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Memberships Hawthorn 2025 Membership discussion - another record year!

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Howdy Folks,

Wondering if anyone else opted in for the $10 AFLW membership offer a few weeks back

I was happy to pay the $10 to help the club, even though I probably wont be attending any games

Logged onto my account today and noticed my invoice for the 2026 season now includes a full AFLW $75 membership

Obviously I cancelled the AFLW membership

Worth checking for those that have an auto-renewing membership, pretty dodgy if you ask me to just add it on
 

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This table is from May this year but it suggests a lot of clubs memberships might be lower this year, so it still may be that we did better than most clubs.

That’s outdated though.


Geelong gained 11,500 members since that article. Collingwood and Essendon gained 9,000 and we only gained 4,000. Until last year Hawthorn for the best part of 30 years always had more members than the Cats. Now we are 5,000 behind them.

Not sure if it’s AFLW membership but we’ve really dropped back to the pack over the last decade — even though our crowds are much higher.
 
That’s outdated though.


Geelong gained 11,500 members since that article. Collingwood and Essendon gained 9,000 and we only gained 4,000. Until last year Hawthorn for the best part of 30 years always had more members than the Cats. Now we are 5,000 behind them.

Not sure if it’s AFLW membership but we’ve really dropped back to the pack over the last decade — even though our crowds are much higher.
I reckon we've been behind the cats for a while, at least a few years. It might be that with their success you just about need to be a member to get a seat at GMHBA stadium for their home games, whereas you are almost always going to be able to get a walk-up seat at the G for ours? I don't know.

I thought we could get to 90,000 too. Maybe next year. But I reckon clubs will need to be pushing into new arrivals to tap that market for increasing membership given the local fertility rate has dropped to almost zero nowadays. Relying solely on supporter families passing on their footy loyalties to the next generation isn't going to result in the membership growth it once did.

There is a really culturally diverse population around the Dingley area. Maybe our presence there will help encourage some folk from non-Aussie rules backgrounds to join our great and glorious club!
 
I reckon we've been behind the cats for a while, at least a few years. It might be that with their success you just about need to be a member to get a seat at GMHBA stadium for their home games, whereas you are almost always going to be able to get a walk-up seat at the G for ours? I don't know.

I thought we could get to 90,000 too. Maybe next year. But I reckon clubs will need to be pushing into new arrivals to tap that market for increasing membership given the local fertility rate has dropped to almost zero nowadays. Relying solely on supporter families passing on their footy loyalties to the next generation isn't going to result in the membership growth it once did.

There is a really culturally diverse population around the Dingley area. Maybe our presence there will help encourage some folk from non-Aussie rules backgrounds to join our great and glorious club!
Since 1984, we’ve had more club members than Geelong in 11 of 41 seasons (and all seasons from 1997 to 2022). We dropped behind them after they won the 2022 flag and the gap shot ahead post Kardina Park redevelopment.

More info here — https://footyindustry.com/html/AFL_Members.htm

We were top 3 for club membership in every season from the 2008 flag right to to Covid.

Call me biased but I think we should have more members than Geelong. But I guess like the boom after the 2008 flag it takes a few seasons to build up the membership so I fully expect we’ll break through 90,000 next year (like Geelong who jumped from 70,000 to 90,000 over a three year period).

It is a bit strange how all these other clubs sold truck loads of membership over the mid season and we sort of just stopped. Maybe we don’t have as many AFLW members?
 
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Since 1984, we’ve had more club members than Geelong in 11 of 41 seasons (and all seasons from 1997 to 2022). We dropped behind them after they won the 2022 flag and the gap shot ahead post Kardina Park redevelopment.

More info here — https://footyindustry.com/html/AFL_Members.htm

We were top 3 for club membership in every season from the 2008 flag right to to Covid.

Call me biased but I think we should have the slightly more members than Geelong. But I guess like the boom after the 2008 flag it takes a few seasons to build up the membership so I fully expect we’ll break through 90,000 next year (like Geelong who jumped from 70,000 to 90,000 over a three year period).

It is a bit strange how all these other clubs sold truck loads of membership over the mid season and we sort of just stopped. Maybe we don’t have as many AFLW members?

