the remote .
25 .RU is stealing all our players and it looks like AFL is stealing our players as well and FFA as soon as they expand .
26. The recent WC is grabbing everybody's attention - insert most recent FFA/RU event maybe even the AFL International Cup .
27. The recent RL WC is not grabbing everybody's attention
28. You overlook the fact that 25% of all rounds are Origin-affected. While the focus of the season is on State of Origin football,
club football is adversely affected by the best 34 players either unavailable or backing up after State of Origin.
29. Canberra now supports two clubs .
30. It's a bluff because Canberra are renegotiating their stadium deal.
31. It's a bluff because the AFL want some publicity .
32. When looking at NRL averages you cannot look at Sydney in isolation - because they are pathetically low .
33. When looking at NRL averages you cannot look at Melbourne because they have no history there and because they are pathetically low .
34. The crowd looked and felt a lot bigger than the official pathetically low figure .
35. The Ch 9 and Foxtel shedule NRL games on short notice unlike the AFL that lock the shedule all games in October
36. Sydney people are doing it tough and just can't afford to go - $30 general entry, I was drinking UDL's at $9 per can
:thumbsu: cheers .
ParraEelsNRL
2 Jun 2008, 03:31
You have something seriously wrong with you cuz, you hate RL and are baned from the RL board, but you post non stop shit everywhere else, and when you hadn't been getting any bites, you made up a new name and started posting in the RL section again, you'd be one of the handfull of fukcwits in this nation who'd believe Roy Hardley, maybe I should start my own thread and put in all of cuz's reasons why RL is dying.
I'd start with:
1.Ray Hadley said so
2.Caroline Wilson mentioned it
3. Bourbon Becky (Rebecca Wilson reported it in amounst her gossip column where those evil Leaguies are alway mentioned killing people)
4. 60 minutes was telling the truth and it wasn't an AFL fluff piece.
5. He's mates with Finders.
6. Doctor Jolly told him so.
7. Professor Know nothing has released his study on it.
8. No one watches it at the game or on TV.
9. He blew Andy D last night and in return he promised him he's destroy the heathen code oop norf.
10. Because NO ONE in West Sydney has ever seen the game and once they do, they'll all convert to Fumbleball.
How's that for a start sissy, the guy who cries because someone told the ref to get em onside a bit to loudly and the same guy who thinks his eyes will fall out if a cheerleader walks infront of his view of the game.
Btw, posted any other stuff on the Western forces web site lately about the Western Reds?
See, you are the troll, you go to a Union web site and post about Rugby League and nothing about union, then you start crying here when other people do what you do, you're a soft____.
AstroboyUK
2 Jun 2008, 05:42
Re: the 20,000 give-aways - Is it actually true? Has there been any confirmation by another party? Surely the press would have to ask serious questions about the NRL management if it were - surely they have to be put under some scrutiny on this.
funkyfetlock
2 Jun 2008, 08:08
What possible motivation would Rugby League man Ray Hadley have to make something like that up? You may not like him but he has always seemed like a genuine guy if nothing else.
People like ParraEels, 1908, Littleduck, should stop sticking their heads in the sand and acknowledge that Rugby League is in very serious trouble in NSW. While I don't think there is much you can do to halt the decline, simply denying that there is a problem is not going to help your cause at all.
ParraEelsNRL
2 Jun 2008, 08:52
What possible motivation would Ray Hadley have to make something like that up? You may not like him but he has always seemed like a genuine guy if nothing else.
He is a worm, did you ever get the chance to hear his call during the Athens Olympics?
One night during it, he was blind drunk and as he was due for a break, someone forgot to switch his mike off, he went into a 5 min rank calling singo (his boss and the owner of the station) a effing spastic, he dropped the f word around 100 times during it, is was the funniest thing I ever heard, I thought, here's the chance for this prick to get his come uppence, but no, nothing happened and he continues to be listened too and be able to shove his opinions down every bodies throats with no one able to say anything back because he cuts them off.
He is the same bloke who has continually for 10 years stated that the Melbourne Storm get crowds around the 4,000 mark every game and the people listening to his show have no way of seeing the Storm game themselves since they are listening to the radio for games.
Even some of the anti League people here will have to agree the Storm crowds are no where near this level and never have been.
He does this because his boss singo wants a team on the Central Coast and these two want the Storm up there.
He has stated that he won't even let his own kid play RL, he only lets him play Union, he rubbishes League at any chance he gets, he gets things made up so he can be the big breaker of news.
