New Etihad Stadium boss wants more razzle & dazzle at AFL games ... (Herald-Sun)

[one-eyed]

New Etihad Stadium boss Paul Sergeant says the AFL should build better atmosphere at live games

    Peter Rolfe
    From: Herald Sun
    November 14, 2012

THE new boss of Etihad Stadium says the AFL should turn to US and English sport to build better atmosphere at live games.

Paul Sergeant said the AFL should consider sound and light shows, more pre-game and half-time entertainment and better use of scoreboards to find new ways to entertain crowds.

Concerned about a drop in AFL attendance and a surge in TV audiences, the UK-born stadium chief said TV advances threatened to keep fans away from games and spoil the traditional atmosphere of live footy.

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He said the AFL, rival codes and Australia's stadium chiefs should look to the English Premier League and NBA basketball for inspiration.

"The whole experience of going to an NBA game blows your socks off because they make use of the arrival experience, the video boards, the monitors around the venue, the PA system," he said.

"Those sports in different parts of the world are out there. It's about going, 'well what can we look at? What can we learn from them?' then translate it back into what can we do at our venues."

Mr Sergeant, who replaced outgoing chief Ian Collins, said Etihad Stadium's future success would rely on a "staple diet" of AFL along with soccer, concerts, international sports and special events such as rugby league's State of Origin.

But the former boss of England's Wembley Stadium and Millennium Stadium in Wales said Australian sports chiefs needed to lift live experiences to a new level just to keep fans coming back.

He said he had raised the matter with AFL chief Andrew Demetriou and chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan, labelling modern TV coverage the "biggest challenge" to live sport.

"The TV has moved on in leaps and bounds with HD, 3D, surround sound, stats, pause live action - all the things you can do. So we've got to compete with that and that's all about the live match day experience.

"We've collectively got our heads together as to what that...means and what we can do to drive that forward."

Last season's AFL crowds fell by more than 360,000 yet home TV audiences were up.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/new-etihad-stadium-boss-paul-sergeant-says-the-afl-should-build-better-atmosphere-at-live-games/story-e6frf9jf-1226516129241

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[mightytiges]

Mr Sargeant, if you want to encourage more people to go then how about halving the food prices so supporters and especially families aren't being ripped off paying double for food and drink than what it costs outside the stadium.

You also can't compare the AFL to the EPL or NBA. Each club in the EPL or franchise in the NBA has their own stadium limited to a capacity that they can fill for each and every game. While Old Trafford is 70k capacity and Emirates 60k they are not the norm. Fulham's Craven Cottage for instance would be limited to just 25k; Blackpool last season had crowds of just 11k or something like that. Most NBA stadiums are boutique arenas as well as a basketball court is tiny compare to a massive footy oval. Atmosphere is always better when a stadium is mostly full irrespective of the sport. Unless we go back in time to each club (especially the small ones like North, Dogs and Dees) playing home games at their own boutique home grounds rather than the 100k MCG then there's no much anyone can do. We'll probably be alright in time once we start playing finals regularly as we'll be close to averaging 50-60k or more for every home game at the 'G once we get on a roll  . I was told the AFL has told the Club it sees Richmond as its biggest growth potential outside of the newbie teams.     

As for the falling attendances this year - yes live tv would have had some impact but when the League introduces two new teams in non-traditional Aussie Rules regions with minimal home support and zero away support then of course average crowd numbers will fall. Then add the SCG and Kardinia Park being construction sites all year plus teams selling home games to 10k capacity grounds (eg: us playing at Cairns). It's no surprise crowds fell overall. In 5 years time when all these redeveloped stadiums are completed including Adelaide Oval and the new 60k Perth stadium plus GWS and GC having winning seasons then crowds will rise again.