Tyler_Durden wrote:quote:Benski81
With all due respect I don't agree. You're quoting figures from 2004 and it's easy to pick statistics that distort things to justify what you're saying.
Rubbish. I haven't distorted anything. That was the last time the Socceroos played in Adelaide which is exactly what Adam asked. Five years ago isn't that long ago. It is certainly very clear in the memories of FFA officials. Feel free to quote some more appropriate figures if you wish.
Sorry but you have been extremely frugal with the truth here mate. 2004 Adelaide saw us host the OFC Nations Cup against the HEAVY hitting football nations of Tahiti, Vanuatu, Fiji and Solomon Islands. It is to be expected when the match is essentially a dead rubber that it will hardly be a draw card - thus the couple of thousand turning up. However when we faced some (remotely) half way decent competition like New Zealand, 12,000 people turn out! Oh and this also predates the start of the A-League as well and 2006 World Cup, but hey let's just look to these figures as reflective of how things stand at present like you wish.
Tyler_Durden wrote:That was over 5 years ago and a lot has changed since.
Has it? I've been a member of Adelaide United since the A-League started in 2005 and nothing has changed at all from where I sit. A-League crowds still average around 12,000 per game, which is fine from my perspective, but let's not pretend.
This season actually averaged 13,000 mate, sorry. Bloody good showing considering there are only 15,500 seats! Furthermore you ignore that when the games are moved to a central location with greater capacity (ie Adelaide Oval) that figure spikes to 23,000+?
Where is the additional capacity for your more important games? The current venue's capacity is pushed as it stands, what happens towards the end of a successful season? What happens in finals? What happens when Adelaide gets one of the two positions in the Asian Champions League for Aussie clubs? What happens for a Socceroos game be it friendly, ASEAN Football Championship, Asian Cup, World Cup qualification (and in light of the upsurge in popularity following the A-League and 2006 World Cup this time thanks)?
Tyler_Durden wrote:I've been to Adelaide united games where there has been over 16,000 people, on more than one occasion,
So have I, on the only three occasions that Adelaide United have ever had more than 16,000 to a home game. And two of those were the biggest two rounds of the Asian Champions League, and best case scenario is we'll get those games once every ten years, and that's being optimistic.
1) Any 15,500+ figure is fantastic mate, not a single seat left in the venue.
2) Wrong. You have ignored home matches when held at larger premises. Of course you would never let the truth get in the way of a good story aye mate? While 25,000 (07-08) and 23,000 (08-09) may be artificially inflated by the novelty factor of an Adelaide Oval game, other factors such as inappropriate viewing angles may have held such a figure back too.
3) Wrong again! (Notice a trend?) Chances are that we will qualify for the Asian Champions League once every 5 years - there are two places offered to the 10 Australian clubs. Ten divided by two = five.
Tyler_Durden wrote:I have also been to Hindmarsh on many occasions where the attendance has been less than 10,000, including the most recent match played there, the Preliminary Final against Queensland which drew only 8,000 people to the second biggest game of the A-League season.
Does it escape your memory that Adelaide had just been THRASHED 0-4 the week before and we were widely thought to lose? Of course you casually ignore this - another lie by omission.
Tyler_Durden wrote:The change in 5 years renders those figures largely redundant
Based on what? As all the key performance indicators published by the FFA point out, the A-League has remained fairly stangant (sic) over five years, with a drop in interest last season.
What do you base your assertion on? Other than wishful thinking, that is.
Of course you don't actually factor in the hike in popularity attributed to the A-League itself cloud your rant. Furthermore we are not looking at the whole A-League - looking at Adelaide United is more appropriate.
Tyler_Durden wrote:I don't believe it's an interest issue now and IMO I think we could support a venue of 20K plus here in Adelaide no problems at all.
If a new soccer stadium was financially viable then the private sector would jump at the chance to pay for it. Likewise, AUFC would have buyers lining up. Unfortunately AUFC is purely a very expensive hobby for someone who can afford to lose a lot of money. It's easy for you to talk the talk on an internet forum when you don't have anything invested in it, but those that do have the money won't go near such a stadium. It's obvious why.
Tyler_Durden wrote:And market forces dictate investment... Supply and demand. Market forces. Simple economics.
Very simple economics indeed! ECON 101, first lecture. Now to progress to some subsequent lectures. Put in the most simple forms for your benefit, markets while efficient may not end up with the optimal efficient outcome. *HORROR!* Private firms owning a stadium don't give a damn about the additional benefits to other entities, the positive externalities, arising from that stadium, i.e. the increased economic activity related to being able to attract more people to the game. Enter government through intervention in order to ensure an efficient outcome is reached. Government cannot and should not shoulder all the costs, however nor can we expect the private sector to go it alone, as they will only chip is as much as they get out of it, with no regards to external benefits.
Tyler_Durden wrote:Rubbish. I haven't distorted anything.
:wank: