Opinion Vent & Offtopic

[SandyToes]

Community needs to do better and show up.

If Gold Coasters can be bothered to show up for home games we wouldn't have to worry about selling games to Darwin.

Also forgetting it would cost way way more for the AFL to host games in Darwin and try to "establish a relationship"than for us to stay home and establish a relationship with -you know-The Gold Coast-the actual community we represent
Not to mention paying us a couple of million

 

[robo_1]

Community needs to do better and show up.

If Gold Coasters can be bothered to show up for home games we wouldn't have to worry about selling games to Darwin.

I still think the club is dropping the ball when it comes to attracting casual fans. It feels like they’re still relying on the whole “build it and they will come” mindset.

A lot of people who are casual non supporters have been burnt over the years by poor performances and false starts, It’s not a traditional AFL market where people who aren’t die hards will just keep turning up no matter what.

The club needs to do more than just advertise that a game is on. Even on game day you can walk around in Suns gear and still hear people say, “Oh, there’s a game on today?”

They should try changing to a major events and experience, not just footy matches. Sydney have done things like singles events before games, and we’ve had live music previously too. Why not have mascots and players out in shopping centres in the days leading up to games, more visible promotion around tourist areas, fan events, family activities and things that get casual locals talking about the club?

I’ve even been watching the Banana Ball lately Obviously not that extreme, but they’ve shown how much people love fun, quirky entertainment and making sport an actual experience. Feels like there’s ideas there the Suns could take from it to attract new people and make games feel like more of an event

 

[SandyToes]

Sydney have done things like singles events before games,

 

[Big Red Machine]

Either nuffy or horrendously fake with no middle ground.

 

[robo_1]

The Match Day Mingle returns!

The Match Day Mingle, this year presented by Colgate Optic White, returns to the SCG bigger and better in 2025!

www.sydneyswans.com.au

 

[TheGoldPersons]

 

[The Kings Ransom]

View attachment 2605085

Interesting.
Have any team connected people know this guy at all?
What role does a ‘team manager’ undertake?

 

[robo_1]

What role does a ‘team manager’ undertake?

From Google

Gold Coast Suns staffer Mark Opie is currently the club’s AFL team manager for the men’s program. In that role he handles a lot of the operational and logistical side of the football department things like player movements, travel, match-day coordination, interchange bench management, schedules and helping the coaches/players behind the scenes during games.

He came to the Suns in 2024 after spending about 24 years at Richmond Football Club in similar football operations and team management roles, and followed senior coach Damien Hardwick to the Suns.

You’ll often spot him on the bench during AFL broadcasts wearing club gear and communicating with coaches, medical staff and interchange officials.

 

[Kernel Kurtz]

Nice one Sandy toes
Things you see when you lurk hey

While I’m here
I was curious why the stands are still not
reasonably full.
We were down last year for the Qclash
And I love the boutique stadium experience and it was chockes even on the wet day.
As I’m a lurker and have read a few comments about membership prices going up substantially and some were saying their seats weren’t available.
Was that a problem?
Also considering there are no bars restaurants around the stadium is there a potential hub say around pacific fair area that you get decent bus service.
Do yous know where I’m coming from.
The pregame experience is almost as important as the match.
That could be just my opinion .
Does this type of thing get promoted and if not afl house need to chat to the council and sort it.

 

[Land of the Giants]

Just want to have a whinge.
We are the Gold Coast Suns.
Those two first words are Gold Coast.

I despise losing two home games each year.

Not good enough Mark Evans.

Serve your community.

Good evening.

We're having a bit of a debate on our board about playing three home games in Canberra. I think we're hosting you at one of them later this year.

Homebush isn't available for us during the Easter Show in March/April. It takes some time for the turf to be repaired and Canberra helps us solve that problem.

I'm wondering why you play home games in Darwin. What's the link?

 

[SandyToes]

Good evening.

We're having a bit of a debate on our board about playing three home games in Canberra. I think we're hosting you at one of them later this year.

Homebush isn't available for us during the Easter Show in March/April. It takes some time for the turf to be repaired and Canberra helps us solve that problem.

I'm wondering why you play home games in Darwin. What's the link?

We're owned by the AFL and we're forced to do it

 

[SandyToes]

Nice one Sandy toes
Things you see when you lurk hey

While I’m here
I was curious why the stands are still not
reasonably full.

Sandy Don't Surf Colonel
We've had zero success and have a population base about a third of the Lions and we still have some residual Brizroy supporters locally but that is diminishing

 

[eighties]

Bit of a run of terrible venues for our away games at the moment. Doesn't make for a good viewing experience.
Norwood, Launceston, Back to Back TIO and then down to GMHBA next. Throw in our scrappy dew fest vs GWS and feels like we havent gotten to see a high quality game for a while. But then again maybe we will get beaten of the park in dry conditions..

 

[robo_1]

Nice one Sandy toes
Things you see when you lurk hey

While I’m here
I was curious why the stands are still not
reasonably full.
We were down last year for the Qclash
And I love the boutique stadium experience and it was chockes even on the wet day.
As I’m a lurker and have read a few comments about membership prices going up substantially and some were saying their seats weren’t available.
Was that a problem?
Also considering there are no bars restaurants around the stadium is there a potential hub say around pacific fair area that you get decent bus service.
Do yous know where I’m coming from.
The pregame experience is almost as important as the match.
That could be just my opinion .
Does this type of thing get promoted and if not afl house need to chat to the council and sort it.

They’ve definitely tried a few things over the years mainly aimed at kids like carnival rides, face painting, petting zoo etc.

I think the next step is probably more adult-focused pre/post game events to grow that non-traditional fan base and lift those mid-range crowds by a few thousand.

Using the attendance data from 2021 - 2026, the Suns are averaging roughly 15.3k overall across this period. Sundays sit around 13k, Saturdays closer to 16k, and once you account for a few blockbusters (Collingwood, Richmond etc.) the gap between days isn’t actually that big. So it’s not really a “Sunday problem” as much as it is a “how do we consistently add 2–4k extra casual fans” issue.

That’s where matchday experience becomes the lever.

Things like:

• pre-game or post-game live music at 5th Quarter Bar or within the stadium precinct
• car / truck shows on game day
• using the skate/BMX park behind the training oval for demos or comps
• pop-up food trucks / small activations around the immediate stadium precinct

I do think a single hub near the ground makes more sense than trying to spread it out. The issue with something like Pacific Fair is it splits the experience and not everyone is travelling from that direction anyway. Keeping it concentrated around People First Stadium creates more of a “game day destination” feel rather than a scattered one.

I also think you’re right about the pregame experience being just as important now, especially on the Gold Coast where people are more lifestyle-driven than hardcore weekly members.

There’s probably a bigger untapped casual market there it just needs more of a “day out” feel rather than only a football product.

 

[Mini GF]

Don’t be the Darwin Suns and lose momentum and take away two winnable home games from your actual home city would be my advice.