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Sydney told to sell out or lose Origins
Glenn Jackson and Andrew Webster | May 20, 2008
SYDNEY is in danger of being stripped of State of Origin matches because of its inability to sell out ANZ Stadium.
On the eve of another Sydney Origin match that is unlikely to be filled to capacity, fans have been warned of a push from Queensland for more games in Brisbane and of significant pressure to hold matches in Melbourne.
ARL chief executive and NSWRL general manager Geoff Carr said yesterday that if NSW fans did not attend in greater numbers, Origin games would be taken away from Sydney following the end of the current agreement with ANZ Stadium in 2012.
At present, ANZ Stadium hosts two games every second year and one in the alternate year. The Queensland Rugby League, however, is leading a push to have one game guaranteed every year for the two cities and the third given to the most deserving bid.
Carr confirmed: "When we get through these current run of contracts, the games are up for grabs. It would be great if the people of NSW voted with their feet … As much as we'd like to have two games in Sydney every second year, there's pressure on us commercially because other governments are interested in this event."
Sydney has hosted one Origin a year over the past three seasons and has sold out just one event at the 85,000-seater stadium - the second game of 2005. But in the past two years, the crowds of 72,773 and 76,924 have been relatively disappointing.
In Brisbane, the 52,000-capacity Suncorp Stadium is invariably bursting at the seams, and this year tickets for game two sold out in 90 minutes. In Sydney, the predicted crowd for tomorrow night's match is between 60,000 and 70,000, with Carr admitting "we'd need a significant spike [in sales] to sell it out".
"Origin is a massive vehicle, and all the states are very active with major events," Carr said. "The commercial obligations just can't be ignored, just like spreading the game can't be ignored. We'll always consider other options, because it's the biggest domestic representative competition of any sport in Australia, TV ratings, crowds, everything."
Asked whether the time could come when Sydney would host just one game a year, Carr said: "Ideally, no. You'd always like to give your team home-ground advantage because Queensland has only won one game at ANZ Stadium. But the other side of that's commercially very compelling. A lot of [NRL] teams have given up their traditional home games because of the commercial opportunities of playing their football elsewhere.
"Commercial realities have to be taken into account. There are competing forces for these games, and the boards have to consider all the ramifications."
The Victorian Government outlaid significant funds to bring the 2006 Origin to Telstra Dome, and did the same to secure a match next year.
After making almost $20 million on the 2006 game, the Government will put pressure - alongside their Queensland counterparts - on the ARL for a change.
"It had a significant impact [in Melbourne]," Carr said. "They did all the research on it, and the Victorian Government are very aggressive in getting more Origins down there. If Sydney supports significantly the two games, there's no debate, but the more governments are aggressively courting Origin games, the more opportunity there is if grounds aren't full for other arrangements to be considered. Origin is a premium event. It's in high demand."
NSW coach Craig Bellamy said it wasn't his job to boost ticket sales but implored Blues fans to attend the game.
"I coach a footy game, I don't sell the tickets to the game," he said yesterday. "[A big crowd] would certainly help. All players [know] the more support you've got, the more you appreciate it. We'd love for the stadium to be full but that's out of our control. I'd hope the fans, who aren't going to go to the game and are going to sit at home and watch it, would actually come out and lend us their support. Every little bit helps."
While it is doubtful the NSWRL will sell out the Origin opener, the Waratahs are on target to attract a capacity crowd for their rugby Super 14 semi-final against the Sharks at the Sydney Football Stadium. Despite having only five days to promote the match, the Tahs have already sold 8500 tickets to SCG Trust members, with general admission seats going on sale at midday today.
NSW Rugby chief executive Jim L'Estrange said he was hopeful a full house of 45,500 fans would attend.
"We don't want to get greedy and say the onus is on Sydney to fill the stadium," he said. "But we're hoping we can sell it out. It's only a short amount of time to sell the match but we're confident of doing it."
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http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/sydne...1182705248.html
This isn't very good... Not many NSW league boys on here, but for those of you around please get all your mates and there mates and hurry up and sell out this game!
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