The only people who listen to his RL shows are the people who haven't got Pay TV, can't get a decent reception of another radio station and old women as you only need to listen for half an hour during call back to see who rings, hell, my mother doesn't watch any sport, but she listens to Roy Hardley, my aunties also listen because the show is funny with its stupid little songs, truck horns and other BS, notice I didn't mention RL?
Because the arsehole refuses to call the 7:30 game even though they have exclusive rights and are supposed to call it, he goes home after the first game.
People who go through life doing what he does all the time end up with nothing, they end up with no friends, no job, no family, anything, his day will come, and thousands of RL fans out there can't wait, and other people who just can't stand him.
It's always the case, the guys with the big mouths and egos get put in places where they can spew their garbage forth non stop without anyone being or willing to do anything about it, he is poison.
And for some strange reason, the NRL keep giving him the rights when last time, all the big stations wanted the rights, even just some of them, something is going on, maybe the NRL keep him because they know what poison he'd spread if his mob lost the rights.
Father Jack
2 Jun 2008, 09:45
He is a worm, did you ever get the chance to hear his call during the Athens Olympics?
One night during it, he was blind drunk and as he was due for a break, someone forgot to switch his mike off, he went into a 5 min rank calling singo (his boss and the owner of the station) a effing spastic, he dropped the f word around 100 times during it, is was the funniest thing I ever heard, I thought, here's the chance for this prick to get his come uppence, but no, nothing happened and he continues to be listened too and be able to shove his opinions down every bodies throats with no one able to say anything back because he cuts them off.
He is the same bloke who has continually for 10 years stated that the Melbourne Storm get crowds around the 4,000 mark every game and the people listening to his show have no way of seeing the Storm game themselves since they are listening to the radio for games.
Even some of the anti League people here will have to agree the Storm crowds are no where near this level and never have been.
He does this because his boss singo wants a team on the Central Coast and these two want the Storm up there.
He has stated that he won't even let his own kid play RL, he only lets him play Union, he rubbishes League at any chance he gets, he gets things made up so he can be the big breaker of news.
The only people who listen to his RL shows are the people who haven't got Pay TV, can't get a decent reception of another radio station and old women as you only need to listen for half an hour during call back to see who rings, hell, my mother doesn't watch any sport, but she listens to Roy Hardley, my aunties also listen because the show is funny with its stupid little songs, truck horns and other BS, notice I didn't mention RL?
Because the arsehole refuses to call the 7:30 game even though they have exclusive rights and are supposed to call it, he goes home after the first game.
People who go through life doing what he does all the time end up with nothing, they end up with no friends, no job, no family, anything, his day will come, and thousands of RL fans out there can't wait, and other people who just can't stand him.
It's always the case, the guys with the big mouths and egos get put in places where they can spew their garbage forth non stop without anyone being or willing to do anything about it, he is poison.
And for some strange reason, the NRL keep giving him the rights when last time, all the big stations wanted the rights, even just some of them, something is going on, maybe the NRL keep him because they know what poison he'd spread if his mob lost the rights.
Cos, can you summarise this in one sentence for your list?
ParraEelsNRL
2 Jun 2008, 09:52
Cos, can you summarise this in one sentence for your list?
Moron, since you know so much and you're a member of LU, go and start a thread with a vote and ask if anyone likes Roy Hardley and the continuous crap team. :rolleyes:
...of the 67,000 crowd at the State of Origin game at ANZ last week, around 20,000 were freebies.
I heard the freebies was around the 30,000 mark :eek:
But hey, I don't see anything wrong with that. NRL have been doing that for many years.
Freebies are given out by clubs during weekly games, I mean spend a miserely $20 at Rebel and receive 4 free tickets :eek:
In the end you can inflate the figures but the $$$ ain't coming in and sooner than later clubs will be going :thumbsd:
Oh that's right, they already are...:o
genghiskhan
2 Jun 2008, 12:33
League is mostly a TV game these days - Sydney people are doing it tough and just can't afford to go and it's the same in other places - I went to the Raiders on Friday night - $30 general entry, I was drinking UDL's at $9 per can - luckily I wasn't hungry.
But like I said - it's a tv game now as witnessed by the ratings for Origin 1
From the Australian
MORE than two million Australians tuned in to see NSW-Queensland State of Origin match last night.
It makes the rugby league showcase the most watched match since OzTam television ratings began in 2001.
An average of 2.092 million viewers watched NSW clinch the 2008 Origin opener with a 18-10 win over Queensland in Sydney.