I think we also aim for quality over quantity. It was Collingwood who overtook a few years after we became the leading club (barring Eagles - who are in a different situation), and they did it off the back of cheapening the concept of membership with the 3-gamers. We also joined that crew, but AFAIK we don't do 1-game memberships, $1 memberships, we don't donate them to uni students in the vain hope of them becoming converts, 7 buck memberships to help crowdfund ridiculous contracts etc etc. Not sure where the membership $ per member sit, but I'd imagine we're not at the bottom.
 
1 game membership is not a membership and should not be counted a such. It's lunacy to Go around spruiking about membership numbers with one dollar and one game members . Cut off should be 3 games. Hawks should put in a heap of work in the off season to hit the 100 mark. We can do it, we definitely have the potential to. Cats are NOT more popular than Hawks.
 
1 game membership is not a membership and should not be counted a such. It's lunacy to Go around spruiking about membership numbers with one dollar and one game members . Cut off should be 3 games. Hawks should put in a heap of work in the off season to hit the 100 mark. We can do it, we definitely have the potential to. Cats are NOT more popular than Hawks.
Even 3 games doesn’t seem that legitimate compared to a full season membership.

Clubs should have to report “membership games” as a standardized metric alongside unique members.

That way 3 members with 3 game memberships (9 games total) isn’t worth more than 1 member with an 11 game membership.
 

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Even 3 games doesn’t seem that legitimate compared to a full season membership.

Clubs should have to report “membership games” as a standardized metric alongside unique members.

That way 3 members with 3 game memberships (9 games total) isn’t worth more than 1 member with an 11 game membership.
"Worth" is not really a concept here. We're talking about a membership ladder.
 
I’m a country member and have been for 20 years quite happily. No doubt I was emailed and had the chance to opt out but my membership this season did go from a standard of about 140 or 150 bucks to 360. It does guarantee me basically that I will get a grand final ticket and happy to spend the money as I do love the club, but considering I don’t think I’ve ever used my membership to get into a game, it’s probably not really worth it. The family finances look like e taking a fair whack in 12 months time so I’m likely scaling it back I think…
 
I’m a country member and have been for 20 years quite happily. No doubt I was emailed and had the chance to opt out but my membership this season did go from a standard of about 140 or 150 bucks to 360. It does guarantee me basically that I will get a grand final ticket and happy to spend the money as I do love the club, but considering I don’t think I’ve ever used my membership to get into a game, it’s probably not really worth it. The family finances look like e taking a fair whack in 12 months time so I’m likely scaling it back I think…
Hawthorn has always had the most affordable memberships in the league, at some point we had to put them up.
 
Hawthorn has always had the most affordable memberships in the league, at some point we had to put them up.
Not bemoaning it and it still offers great value. For someone to able to be guaranteed a gf ticket for a donation of $360/year is pretty good (when we’re hopefully heading into a period with multiple years of contending 😎). Just personally facing a few tough decisions on the finances front. Just entered my 50’s, finally earning decent coin, first two kids supporting their own way through the tertiary system thanks to ADFA)
 

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"Worth" is not really a concept here. We're talking about a membership ladder.
It’s definitely a concept if you care about an accurate representation of membership support for a club.

If 1 and 3 game memberships contribute equally to a membership tally as a full season membership does then why not include 0 game digital access memberships?

I’m more than happy for the current method of counting membership tallies to continue to be used. I just think the total amount of games linked to those memberships ought to be referenced as a way to accurately compare support between clubs.

Revenue from memberships sold would also be a good measure.
 
It’s definitely a concept if you care about an accurate representation of membership support for a club.

If 1 and 3 game memberships contribute equally to a membership tally as a full season membership does then why not include 0 game digital access memberships?

I’m more than happy for the current method of counting membership tallies to continue to be used. I just think the total amount of games linked to those memberships ought to be referenced as a way to accurately compare support between clubs.

Revenue from memberships sold would also be a good measure.
A little disappointed we didn’t sell 20,000 t-shirt memberships when Watson resigned tbh
 
Clubs like putting out a big headline membership number.

But yeah Collingwood were selling 2 game memberships before the Collingwood v Brisbane match when the game was sold out on ticketek.

So guaranteed that there will be Brisbane supporters included Collingwood members this year.

In terms of value to the clubs
Premium members
Reserved seats x11
GA x 11
then the other memberships are nice to look at, but there's no real financial value to the club to have someone buy a 3 game membership compared to just buying 3 games to Hawks home matches
 
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