Monday, 8 April 2013

Broken?


Wellington’s home of rugby was to be no more. Some of the diehard fans insisted they would fight it with every ounce of strength they had. They’d protest. They’d raise money to save the old lady. But to their despair the decision was made. Athletic Park was comin’ down to be replaced by a futuristic circular stadium near the waterfront.

‘It’ll never work’ cried the naysayers.  I wasn’t one of the doubters. On many occasions I’d sat in the good old Millard Stand in a gale force southerly. As the stand swayed happily in the breeze, we placed all our faith in the engineers and builders of many decades earlier and didn’t for a moment think our physical safety was in doubt. Only later was it revealed that the upkeep on the Millard Stand was wallet-emptyingly expensive and that a two-tonne lump of concrete had fallen from the stand when luckily there were no spectators below.  Despite any feelings of nostalgia I was more than happy to put my name down for a season ticket at the new Westpac Trust Stadium for the 2000 season.   

This was the Promised Land. This was to be the catalyst for the exceptionally talented yet exceptionally frustrating Hurricanes to fulfil their potential and bring home the silverware.  It wasn’t, although it was for the Wellington Lions later that year, but that’s a story for another day.

Those were the halcyon days at the Stadium.  It wasn’t uncommon for games to be sold out. There was a waiting list for season tickets. The atmosphere was electric every week. We bought our beers, hotdogs and pies and loved every minute of it. It wasn’t a game. It was an event.

In 2003, an Auckland basketball franchise broke into the Australian NBL. They were pretty good but in those first few seasons it would be a stretch to say they captured the public’s imagination. Then a couple of years later came the arrival of the new coach, the somewhat unheralded Australian Andrej Lemanis. It was something of a shock as at the time many thought the coach of the fantastic Tall Blacks team who achieved fourth place at the 2004 World Champs, Tab Baldwin, would be a shoe-in. 

Lemanis led the team to a couple of playoffs in 2007-08 before a couple more lean years. In 2011 it was clear they had assembled a quality team. The NBL championship was won that season, and the next. The crowd filled the Vector Arena, and continue to do so. The atmosphere was electric every week. The crowd bought their beers, hotdogs and pies and loved every minute of it. It wasn’t a game. It was an event. The electricity, yeasty beverages, wieners and savoury treats continue to this day (literally).

Sound familiar, Hurricanes fans?

Since those early days, things have changed at the end of the long concrete concourse on Wellington’s occasionally wind-affected waterfront. Crowds have declined steadily over the years to the point that on 6 April 2013, just 8,900 fans watched the ‘Canes defeat the talented Waratahs in impressive style. On 7 April 2013 the Breakers attracted a crowd of over 9,000 to the Vector Arena for their first game of the 2013 Finals Series.

Why?

When fans go to a Breakers game, they are paying for atmosphere, cheerleaders, drums, atmosphere, music, atmosphere, halftime entertainment and atmosphere. Therefore fans consider it money well-spent.

When we ‘Canes fans hop off the train and begin the 10-minute walk to Westpac (I refuse to call it the Cake Tin) we are paying for a game of rugby. While many may consider this sufficient, the entertainment dollar has a lot of competition these days. The Rugby Union cannot simply continue to think people will continue to turn up regardless of what is on offer.

So, I hear you ask, why is this happening in our fair Capital, and what can be done to fix it?

Following are SG’s suggestions.

1.       Bring back the curtain-raiser. A good club game or an age-grade rep game. I don’t want to watch 45 minutes of warm-ups.

2.       Make refreshments affordable. $8 for a beer, $4 for a soft drink and $14.50 for a greasy burger combo do not appeal. It’s too easy to spend a hundred bucks or more on food and drink on a family trip to the rugby.

3.       Get some halftime entertainment. How about a 100m sprint race? Spectators kicking for goal to win prizes? A dodgeball match. Camel racing. Jelly wrestling. Anything…

4.       Pricing. Kids’ tickets on Saturday night were $7. That’s great. How about making all adult tickets $10-$15 and kids go for free?  How about a ticket and a Hurricanes t-shirt for $25-$30?

My message is simple - make me want to come back. Make Wellington sports fans want to get off the couch, switch off Sky Sport and come back to the fantastic facility that is Westpac Stadium.

NZRU - look at the Breakers; can you imagine a Breakers game without a sold out crowd? I can’t.

Moving from Athletic Park was a massive step forwards. Let’s not waste that progress. 

Let’s fix this.

Till next time,
SG

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