The audience peaked at more than 2.4 million.
NSW had the largest audience as an average of 897,000 tuned in, while the game brought in 710,000 Queenslanders.
About 283,000 Victorians also tuned in.
The match was shown live in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, while it was delayed in Perth.
According to OzTam figures, it was the highest rating Origin match since it began collecting the data in 2001.
The previous highest result for an Origin match was 2.02 million, which was recorded in 2007, 2006 and 2002.
Last night's pre-match show was also a big winner for Nine, scoring almost 1.5 million viewers.
More than a million Australians kept watching after the game had finished.
Program's like Ugly Betty on Seven, and Big Brother and the US series House, both on Ten, couldn't compete.
The ABC's combination of Spicks and Specks and the New Inventors were the nearest competitors with around 1.1 million viewers each.
AAP
Reports of the demise of rugby league are a little premature
You can't expect a sport to survive on television alone.
You can't expect a sport to survive on television alone.
Yes you can...
For every RL person that watches RL on tv and has a box that rates it, give him another 4 boxes, but only if he spends $20 at Krispy Kremes...;)
That way, freebies at the game and freebies at home...inflate all figures :thumbsu:
ringleader
2 Jun 2008, 12:57
What possible motivation would Rugby League man Ray Hadley have to make something like that up? You may not like him but he has always seemed like a genuine guy if nothing else.
All his station does is bemoan League. Twice at least he has aired allegations of players being intoxicated and they were both false. Oe club considered suing him over it . I'd never believe a word he says.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/police-probe-matai-pub-dispute-while-smith-proves-his-innocence/2006/08/18/1155408016510.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
Meanwhile, Parramatta chief executive Denis Fitzgerald has not ruled out taking legal action against Macquarie Radio after accusations against Eels player Tim Smith - which proved false - were broadcast yesterday.
The accusations, made by a caller to the Ray Hadley morning show on 2GB and detailed on the station's website, included that Smith and fellow Eels player Eric Grothe were heavily intoxicated and misbehaving on Thursday night at the Intersection Tavern at Ramsgate, in Sydney's south.
The station's website said "Matt", who was at the hotel, had told Hadley that Smith and Grothe were "rotten drunk" and "acting really like they owned the place, knocking drinks over left, right and centre, while Timmy Smith was spitting like he was on the footy field".
Smith, who is out injured, had been warned by the club after being involved in a couple of alcohol-related incidents earlier in the season that if he drank alcohol again this season he risked having his contract torn up. But Eels football manager Tony Zappia and media manager Damian Kelly went to the pub yesterday and viewed CCTV footage, which showed Smith had been drinking only water and had not been involved in any incidents.
They said the footage showed none of the other Parramatta players present - Grothe, Daniel Wagon and Ben Smith - had been involved in any incidents, either, although Fitzgerald said Grothe and another person who was with the group but not connected to the club had been asked to leave because they were intoxicated. Tim Smith had already left.
Fitzgerald said he would address that issue with Grothe on Monday. Asked for his reaction to the allegations aired on radio about Tim Smith, Fitzgerald replied: "I'm upset about the treatment of it. I want to make further inquiries. I'm concerned about the veracity or otherwise of some of the accusations made on 2GB."
Kelly said the security footage showed someone accidentally knocking over a drink at the table at which the players were sitting.
Smith said yesterday: "I'm just happy that I've been cleared and that I can get on with trying to get back on the field before the season is over."
David Riolo, Smith's manager, said he felt sorry for his client, adding: "It's ridiculous, isn't it? What's the world coming to? I'm really disappointed this became such an issue on talkback radio when there was nothing to it."
ringleader
2 Jun 2008, 15:16
He is a worm, did you ever get the chance to hear his call during the Athens Olympics?
this http://grab.orsm.net//update20041028/raygoesnuts.mp3
Do New South Welshmen even like sport?
They like mardi gras and drugs.
ParraEelsNRL
2 Jun 2008, 15:34
this http://grab.orsm.net//update20041028/raygoesnuts.mp3
Hahahaha, thanks for that, I recommend anyone who loves Raaaaaaay to listen to that and then come back here and say he's a good guy.
You have something seriously wrong with you cuz, you hate RL and are baned from the RL board, but you post non stop shit everywhere else,
Err , excuse me but these are quotes are from rl people .
Do you realise the implications of what you just said ?
major :o
god here we go again....
FREE TICKETS are a GOOD thing people.
if the code can afford to send 20000 fans to the biggest game of the year for free, then hallelujah, its great for the fans.
perhaps the AFL should be spending alot of the surplus on buying ME free tickets to the footy....
i seriously hope the AFL gives away ALOT of free tickets to the first few years of WS games
Father Jack
2 Jun 2008, 19:24
god here we go again....
FREE TICKETS are a GOOD thing people.
if the code can afford to send 20000 fans to the biggest game of the year for free, then hallelujah, its great for the fans.
perhaps the AFL should be spending alot of the surplus on buying ME free tickets to the footy....
i seriously hope the AFL gives away ALOT of free tickets to the first few years of WS games
Doesn't send a good signal when you have to give your product away, and really is an insult to those that are keen enough to actually pay up. Not good at all.
genghiskhan
2 Jun 2008, 19:45
Err , excuse me but these are quotes are from rl people .
Do you realise the implications of what you just said ?
major :o
This parraeels fella is a monkey. Hates Wollongong but chooses to live there. Hates Aussie rules by chooses to post on an Aussie rules board. Hates bogans, but follows rugby league. Hates Richard Hadely, a rugby league man, yet continues to follow rugby league.
Father Jack
2 Jun 2008, 19:52
This parraeels fella is a monkey. Hates Wollongong but chooses to live there. Hates Aussie rules by chooses to post on an Aussie rules board. Hates bogans, but follows rugby league. Hates Richard Hadely, a rugby league man, yet continues to follow rugby league.
Actually, I think it is Lethal that isn't a fan of Richard Hadley :)
legend166
2 Jun 2008, 20:05
this http://grab.orsm.net//update20041028/raygoesnuts.mp3
Brilliant.
Cos, can you summarise this in one sentence for your list?
Denial is not a river in Egypt.
A new list is coming .
Denial is not a river in Egypt.
A new list is coming .
I'm with ParraEels on this one. If you don't like the sport, fine. But why the agenda? Let people follow what they want to follow and keep your utterly meaningless opinions to yourself.
I'm with ParraEels on this one.
My sympathies .
If you don't like the sport, fine. .
I see that you might assume that , but I actually played .
But why the agenda?
To expose the superficiality of trolls .
Let people follow what they want to follow
I have that power ? OK ......... Trolls go away .
Let's hope that it works .
keep your utterly meaningless opinions to yourself.
They ay are NOT my opinions .
They are mainly taken from quotations of posters .
Most can be attributed to ld or parafeel .
Don't you like their quotations ?
:(
.
AstroboyUK
3 Jun 2008, 01:47
back on thread - if remember how gleefully the Sydney RL media pounced on the poor attendance at Nth MElbournes game at Carrarra a few weeks back - wouldnt/shouldnt they be making a big deal about this now?
If there were only 40,000 actual paying customers isnt there something very very seriously wrong that should be looked at? For so many years SOO has bee nthe absolute pinnacle of the game : that 30% or more of the tickets were given away (if true) implies the administration has lreally ost its way, or Sydney has given up on RL. TV ratings were very very good but surely at some point lack of interest at the ground must start to reflect lack of interest elsewhere too... are good ratings just cameouflaging the problem? Good journos should really be looking into it - its a 'royal commission' kind of issue for the league imo.
Doesn't send a good signal when you have to give your product away, and really is an insult to those that are keen enough to actually pay up. Not good at all.
its perhaps not ideal, but mate, 20000 got to see some of the best players on the planet play all for the cost of getting to the stadium...christ i dont even like league that much and i would have gone if i was in sydney
sure they couldnt sell out, but at least they could afford to give those seats away for the benefit of the fans and the promotion of the sport
ChrisFooty
3 Jun 2008, 02:36
I find it hard to believe this is actually true. If it was true, the actual 45,000 people who spent their hard earned money on tickets would feel really pissed off.
I thought the NRL did not include free tickets in their official attendance figure. Could parra or someone esle confirm?
THRILLHO
3 Jun 2008, 11:05
I thought the NRL did not include free tickets in their official attendance figure. Could parra or someone esle confirm?
I would guess that they do. Using last nights game as an example, the SMH reported that 15 204 showed up last night and I would be astonished if there was actually that figure there, let alone that figure not inclusive of the free tickets they gave away (U16s free entry).
littleduck
3 Jun 2008, 13:30
I would guess that they do. Using last nights game as an example, the SMH reported that 15 204 showed up last night and I would be astonished if there was actually that figure there, Why>?
let alone that figure not inclusive of the free tickets they gave away (U16s free entry).There is no glut of free tickets given away to every game. If that was the case, nobody would ever pay for a ticket anywhere in the ground again, let alone charge premium prices for better seats.
I'm with ParraEels on this one. If you don't like the sport, fine. But why the agenda? Let people follow what they want to follow and keep your utterly meaningless opinions to yourself.
Why post RL crap on an AFL forum?? What the agenda there??
We follow AFL and talk abour AFL on an AFL forum...
There is a RL forum...
Go over to LU site and see their behaviour towards Aussie Rules....Noob
Doctor Jolly
3 Jun 2008, 13:57
I find it hard to believe this is actually true. If it was true, the actual 45,000 people who spent their hard earned money on tickets would feel really pissed off.
I thought the NRL did not include free tickets in their official attendance figure. Could parra or someone esle confirm?
crowds are measured at the turnstyles. Ticket or free ticket, its all the same.
So if 20k where given away, why didn't they go further and give the rest away to pack out the Stadium? It doesn't make sense.
In any case, if League is on its last legs, the best ratings show of the year sure shows it.
Keep arguing chumps, I am sure the 90k souls that tuned into the Swans this week will appreciate all the help and support they can get.
THRILLHO
3 Jun 2008, 14:13
Why>?
All bays behind the goals at both ends were empty. The top tiers were extremely sparse, the crowd looked very sporadic. Two league fans who I talked to during the game even commented on it. It was just my gut feel that there wasnt 15 thousand there.
There is no glut of free tickets given away to every game. If that was the case, nobody would ever pay for a ticket anywhere in the ground again, let alone charge premium prices for better seats.
Maybe not. But this round alone, there were two games with a 'glut of free tickets' given away. See, Rabbitohs and St. George (spend twenty dollars instore at Rebel and get four free tickets) and Wests and Easts (under sixteen with an adult free entry). Not sure if they qualify for your 'glut of free tickets', but they do in my book.
Doctor Jolly
3 Jun 2008, 14:55
All bays behind the goals at both ends were empty. The top tiers were extremely sparse, the crowd looked very sporadic. Two league fans who I talked to during the game even commented on it. It was just my gut feel that there wasnt 15 thousand there.
Maybe not. But this round alone, there were two games with a 'glut of free tickets' given away. See, Rabbitohs and St. George (spend twenty dollars instore at Rebel and get four free tickets) and Wests and Easts (under sixteen with an adult free entry). Not sure if they qualify for your 'glut of free tickets', but they do in my book.
littleduck will argue that they arent free at all.
For example, what you really do is buy 4 TICKETS at Rebel Sports and they give you a free pair of shorts.
And you are really buying a child and an adult for the $20 (or whatever a normal adult costs).
See, not free......really.
:rolleyes:
Doctor Jolly
3 Jun 2008, 14:56
So if 20k where given away, why didn't they go further and give the rest away to pack out the Stadium? It doesn't make sense.
They did. No one wanted them.
They did. No one wanted them.
:thumbsu:
They had a Gay bash that night ;-)
It's On the list!
ParraEelsNRL
3 Jun 2008, 15:26
All bays behind the goals at both ends were empty. The top tiers were extremely sparse, the crowd looked very sporadic. Two league fans who I talked to during the game even commented on it. It was just my gut feel that there wasnt 15 thousand there.
Maybe not. But this round alone, there were two games with a 'glut of free tickets' given away. See, Rabbitohs and St. George (spend twenty dollars instore at Rebel and get four free tickets) and Wests and Easts (under sixteen with an adult free entry). Not sure if they qualify for your 'glut of free tickets', but they do in my book.
Monday night football all year has had u16's in for free as long as an adult takes them.
Ever thought rebel sport sponsor a lot of clubs?
THRILLHO
3 Jun 2008, 15:52
May I have a source regarding Rebel Sport sponsorship, what tier of sponsorship it is, the monetary value of the sponsorship and which teams they sponsor?
If the 'four free tickets' scheme is a reward for Rebel Sport's loyalty in sponsorship or a form of cross-promotion, it doesnt seem to benefit the NRL very much in terms of monetary reward. It seems an illogical business scheme. For mine, it seems to fit more into the 'we're worried about the potential crowd figure and how damaging it will look for the brand' type scheme, ala North Melbourne on the Gold Coast. Although it's a slightly different scenario as Im comparing two Sydney sides playing in Sydney compared to two interstate teams playing in the Gold Coast, but it was the only comparison that sprang to mind.